vineyards that I am only anxious to have the 

 experiments started as extensively as pos- 

 sible, so that there may be a large number of 

 plants for sale or distribution, as soon as our 

 farmers have become satisfied with the 

 soundness of the theory advanced. 



I have therefore put up one hundred half 

 pound and fifty pound packages for dis- 

 tribution to whomsoever will demand them 

 in this State, and Mr. A. D. Bell, the pro- 

 prietor of the MERCHANT has kindly agreed to 

 distribute them for me. I feel no hesitation 

 in appealing to our intelligent viticulturists 

 and farmers to assist me in making these ex- 

 periments as general as possible, and in ask- 

 ing those who are willing to do so to write to 

 Mr. Bell for seeds. I only ask that the seeds 

 may not be wasted and that next fall all 

 parties having germinated them will notify 

 the President of the State Yiticultural 

 Society Mr. Arpad Hararzthy, or his suc- 

 cessor in office stating what results they 

 have obtained, kind of soil in which plants 

 are growing, and what disposition they de- 

 sire or intend to make of the seedlings they 

 have, so that, if offered for sale or distribu- 

 tion, those desiring them ma} 7 know where 

 they may be obtained. 



I shall send some to France k) the Viticul- 

 tural Union of the Entre-Deux-Mers, where 

 they have been desired, and some to the 

 Agricultural College at Montpellier, in the 

 Department of the Herault, where more than 

 two hundred varieties of American vines are 

 now growing. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING PLATE. 



In order to illustrate the different prin- 

 ciples of propagating vines, I have prepared 

 the accompanying plate, lithographed by 

 Edward Bosqui & Co., the explanation of 

 which is as follows: 



Figure 1. Seed of the California wild 

 vine from Harbin's Springs, magnified six 

 times. 



Figure 2. California wild vine seedling, 

 nearly one-half natural size; seed sown April 

 7th, 1879, near Harbin's Springs by Mr. C. 

 Mattier, transplanted June 2, and taken up 

 finally as shown in figure, in October, being 

 then less than seven months from the seed. 

 It shows the system of roots peculiar to a 

 seedling, and the leaf peculiar to the vitis 

 Calif ornica. The vigor of the plant cannot 

 fail to attract attention. If Lake County 

 can produce this much what may not more 

 favorable places do? 



Figure 3. Bunches of wild grapes from 

 old vines at the same place, nearly one-half 

 natural size. Perfectly matured; very dark 

 or shining black; taste agreeable acid; no 

 trace of any flavor similar to wild grapes 

 of States east of the Kocky Mountains. 



Similar in vinous qualities to the grapes of 

 the Medoc, which produce the most famous 

 clarets. 



Figure 4. Illustration of roots developed 

 from a foreign cutting two years old copied 

 from a French work. It shows that cuttings 

 produce only lateral systems of roots and 

 exhibits an inherent weakness by reason of 

 the lack of a constitutionally perfect root 

 system. The main trunk of the root is a 

 portion of wood grown above ground, which 

 never partakes of a true root's character. It 

 may be liable to disease, and, if affected by 

 worms, or rot, between the upper and lower 

 lateral roots the lower system must necessari- 

 ly be cut off from the plant above. The 

 destruction of any one of the seedling roots, 

 however, need not affect the others, which 

 all tend to strike deep into the soil. 



Figure 5. Illustration of a short section 

 of a cutting, full size, with only one bud, 

 intended to be planted in the manner of a 

 seed. This method of propagation has been 

 experimented with, but has not obtained any 

 general use. 



Figure 6. Illustrates the development of 

 a bud cutting, one year old planted after the 

 manner of figure 5, at the College at Mont- 

 pellier. It is copied one-sixth natural size 

 and shows that the roots thrown down are 

 similar to those of a seedling. The French 

 call it bouture semis (cutting-seedling). In 

 this particular case, the root was thrown 

 down fifty-four inches and the wood made 

 above ground was thirty-seven inches. 



The superiority of the roots of the seedling 

 must be manifest to even a casual observer. 

 I believe that most, if not all the diseases 

 pertaining to the roots of vines are owing to 

 the vicious practice of propagating the same 

 vine for centuries by cuttings only. Their 

 roots are constitutionally defective and weak. 



THE WILD GRAPE AS A WINE GRAPE. 



I think there can be no doubt of the value 

 of our native wild vine for grafting stock and 

 for this purpose I' do not hesitate to recom- 

 mend its general use, either by cuttings, or 

 seedlings. But the experiments made for nie 

 by Mr. Mattier during the past grape season, 

 have convinced me, as well as others who are 

 experts, that the crowning virtue of this vine 

 is its value for making claret wines. I 

 should not hesitate, if I had a vineyard to 

 plant in any of our northern, or central coun- 

 ties, to cultivate this vine for the sake of its 

 fruit. I believe it will supply the greatest 

 desideratum in our wine making and is des- 

 tined in the future to make the clarets of 

 this State famous. It produces tannin and 

 tartrate of potash, has no striking aroma, is 

 sufficiently neutral and has no disagreeable 

 taste whatever. The viticulturist who plants 



