The Scuppemong Grape and Its Wine. 



35 



done in your vine3'ard; there arc daj's 

 of rain; you set one hand for a day 

 at sharpening tools, etc.; there is a 

 dollar to be charged to tool's account, 

 the other j'ou send to the blacksmith, 

 to shoo 3-our horse, to repair 3-our 

 wagon or plow: there is another dol- 

 lar to be charged to either stock or 

 tools; you avail 3'ourself of a time 

 when the ground is too wet to be 

 worked in the vineyard, and set your 

 two hands and yourself to make a 

 convenient road from the grape hill 

 down to your house ; friend G. will 

 certainly find this verj^ prudent, but 

 having no idea of keeping account, as 



Mr. S does, who charges the 



wages for those days to Roads and 

 General Improvement account, he 

 wonders at the amount spent for 

 roads, which bethinks '^ would have 

 more prudently been postponed until 

 there was a shoAv for revenue." 



That men like friend G, are ^better 

 fitted to start a vineyard from the 

 woods than friend S , I never dis- 

 puted, I have so stated in my essay; 

 but to one man like Mr. G. we find a 



dozen like ]\Ir. S , and men by far 



less fit than he was, to start a vine- 

 yai'd, with too high expectations 

 of future profits, with too low esti- 

 mates of the cost ; both not unfre- 

 quently based on the writings of such 

 eminent and enthusiastic grape-grow- 

 ers, but poor calculators, as I had 

 quoted in my article (Grape Cultu- 

 RisT, Sept., 1869.) And while it is 

 for ni}^ own interest, as a propagator 

 of grape vines, to encourage men in 

 grape-growing, 1 feel it a duty to 

 warn the inexperienced of the dangers 

 of failure ; and my pecuniary interest 

 cannot deter jne from doing it. 



IsiDOR Bush. 



THE SCUPPERNOXG GRAPE AXD ITS WINE. 



Editor Grape Culturist : 



Sir — I beg the favor of a reply to 

 your strictures on my article publish- 

 ed in your valuable journal, in Octo- 

 ber number, which I did not receive 

 until last w^eek. I fear injustice will 

 be done our favorite, the Scuppei"nong, 

 without it. 



Your complaint of the length of 

 my article is just. The article was 

 intended more for a general than a 

 tabular statement, and it seemedi dif- 

 ficult to do the subject justice in a 

 shorter one. Perhaps I should fall a 

 snake or so (not more) in " the half 

 mile scent." 



It is apparent from the article, 1st, 

 That grape culture and wine making 

 ai-e in their infancy here; and 2d; 

 That from the small quantity of grapes 

 and the number of birds and pillagers 

 we were compelled to gather our 

 grapes too soon. Such, of course, 

 will require sugaring. Much allowance 

 should be made. 



You say I have very little concep- 

 tion of true wine, if I think one and 

 one-fourth pounds to the gallon must 

 be very little, what Avould you say to 

 two pounds ? 



Nature, as you will concede, seldom 

 i produces a strictly normal wine. 



