14 



The Grcqie Ciiltvrist. 



whicli these seeds will give. He con- 

 tinues to plant seeds of his best va- 

 rieties every year; and we sincerely 

 hope he may live long enough to fruit 

 half a dozen more generations of 

 seedlings, and that his future tri- 

 umphs may surpass those of years 

 gone by, 



(lu copyiu^ this very interesling report 

 from the American Journal of Hoiticulture, 

 we could not help thinking of the old adage 

 "when Docters disagree etc." Mr. Ball, the 

 orioinator of the Concord, ascribes a great 

 deal of his success with the vines to "iron in 

 the soil.". The Illinois ad interim Com- 

 mittee, in their vi-its to the vineyards at 

 Vineland, on tbe Iron Mountain K. E. thought 

 they had found the catwe o/?'oMn the Con- 

 cord there in the excess of iron in the soil. 

 Now who is right ? We hope to do our share, 

 through the columns of the Grape Culturi^t. 

 of comparing experiences, and determining 

 these important questions. Will our friends, 

 by their contributions, help us ? Give your 

 experience freeely, upon this and other mat- 

 ters, and we shall soon have "a little more 



light on the subject.") 



Ed. 



For the Grape Culturist. 



Mr. Editor: 

 As your Journal is intended to be 

 devoted to the Grape and Wine sub- 

 ject exclusivel}' ; and knowing the in- 

 terest now felt in all the new seed- 

 lings that are already before the pub- 

 lic, and others that are coming j I will 

 comply with your request, and give 

 through your columns the process 

 and result of my Concord seedlings. 

 About the time the Concoi'd was in- 

 troduced, I was among the first to get 

 a vine; and was also favored with a 

 bunch of the fruit before my vine bore. 

 The seeds of which, together with 

 some kindly sent me by Mr. Bull, 

 were sown in a bed in the fall out 



doors. The following Spring some 

 dozen or more came up, Avhich were 

 allowed to remain until the following 

 spring, when but five were found to 

 bo alive. 



These were planted in ordinary soil 

 without any trenching or particular 

 preparation. 



Three grew vigorousl}' the first two 

 seasons, while two grew more slowjy. 



They wei'e numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 



The third year after they were 

 planted, when I examined No. 1 

 and 2, in fruit time, I found a very 

 few little bunches (I think only two 

 bunches on each) with but three small 

 berries on each. One I tasted and was 

 much pleased Avith No. 1, gave one 

 berry to my wife (after whom it is 

 named) who pronounced it excellent. 



No. 2 (which was named Eva) was, 

 we thought, inferior. This proved 

 ever after nearly- a barren vine; only 

 bearing a few berries annually. 1 

 never deemed it of much value. 



The following year all but No. 5 

 bore fruit, when you 3'oursclf saw the 

 vines, and gave me 3'our opinion of 

 the No. 1, Martha, and No. 4, Black 

 Hawk. Young America was full to 

 excess' at the same time, but they Avere 

 not yet ripe. 



They did ripen however, but quite 

 late, and promised well, but unfortun- 

 ately it had overdone the thing, and 

 for the rest of the time it was under 

 my care it never bore and seemed un- 

 able to recover. 



Here I would advise no one to al- 

 low much of a crop on a seedling the 

 first year of its bearing. 



Black Hawk is ten days earlier 

 than Concord, larger in berry and, I 

 always thought, sweeter ; but never 



