Reports on Grapes. 



219 



be one of our best wine-making grapes. 

 (I have no plants for sale). Spring 

 frosts will hardly ever hurt it, because 

 it starts very late in the season. An- 

 other good wine-making grape, I think, 

 is the Goethe, but have not yet fruited 

 it myself. 



I am now building a new wine cellar 

 and fermenting-house on your plan, and 

 consider it a decided improvement on 

 the old-fashioned cold and costly cel- 

 lars. Please let us hear by chance 

 through your Culturist j-our candid 

 opinion of the Hermann grape. 

 Yours, respectfully, 



Paulus Gast. 



[^Ye are sorry that you had to dis- 

 card so many of our favorites, but sup- 

 pose you were right, as your locality 

 may nt)t suit tliem. The Herbemont, 

 Cunningham, and Rulander want a 

 warm soil, intermixed with lime. 



We thought we had expressed our 

 opinion of tiie Hermann often enough 

 (see description in April No. Vol. 1), 

 and can only add that every season 

 gives us a greater opinion of it, as one 

 of our leading wine grapes of the future^ 

 when mediocrity even will have no 

 chance. — Ed.] 



Lexington, Mo , Jime -ifi, 1870 



j\Ir. Geo. Husmann : 



Thinking you would like to know 

 something of the prospects of the 

 grape crop in this part of Missouri, I 

 drop you a line. My vineyard is one 

 mile northeast of Lexington. I have 

 but a few hundred vines, comprising 

 thirty-eight kinds, mostly Concord. 

 The grape commenced rotting about 

 the 15tb of this month. We have had 

 an exceedingly dry and v^arm spring 

 60 far^ and fruits of all kinds are 



neai'ly a failui'e, except the grape. 

 The pi'ospect, up to the 15th June^ is, 

 that we shall have the best crop of 

 grapes ever seen in Lafayette county. 

 All varieties ai'e taking the rot except 

 Delaware, Eulandei', Allen's Hj-brid, 

 Cunningham and Elsinburg. The va- 

 rieties taking the rot are Logan, 

 Catawba, Hartford, Ontario, Hettie, 

 Concord, North Carolina, Maxataw- 

 ney, Perkins, Isabella, Diana, Cassady, 

 Mar}' Ann, Adironac, To-kalon, Rog- 

 er's Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 19. 



The rot commences Avith a small 

 speck, skin-deep, and gradually en- 

 larges. In five to eight days the berry 

 drops off. The prospect now is that 

 \\Q shall lose about one-fourth of the 

 crop. Yery respectfully, 



E. W. Bedford. 



Macon, Mo , July 11, 1S70. 



Geo. IIusmann, Esq., Editor Grape 



Culturist : 



One year ago last May I planted a 

 small vineyard of about six acres, 

 mostly Concord, Hartford Prolific, 

 and Delaware, with a few of each of 

 uearl}- all varieties of grapes i-ecom- 

 mended for this climate. Most of the 

 vines have been layered this season, 

 but about one thousand Concords that 

 were left for bearing, w^hieh are doing 

 finely and from present indications 

 many of them will bear from five to 

 ten 23ounds of grapes to the vine. 

 The other varieties are doing finely. 

 The cuttings I received from you we 

 grafted in bearing vines, one-half of 

 which are making a fine growth, so 

 that I expect to be able to test them 

 all here next season. My experience 

 in grape growing is so very limited, 

 it could hardly be of much value to 



