To onr Headers. 



311 



TO OUE READERS. 



The first volume of the Grape Cul- 

 TURiST draws near its close; and, if we 

 are to believe the flattering letters we 

 daily receive, we are led to the con- 

 clusion that our efforts to scatter 

 knowledge among the grape growers 

 of the country have been as successful 

 as we could hope for the first season. 

 We may say for our friends and con- 

 tributors, that they have nobly aided 

 us in the work we took upon ourselves; 

 and wo look with a feeling of satisfac- 

 tion and pride upon our list of con- 

 tributors. We trust we can also say 

 for ourselves that we have tried, to 

 the best of our ability, to give only 

 practical experience to practical men; 

 we have tried to deal fairly with all, 

 from all parts of the country, and 

 have given their experience, even 

 where contrary to our own, without 

 an unkind thought in revising it. 



But, while we flatter ourselves that 

 we have been successful in scattering 

 useful knowledge among our readers, 

 we can not say that the Journal has 

 been a pecuniary success. We have 

 perhaps as many subscribers as we 

 could expect, as we have taken no 

 extra pains to advertise or canvass for 

 it, and it is perhaps not as widely 

 known as it should be. We have neither 

 time nor inclination to go around to 

 canvass for it. Ours has been a busy 

 life throughout ; always pressed with 

 work, we can hardly snatch time 

 enough to attend to our editorial 

 duties now, when the superintendence 

 of eighty acres of vineyard has de- 

 volved upon us. We feel that our 

 friends in general, and the societies 

 especially to which we have belonged 



for a number of years, should have 

 had more of our attendance this fall; 

 but stern duty forbade the pleasure 

 we would have had in visiting them. 

 We shall this first year lose over $500 

 on the Journal, and although we 

 were, and still are, willing to sacrifice 

 our time and labor, our limited means 

 will not allow us to sink money in the 

 enterprise. 



We therefore appeal to you all to 

 lend a helping hand. You can easily 

 do it, by saying a kind word for the 

 Grape Culturist to your neighbors 

 and friends. It is easy for each of 

 you to send in one or two names in 

 addition to your own, thereby benefit- 

 ing them and us. We trust there" is 

 not one among you who has not re- 

 ceived more than his two dollars 

 worth of information during the past 

 year; if we were compelled to think 

 otherwise, we would lay down our pen 

 at once, and consider ourselves un- 

 worthy of the task we have under- 

 taken. 



Our space is insufficient now to 

 receive all the communications we get, 

 and we would like to enlarge the next 

 volume to thirty pages of reading 

 matter, outside of the advertisements. 

 We will j)ledge ourselves to do so, if 

 our list is increased to at least 1,500 

 names by January, and thus try and 

 repay all the exei'tions you make in 

 our behalf. 



Will you do this, and thus help to 

 make the Grape Culturist what we 

 designed it to be ? We have confidence 

 in our vintners to think that they wiU 

 cheerfully do this. Editor. 



