IVhat shall me plant. 



69 



WHAT SHALL WE PLANT ? 



By the Editor. 



This is a question which nearly 

 every phxutor v\all ask himself, and if 

 he has not suffisient experience, he 

 will ask it of others. We will trj' 

 and give a few hints in connection 

 with this all important question ; for 

 rules we cannot lay down. And we may 

 as well follow yankee practice for once 

 and answer one question by asking 

 another. 



We therefore ask : What do you in- 

 tend to grow ? Do you intend to mar- 

 ket your fruit ? Do you want it only 

 for family and table use ? Or do you 

 want to make wine of your grapes ? 

 Is quality your aim, or only quantity ? 

 Whei'e do you live ? What is the na- 

 ture of your soil ? What is the aspect? 



All these and perhaps many more 

 points should be taken into considera- 

 tion, and as March is the month for 

 planting, here and further South, we 

 will try and elucidate them to the 

 best of our knowledge and ability. 



Eeraember however, kind readers 

 all, that we do not pretend to give you 

 infallible advice. We hope to hear 

 from 3'ou all upon the subject. Give 

 us your local experience ; for "in mul- 

 titute oc counsels is wisdom." It 

 would be foolish and presumptive 

 in the extreme, to try and lay down 

 rules for as wide a territory as we 

 have ; and we do not belong to the 

 class, who try to force one grape u23on 

 the whole Country. We have had 

 too much of that a!i*eady ; and we 

 trust the sensible grape growers are 

 beginning to see it. 



What shall we plant for market ? 



For Northern climates we think it 

 advisable to plant Mary Ann, Per- 

 kins and Hartford Prolific, not be- 

 cause they are very good, but because 

 they are very early; and if people can 

 eat and laud the Dracut Amber at the 

 North, they can surely enjoy these. 

 To these wo v^ould add, Telegraph, 

 Concord, Eogers Nos. 3 and 4, North 

 Carolina Seedling, and for a white 

 one, Martha. We think these would 

 succeed any lohere almost ; for our la- 

 titude and further South, we would 

 add Eogers Hybrids, Nos. 1 and 8. 

 They ripen late, have magnificent 

 show}' berries, would, we think, keep 

 well, and are productive and healthy. 

 For family use and the table. Here 

 we take it for granted, that quality is 

 to be considered indispensable. While 

 therefore it will do no harm to have 

 a few of each of the former, and a 

 pretty good dose of Telegraph, Con- 

 cord, Eogers No. 1 and 4 and Martha, 

 you can not get along without Creve- 

 ling, Maxatawny, Delaware, Salem, 

 and Herbemont. These five, with 

 Eogers No 4, are the best American 

 grapes we have yet tasted; better than 

 the much lauded lona, purer in taste 

 and flavor; and if you want to add 

 something exquisite to them yet, take 

 the Alvey and Clara. They may not 

 bear immense quantities, but they 

 are so good that you can afford to 

 give them a little room and extra 

 care. For Northerners, the Herbe- 

 mont, Clara, Maxatawney and Eogers 

 No 1 may not ripen, and we only 

 can Bfiv ihat v%'-e pity them ; because 



