^r:' 



GRAPE CULTURIST. 



Vol. II. 



JANUAEY, 1870. 



No. 1. 



A HAPPY NEW YEAP. 



We can not omit, when entering 

 u]ion our editorial duties for 1870, to 

 offer to all our readers, old and new, 

 the compliments of the season. May 

 the sun of the new year shine more 

 genially upon their efforts than that 

 of 1869 ; may their favorite plant 

 thrive, from the Atlantic to the Pa- 

 cific; may their casks be filled with 

 the best juice of its fruit, so good 

 that it will find a ready sale, gladden 

 the hearts of all who drink it, and 

 comfort the afflicted ; and may they, 

 in the enjoyment of all those bless- 

 ings, not forget the Grape Culturist, 

 but welcome it to their hearths and 

 homes, lend a willing ear to its coun- 

 sels^ and derive much benefit from 

 them. ]May the}' not forget, also, to 

 send their contributions of useful ex- 

 perience to its columns, and we thus 

 mutually teach, while we learn from 

 each other. 



We are induced to enter upon the 



second volume, even before the 1,000 



subscribers are registered, which the 



paper must have to pay expenses, b}' 



the earnest request of many friends, 



who seem to think they cannot do 



.vithout it, and Avho all say that they 



1^ i,VQ sure it need only be known among 



^the grape growers to be appreciated 



**• and supported. We have spent noth- 



^^ ing for advertisements ; we do not offer 



any premiums of sewing machines, 

 gold watches and jewelry, we are too 

 proud to resort to such means, to en- 

 list the sympathy and exertions of 

 our readers. If the Grape Culturist 

 cannot, by its intrinsic merit, by the 

 information and advice it brings to its 

 readers, induce them to exert them- 

 selves in its behalf, if it cannot carry 

 its recommendation and its passport 

 to the firesides of its I'eaders, on its 

 own plain and unassuming face, then 

 let it die, the sooner the better. The 

 public cannot hire us with mere pecu- 

 niary gain to write for them, without 

 also the consciousness of doing some 

 good, and giving our readers the full 

 equivalent of their subscription. 



Some of our agricultural journals, no 

 doubt with the best intentions, have 

 mentioned our paper, and stated '^^that 

 they almost considered it a necessity, 

 were it not that many of the agricul- 

 tui-al press of the day had a vinej'ard 

 department " in which all matters 

 relating to grape culture were dis- 

 cussed. Xow, while we thank them 

 for their kind intentions, we cannot 

 help but differ from them in regard 

 to the value of such information as 

 they allude to. It reminds us of the 

 space and the premiums generally 

 allotted to the wines in the premium 

 list of the St. Louis Agricultural and 



CD 



