242 



The Grape Culturist. 



heavy load of fruit, foliage large, 

 deeply but otherwise like Hartford in 

 foliage, likewise as healthy. If the 

 quality of the fruit will be good, it is 

 all I wish for ; when they are ripe I will 

 send you a bunch of them. If you do 

 not receive any, you may consider the 

 fruit poor in flavor. 



One or two other seedlings I may 

 describe when the fruit is ripe. What 

 a variety will I have next year ! when 

 probably over a hundred of seedlings 

 will bear. Could j^ou not send me a 

 little grape seed of the Hermann this 

 fall. I can not fruit it till next year. 

 Yours truly, 



Henry Tiemeyer. 



[The Rogers' H3'brids will improve 

 in size of bunch when the vine gets old- 

 er. We have bunches of Wilder and 

 Goethe now which weigh a pound 

 each. We think that there are at least 

 half a dozen varieties of them, among 

 the best grapes the country yet has. 

 Your reports on seedlings are very in- 

 teresting ; the bunch of grapes you sent, 

 arrived in a very dilapidated condition, 

 and only a few berries were fit to taste. 

 The berry is round, greenish white, in 

 size between Concord and Martha, with 

 little foxiness, sweet and good. It is 

 certainly "promising w^ell." Let us 

 hear about the other seedlings. We do 

 not wish to see the list of our native 

 grapes increased, unless by something 

 really better, in some respect, than any 

 thing we have yetj but any one who 

 adds a new one uniformly healthy and 

 IJroductive, and of better quality than 

 anything we have now, either for table 

 or wine, is a public benefactor in our 

 eyes. We will send 3'ou some seed of 

 the Hermann in good time. — Ed.] 



Sunny Side Vineyard, ) 



Plt-in Bay Island, 0., August 8th, J870. \ 



Mr. G. HusMANN. 



Dear Sir: — While communications 

 from wine-growers from many parts 

 of the Union are contained in your 

 valuable paper, it has been a matter 

 of surprise to me, that of the islands 

 of Lake Erie, which undoubtedly take 

 a high place in regard to grape cul- 

 ture, very little has been said in the 

 Grape Culturist. 



Put-in Bay, Middle and North Bass, 

 Kelley's, and Catawba Islands, are 

 annually producing large quantities 

 of grapes of superior quality. Being 

 surrounded by water, we have a more 

 even and cooler temperature in spring, 

 retarding the too early gi'owth of the 

 vines, which exempts us from the 

 damages of frosts after budding in 

 most 3'ears, where other localities 

 have to suffer. 



Prospects for a good crop are 

 bright this year. Mildew, which last 

 year reduced our CataAvbas consider- 

 ably^ was hardly to be found this 

 year. A little rot has shown itself, 

 but not enough to diminish the quan- 

 tity of graj^es to any extent to speak 

 of; and if the weather remains favor- 

 able, we shall have an abundance of 

 grapes. Most of our vineyards are 

 yet planted with Catawbas, and many 

 entertain the hope that this valuable 

 grape will, after several failures^ come 

 out all right again. The next favorite 

 for wine-making here is the Delaware, 

 which never 3'et failed to produce a 

 good crop. Concord and Hartford 

 are doing first-rate, and out of the 

 former, large quantities of wine are 

 made, which begins to find a ready 

 market. Besides this, experiments 



