Random Notes on Grape Matters. 



145 



other farming land, and its soil is of 

 great fortilit}'. Before the vineyard 

 was planted, twenty-seven bushels of 

 wheat and one hundred bushels of 

 corn per acre were raised on it with- 

 out extra care or labor, yet, in select- 

 ing it for a vineyard, I have not act- 

 ed thoughtlessly or inconsiderately. 

 The land was not prairie, but wood- 

 land, although it joined the former 

 within a hundred steps, more or less. 

 The tree toj^s and bushes were covered 

 Avith wild grapevines of the a)stivalis 

 and eordifolia families, so that as late 

 as 1865, on a comparatively small 

 tract of the land, which had escaped 

 cultivation, I gathered wild grapes 

 enough to make 400 gallons of wine. 

 "Was it not a near and natural conclu- 

 sion that the cultivated varieties of 

 grape vines would succeed here like- 

 wise ? As far back as 1850, when the 

 location was made, I had not the ad- 

 vantages now enjoj'ed hj the begin- 

 ner; I had not as a guide the dearly 

 bought experiences of others, but had 

 to gi'ope my own way. The soil of 

 my vineyard is a deep rich mould, the 

 subsoil heavy, tenacious clay, nearly 

 impervious to water. To the latter, 

 principally, do I attribute the many 

 failures which in late years I have ex- 

 perienced in the productiveness of my 

 vines, especially my Catawbas. But 

 I cannot agree with j'ou if you main- 

 tain that a better article of wine can 

 be grown on decomposed limestone 

 than on clay. I ha\e no authority on 

 hand to refer to excejitmy own mem- 

 ory (and that is treacherous and may 

 possibly deceive me), for the classifi- 

 cation of wines according to the soil 

 on which they grow, but according to 

 my recollection it is about as follows : 



1. Of highest excellence are the 

 wines grown on volcanic formations. 



2. On basalt. 



3. On slate. 



4. On calcareous soil. 



5. On sand. 



In the middle, between these, are 

 the wines grown on clay; they are 

 remarkable for strength and body, 

 (schwere schmalzige iveine,) but rather 

 coarse, and requiring age to attain 

 perfection. 



I may be mistaken as to the classi- 

 fication. You and Mr. Frings ought 

 to be familiar with the subject, and 

 ought to set mo right in the Grape 



CULTURIST. 



Yours very trul}', 



ThEOD. ENf4ELMANX. 



[We copy this very interesting let- 

 ter, which had been intended as pri- 

 vate, with permission of the writer, 

 because it may serve to elucidate 

 many interesting points. We do not 

 believe that the soil of prairies is as 

 well adapted to the culture of grapes 

 as woodlands, because we think in 

 woodlands the decaying leaves and 

 wood accumulated there furnish a 

 more congenial food for the grape- 

 vines than can bo found in jn-airies. 

 Wo think, also, that good farming 

 land is none too good for the Avine if 

 not underlaid with stiff, tenacious day. 

 There, we think, is the principal cause 

 of the trouble with the wines of our 

 correspondent. Their /eeif are wet, as 

 the common phrase goes. 



As to the classification of wines 

 grown on the different soils, we are 

 not prepared to speak positively. We 

 think that in this respect we may find 

 quite different results with our 



