Grapes at Sandusky, etc. 



9 



mention. There was vigor of vine, 

 healthfulness of leaf and ripening of 

 Avood. Of course there wag no over- 

 cropping of Catawba and bat little of 

 Delaware, usually most blameworthy. 



Disaster however still awaited us. 

 September was fitful— too often raw, 

 chilling. The late and the early grapes 

 missed the customary glow of the sun 

 to thiken and mature their juices. 

 True, little damage finally resulted to 

 the earlier varieties save in delay of 

 ripening. For the later, Catawba 

 especially, the delay was dangerous. 

 On the evening of the 8. of October 

 came not a frost but a sharp freezing , 

 hardening the moist soil a half inch, 

 and full 2 inches well back from the 

 shores. On the water's edge there was 

 a firm crust. The crop suffered severe 

 loss on the Peninsula and along the 

 3Iain Land, as far as Cleveland east- 

 ward. Other cold snaps occurred ia 

 October, so that the best of the Ca- 

 tawbas at the height of the season 

 were hardly up to the average of 1867. 



Oechsle's scale told the vintners the 

 truth and they wore a thoughtful eye. 

 If, as Chronicler, I must be faithful at 

 this stage, 1 will still be very brief and 

 merel}- state my opinion, that, should 

 the wine of this vintage prove as, or 

 even more palatable, than those gone 

 by. Nature cannot be chai'ged with 

 having sent all the saccharine through 

 the roots of the vine, asstoutlj- claim- 

 ed by some of our purists in times 

 past. — A Avord upon the teachings of 

 the year, before proceeding to the ac- 

 count of Varieties. 



Now our people generally acknow- 

 ledge the fearful mistake of planting 

 one variety too exclusively. The vine- 

 yardist who had set Concord, Dela- 



ware and Isabella as Avell as Catawba, 

 reaped the reward of his foresight. 

 The call is in consequence steadily in- 

 creasing for promising varieties. The 

 Catawba grape is no less a favorite, 

 but it is deemed wiser to make as sure 

 as possible of full returns ever}- year. 



Then as to wine, there is an upheav- 

 ing of the good old ways. Somfi de- 

 nied at first and long any excellence 

 in red wines. But they grew upon the 

 taste, the demand increased, and the 

 skeptical forgot their skepticism. An- 

 other change is silently going forward. 

 •Isabella wine Avas not found popular. 

 Mingled Avith Clinton, or Concord, or, 

 bettei*, AA-ith both in the wine-vat, the 

 best judges saA' it is very good, and on 

 all sides there are ready sales. There 

 is expectation of fine results yet to be 

 reached in this direction. The white 

 Avines also, in nicely adjusted propor- 

 tions, form a mingled wine of real and 

 commercial value. — The stock of last 

 years wines was Avell exhausted early 

 in the season, at fair prices. Since the 

 crop has been considerable, the mar- 

 ket has not been freer. 



The gains this 3^ear, as generality 

 hitherto, are in the hands of the pro- 

 vident, — the painstaking. 



For success in gi-ape-growing, Ave 

 are taught by experience in this region, 

 for most of the A-ai-ieties to select a 

 clay soil, admitting of di'ainage, to 

 cultiA'ate Avell and faithfully ; to prune, 

 train and fertilize Avith careful adap- 

 tation to variety and strength of A'ine. 

 It is recommended to fruit the strong- 

 growing kinds mainly on the laterals. 

 We dare not summer-prune only as it 

 can be done fittingly Avith the thumb 

 and finger. We must thin out the 

 fruit if there is tendencv to overbear. 



