2t) 



7he Grape Culturist. 



THE CAROLINE GEAPE. 



G. HusMANN, Esq., 



Dear Sir: — I see by December num- 

 ber of Grape Culturist that our mu- 

 tual friend, Samuel Miller, Esq., has 

 discovered that " some new things 

 have turned out to be old ones ;" thus 

 getting old grapes under new names. 

 Just so. I too have received many a 

 new grape, represented as of extraor- 

 dinary qualit}', and after years of care 

 have found them transformed into 

 some well known old variet3^ In this 

 way I have received some six or eight 

 Isabellas, three or four Catawbas, be- 

 sides fox and frost grapes not counted. 

 But as I am simply an amateur, I find 

 a pleasure nevertheless in thus testing 

 all the said to he new grapes. 'Tis 

 said ''farmers like to be humbugged," 

 and it seems horticulturists are no ex- 

 ception. 



So Mr. Miller says "the Caroline 

 has proved to be the Concord." May 

 not friend Miller have had his cuttings 

 of Caroline mixed with Concord ? 

 Accidents will happen in the best 

 regulated families. 



The grape I have for Caroline, and 

 of which Mr. Miller got wood some 

 years ago, is certainly not Concord. 

 It is true the general appearance of 

 the vine and fruit, its freedom from 

 disease, health, vigor, &c., resembles 

 the Concord verj' much ; but still 

 there is a difference, that any good 

 judge of grapes will notice at a glance. 

 In this case, we might almost say 

 " there's a distinction without a differ- 

 ence." But to describe the difference 

 so as to be understood is beyond my 

 command of words. I received the 

 Caroline from a friend in Cambridge, 



near Boston, Mass. He stated that 

 the gentleman from whom he got the 

 cuttings found tlie plant in the woods, 

 and removed it to his garden. The 

 plant with me has never been touched 

 by mildew or any disease. The fruit 

 always ripens perfectly. In quality 

 it is fully equal to Concord. 

 Eespecifully, 



J, B. Garber. 



COLUMHIA, LANCAtiTER Co , Pa.. } 



December -i-.', isiii). ) 



[We are glad to hear from our vet- 

 eran friend, and welcome him to the 

 ranks of our contributors, hoping that 

 he will often favor us with his views^ 

 as he is one of the oldest grape grow- 

 ers in the country, and no one has a 

 better right than he to " talk and 

 Avrite grapes." But in this case we 

 must side with our friend Miller. We 

 have not been able to see a)iy differ- 

 ence between the Concord and Caro- 

 line ; and as friend Garber himself ad- 

 mits that the difference is very slight, 

 and does not say that it possesses any 

 quality superior to Concord, we can 

 not see that the grape growing public 

 would be benefitted by its introduc- 

 tion. If may do for amateurs, like 

 friend Garber, who test it for the mere 

 curiosity and love of the thing ; but 

 we can see no practical benefit in it 

 for those Avho raise the grape for 

 •profit^ even if we grant that it is a dis- 

 tinct variety. It is useless to swell 

 our already large list of varieties still 

 more, unless we can add something 

 which is in some respect vastly supe- 

 rior to anj-thing we have at present ; 

 and we can not see that we have such 

 a grape in the Caroline. — Editor.] 



