Editors' Letter Box. 



347 



these varieties from cuttings, in the 

 open air, obtaining from fifty cuttings 

 twenty plants. I was a perfect no- 

 vice in the business, and have no hes- 

 itation in saying that it can be thus 

 propagated as easily as the Concord ; 

 in fact, I have had less trouble in 

 propagating this grapo than I have 

 had with the Concord. I have known 

 this grape seven }- ears. It has not, 

 during that time, shown the slightest 

 symptoms of disease, and during that 

 time has produced six fine crops. 

 Enclosed jow will find some of the 

 skins of this grape. Hub them in 

 your fingers, and observe the deep, 

 rich purple of the juice. The skin is 

 thin, the juice rich, sweet and pleas- 

 ant, free from all foxy or other un- 

 pleasant taste. It starts ten days 

 later and ripens ten da^'s eai'lier than 

 the Concord. I have not made any 

 wine from this grape, but am satisfied 

 that it is a good wine grape. Ad- 

 mitting Xorton's Virginia to be all 

 that you claim for it, I am inclined to 

 the belief that this grape is its equal 

 in all respects, save as a Avine grape. 

 In this respect it is yet to be tested. 

 I 'should be pleased for you to test 

 this grape, and for that purpose will 

 send you a two-yeai"-old plant from a 

 cutting, or a one-year-old layered 

 plant. I can send the plant to the 

 railroad (twentj'-five miles awaj-) free 

 of cost. If you will pay express 

 charges from there to 3"our place, 

 direct me how to send, &c. 



Yours, respectfully, 



A. J. ]\Iay. 



P. S. — I enclose j^ouseed from four 

 berries. M. 



[We shall be pleased to test the 



grape you speak of. If it propagates 

 readily from cuttings, it is certainly 

 not ]S"orton's Yirginia, although it may 

 be closely related to it. We shall 

 also plant the seeds, and will report 

 on the plants raised from them in due 

 time. — Ed.] 



Xal-s-oo, III , Oct. 6, 1S69. 



George Husmaxn : 



Bear Sir : Well aware that j^ou 

 are a lover of the grape, and deter- 

 mined that Avine-making shall succeed 

 in this country, furthermore, that you 

 have an enterprising, go-ahead spirit, 

 quite liberal with those who contin- 

 ually task 3"our kindness, — I take the 

 libertj' to request at your hands a 

 great favor : to send me a synopsis of 

 the plan on which you have establish- 

 ed the Bluffton "Wine Company, to- 

 gether with laws or b3--laws which 

 govern the same. 



We have here a large number of 

 small vinej'ardists, whose success has 

 been thus far indifferent. We see 

 looming up at no distant day a pow- 

 erful rival in the cheap wines of Cali- 

 fornia, and to my mind there is, for 

 us, but one way to mitigate or divert 

 the danger — that is through an asso- 

 ciation of the local grape interests, 

 which shall cheapen production, and 

 diminish expenses of marketing. I 

 would therefore like to make the at- 

 tempt to induce our people to form 

 such an association, but am at a loss 

 to know hoAV to present the matter 

 before them. I naturally turn to you 

 for help, and if it is not asking too 

 much, 3'ou will much oblige. 

 Yours, fraternally, 



Louis Martin. 



