no 



The Grape Culturist. 



grapes there, have had good crops ; ho 

 has grown Concord bunches, the last 

 two years, ten inches long; that he 

 does not know the weight of grapes 

 exactly, but has often gathered two 

 common pails full from single vines 

 and that, although his Concord vines 

 suffered from rot last summer, ho j^et 

 made a very satisfactory crop. Cataw- 

 ba lost its leaves, rotted and ripened 

 unequally, but still made a tolei'ablo 

 crop, while his Catawba crop in 1868 

 was as abundant as the Concords, and 

 of a very fine quality; therefore, he 

 thinks he Avill try Catawba a little 

 longer, and we think he is right 

 "Where it will do as well as that it 

 would be folly to dig it up. Dela- 

 ware^ Cassad}^ and other varieties, 

 which have lost their leaves in other 

 localities, he reports entirely healthy, 

 and thinks that Kansas, as a State, is 

 peculiarly adapted to Grape culture. 

 [This is a synopsis of his letter, writ- 

 ten in the german language, we are 

 glad he can send us so good a report, 

 and we say "success to Kansas and 

 her industrious grape growers. — P]d.] 



Kkytesville, Charitou Co . , Mo , Feb. IT, '70. 



Geo. Husmann, St. Louis, Mo : 



Dear Sir: Enclosed please find $2 

 for the Grape Culturist. Please ac- 

 cept my thanks for the continuance 

 of the journal since my time expired. 

 I would not think of being without 

 your valuable journal. 



I have a vineyard of about four 

 acres of Delaware, Norton, Concord, 

 and a few vines of other varieties, all 

 doing well. I will give you an inci- 

 dent of last season, which ma}- bo of 

 some interest to you. Last spring 

 my bearing vinos were in fine condi- 



tion and put out strong, healthy buds, 

 and gave promise of a good crop. 

 About the last of May there came a 

 heav}- hail storm and greatly injured 

 the buds and young shoots. The man 

 I had employed to cultivate and man- 

 age my vines (a German of experi- 

 ence) without ni}^ knowledge, imme- 

 diatel}^ after the storm, stripped all 

 the buds and young shoots from the 

 vines. He claimed that the vines 

 would put out now buds and make a 

 full crop. In about fourteen days 

 after the hail the vinos put out ioavc'^. 

 The Delaware bloomed and niade over 

 half crop of the largest and best ma- 

 tured Delaware grapes I have ever 

 seen. The tbliage all remained per- 

 fectlv fresh ahd green until frost. 

 The Concords only made a few bunches 

 of grapes, Norton more. I have no 

 doubt but what grape growing can be 

 made a success here. 

 Yours truly, 



F. 31. liELLFUM. 



[The circumstance j-ou mention can 

 be easily explained. Every bearing 

 bud on the grape-vine is a triple 

 one. The middle is the principal one, 

 and generally brings the fruit-bearing 

 shoot. If l)y a hail-storm, trost or 

 otherwise, this bud is damaged, while 

 the cane rojnains sound, the side buds 

 will start new shoots, which are how- 

 ever widely difierent in fertility in 

 diffei'ont varieties. In the Delaware 

 and some other varieties they will 

 produce nearly as well as the first or 

 principal bud — in the Concoi"d not so 

 much — while ill Norton's Virginia and 

 some other varieties they are nearly 

 barren. We had a similar occurrence 

 in 1864, when the hard frosts of win- 

 ter killed nearly all the middle buds. 





