166 



2he Grape CuUuHst. 



Baunksvii.le, Mo., April 30, 18G9. 



Mil. (JEoiuiK Hlsmann: 



Dear Sir: — The Martha grape vino 

 arrived on the 12th in goo<l order, for 

 ■which please accept my thanks. (It 

 was twelve days on the road.) I shall 

 accept your ofter to test my seedlings 

 when I ascertain which is best of 

 them, or whether any of them are of 

 real value. About fifty vinos that 

 promise well will bear this season. 



My earliest grape that has produced 

 fruit enough to judge from is all that 

 I could wish it lo be, M'ith one fault: 

 the skin is as tender as the skin of 

 the Concord. 



^fy White Concord only boro three 

 berries last season^ which were as 

 large as average Concords, and very 

 sweet when gathered. I was not 

 thinking of or expecting to raise a 

 ■white grape, but Avas watching all 

 fall for it to color ; so I began to think 

 it would be a very late grapo^ or 

 would not ripen at all, when one 

 day, after Concord were fully ripe, I 

 was out examining and tasting my 

 seedlings, I noticed it looked very 

 white for a green grape, and pulled 

 and^tasted a berry, when to my as- 

 tonishment it was ripe and good. If 

 it proves to bo productive it will be, 

 I think, a real acquisition. From 

 present appearances it will set very 

 full this spring. The vine is fully as 

 thrifty a grower as Concord, and very 

 much like it in leaf and general habit. 



Another of my seedlings that 

 ripene.l before Hartford, and same age 

 as prcceding(fourth summer's growth), 

 bore two small bunches, with berries 

 larger than the early one spoken of 

 above, of very fine qualitj-, and skin 

 not so tender, but does not indicate 



80 great productiveness, as the one set 

 thirty or forty good sized bunches, 

 and the other only two small ones. 

 My White Clinton seedling will be 

 quite full this season, and 1 can begin 

 to form an opinion of its productive- 

 ness. It can only be valuable as a 

 white wine grape. Several grape men 

 tasted it and pronounced it, or said 

 they thought it would be, superior in 

 quality to even the Delaware. It is 

 all juice, seeds, and skin; no pulp. , 



My large grape ripens as late as 

 Concord, a very large berry with one 

 and two, but seldom three very small 

 seeds, bunch large and compact, vine 

 very vigorous and hardy, and wonder- 

 fully productive, but no better in 

 quality than Isabella. One of the 

 bunches had a leaf growing in it; 

 another bud produced two distinct 

 bunches. 



I must now beg your pardon for 

 troubling you to read so much about 

 "my seedlings." I am with them 

 like mothers are with their babies, I 

 never tire tolling of their virtues. 



My Hartfords, Concords, Catawbas, 

 Virginia Seedlings, Cynthianas, Dola- 

 waros, and many other varieties, have 

 stood the winter unprotected and un- 

 harmed ; but Creveling, Cassady, 

 Clara, and a few others are more or 

 less injured. The good quality of the 

 Creveling is its onl}' merit; with me 

 it is a weak growing vine, tender, and 

 not very productive. 



Bloods Black has a very tough skin, 

 and overbears, or at least has that 

 tendency. I planted twenty-five 

 single eye plants of Ives' seedling 

 last spring that made a fine growth 

 during the season, but I neglected to 

 earth up around them, so the frost 



