330 



The Grape Cultttrisf. 



years in succession, i!;athered this 3'ear 

 seven. 



Our season, which in summer seem- 

 ed so unpropitious, took a turn at the 

 eleventh hour, and wo have a higher 

 grade of must than last year, which 

 was esteemed so fjivorable to the 

 grape. The Concord graded from 70 

 to 84 deg. Oechsle's scale, and the 

 Norton Virginia 100 to 118 deg. If 

 old nature does not give us any worse 

 grape seasons than this, then Central 

 Missouri need iiever fear for its grape 

 harvest. 



Of the varieties that withstood the 

 unfavorableness of the season, the 

 following are the most prominent : 

 Concord, Norton's Virginia, Cynthi- 

 ana, Martha, Ives, Taylor, Hermann, 

 Eulander, lierbemont, and Eogcrs 

 No. 1. 



It was believed that the season 

 would be unfavorable to the ripening 

 of the "Hermann," our hitest grape, 

 but it failed not, and had season be- 

 3^ond. We visited Mr. Langendorfer's 

 vinej-ard in September. He has the 

 largest "Martha's Vineyard" in the 

 West, and is enthusiastic for that 

 grape and his own seedling, the "Her- 

 mann." He has some eighty seedlings 

 under wa}', the foliage of which, with 

 four exceptions, were healthy. The 

 Scriptures tell us that of book-making 

 there is no end. What shall Ave soon 

 say of grape-vine varieties? Ought 

 we not to soon turn our backs on all 

 new comers that cannot, without 

 question, excel those we have ? — the 

 Concord in productiveness, or the 

 Norton in weight and color, or the 

 Taylor for a strong, tine white wine. 

 .Mentioning the Taylor, reminds me 

 of the fact that one of mv neiij^hliors 



has an acre of Taylor three years old 

 started from cuttings. By accident 

 there are three Clintons among them, 

 and all the fruit that was gathered 

 from the acre this year was taken from 

 the vinos surrounding these Clintons. 



I understand that the Rogers No. 1, 

 or Goethe, is a strong claimant for our 

 favor as a white wine grape. Shall 

 we lay aside the Martha or the Tay- 

 lor, and if so, how long before we 

 shall lay aside the Goethe for an- 

 other, and how long will it take the 

 wine-consuming community to "get 

 the hang" of our wines. I believe 

 thei'e is a need of centering the atten- 

 tion of grape growers on one variety 

 of white wine grape, so that there 

 may be sufficient of that variety plant- 

 ed to ultimately become known in the 

 market. We are now divided on the 

 Rulander, Herbemont, Taylor, Mar- 

 tha, Goethe, and one or two others, 

 and a wine merchant tells us he can- 

 not sell these wines, because there is 

 no call for them. Now let us stop; if 

 the last is the best — i. e., the Goethe 

 — let us have it recommended for 

 general cultivation by the Mississippi 

 Valley Gmpe Growers' Association; 

 and if it is not, let them name the 

 one that has the strongest claims for 

 favor, and let us abide with that grape 

 until another pre-eminently superi<n* 

 demands its place. 



Ver}- respectfully. 



Dean W. Tainter. 



[(rlad to hear so good a report from 

 our old "stamping ground." We 

 doubt whether a recommendation 

 from any society would have the de- 

 sired effect. If we once grow suffi- 

 ciently of any grape to offer its wine 

 in large quantities, the public will 



