24 



Ellen, Sonoma Connty; Oliver Halden, 

 Fresno; J. A. Drinkhouse, Sacramento; H. 

 E. Hitchcock, Oakland; M. Keller, Los An- 

 geles; Mrs. W. B. Bourne, St. Helena; Miss 

 Lulu Littleton, Alameda; E. H. Bifford, San 

 Francisco; Howe & Hall, San Francisco; Mr. 

 Hillon, Sec'y, Natoma W. M. Co., Folsom; 

 J. B. Whitney, San Jose; J. B. Pierce, Santa 

 Clara; Wellman, Peck & Co, San Francisco; 

 Dr. F. Wrightson, Napa; Hon. H. M. Street- 

 er, Biverside; E. Brierly, Biverside; Fred. I. 

 Huse, San Diego; Miss Hannah Millard, 

 Lake County. 



Packages have been sent out of this State 

 to the following: Professor Husmann, Univer- 

 sity of Missouri; Leonard Casper, Saratoga 

 Sprints, New York; Hawaiian Commercial 

 Co, Honolulu; Professor Foex, National 

 School of Agriculture, Montpellier, France; 

 A. H. Trimoulet, Vice President Viticultural 

 Union of the Entre-deux-Mers, Bordeaux; 

 to Italy by the Italian Consul; to Spain by 

 Mess. Hellman Bros & Co. 



I have recently received letters from Win. 

 C. Mattier, of Harbins Springs, Lake County, 

 who is pursuing his studies of this vine with 

 great zeal and care. This year hip seedlings 

 will be two years old. He 'finds differences 

 in bark, roots and leaves among the wild 

 vines, as well as in the wine. I have receiv- 

 ed from him samples of wine he made for 

 me last year which will soon be examined 

 by experts It is now old enough to study. 



At my suggestion he has waived his right 

 to name these seedlings and has adopted the 

 name I mentioned to him, which is Matilda 

 seedling or as he uses it in his native lan- 

 guage la Matilde. For convenience in refer- 

 ing to these seedlings, which will differ in 

 some respects no doubt from seedlings of 

 other wild vines of this State, I respectfully 

 request that this name may be generally 

 adopted by those who have used the seeds, 

 which I have distributed. I feel assured 

 that this promising plant will honor the 

 memory of my mother in generations to 

 come, after she whose beloved name it bears 

 shall have left this world in which she has 

 been a true vine fruitful in all that is good 

 and strong in her womanly power of love 

 and kindness. 



PKOGREtS OF THE MATILDA SEEDLINGS. 



The seeds, which have been distributed 

 have been germinated in many parts of the 

 State, with varying results. At Oakland, I 

 have experimented with them for * he purpose 

 of ascertaining their germinating power. 

 About one half of the seeds, I found to be 

 dead, killed mostly by a small worm. These 

 dead seeds were easily separated by floating 

 them off in water. Counting samples of the 

 sound seeds, I found that they averaged 

 about four thousand to the pound. Among 

 the wild grapes were many which were at- 

 tacked by insects common to the places where 

 they grew which are generally in creek bottoms 

 among dense foliage of oaks and and other 



trees. These insects probably produced the 

 worms, which vere found in one half the 

 seeds. By carefully sowing small numbers 

 of the sound seeds in boxes and pots, I found 

 at Oakland, even during the past unfavorable 

 spring, that about ninrty per cent, germina- 

 ted successfully. It is evident from what I 

 have seen that between three and four thous- 

 and plants can be obtained from a pound of 

 seed. 



My observations, and also those of Mr. 

 Mattier at Harbin's Springs, prove that the 

 Vitis Californica is very late in bursting its 

 buds, or germinating from the seed. Al- 

 though I sowed seeds early in March, and 

 others in April, none germinated before the 

 1st of May, and from that tirna until the first 

 week in June they came up rapidly. It 

 seems, probably, that experience will prove 

 that the proper time to sow them is in April. 



Most of my seeds were first soaked twenty- 

 four hours, and this probably would be best 

 usually for field sowing; but I have observed 

 no especial advantage when the Spring rains 

 were late. Shallow sowing is better than 

 otherwise. They have succeeded very well 

 with me when lightly covered with sandy 

 loam. Manured soils breed insects, which 

 trouble the young plants. 



Mr. C. Mattier phmted seeds in April. One 

 of his seedlings, six months and a half from 

 the seed, is the same that was illustrated by 

 the MEKCHANT a little less than one-half the 

 natural size. This year he writes me that 

 his seedlings one year old were very late 

 in coming into leaf, but they have already 

 grown amazingly in the short time since the 

 buds have burst. On the 4th of June some 

 of them had new cones five feet long. 

 The most remarkable feature of this 

 culture of the wild vine is the 

 vigor of the young growth. The leaves 

 of the wild vines in their wild state are gen- 

 erally small; but these seedlings have, on 

 their second year, leaves that measure four 

 inches across bj six inches in length. It is 

 safe to presume that the fruit will corre- 

 spondingly increase in size. The ateness of 

 their growth will enable them to escape 

 spring frosts. 



Mr. Mattier is constantly pursuing these 

 investigations. He finds by an examination 

 of roots and wood that his opinion that there 

 are distinct varieties of the wild vine is sup- 

 ported by other proofs. Boots, barks, color, 

 etc., vary. 



The samples of wine, which he made for 

 me, and which were tasted by Mr. Haraszthy 

 and referred to in his letter heretofore pub- 

 lished, are now older, and will soon be care- 

 fully examined and analyzed. When that is 

 done a further report will be made public. 



Enough, however, has been learned already 

 to demonstrate that these seedlings are en- 

 dowed with superior vitality and vigor; that 

 they grow rapidly in the open field; and that 

 they take the graft easily. The bark is tough 



