FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 309 



ripen ; but too late for our New England climate except in the 

 most sheltered situations, and uncertain even there. 



Under these circumstances it is not surprising that grape cul- 

 ture received little attention with us. Constant eflforts indeed 

 were made by enthi\siastic amateurs, to overcome the difficulties 

 of climate and season, and not without some success. But this 

 success cost much in time and money, and it is not perhaps too 

 much too say, that it would have cost less to have raised the 

 crop under glass — the amount of crop being considered — than 

 in the open air ; and such seems to be the general conclusion 

 in the public mind, for glass structures multiply, while out-door 

 culture of the foreign grape, and even of the Catawba and 

 Isabella, diminish from year to year. 



It is unfortunate perhaps, for us, that so much time has been 

 wasted in a wrong direction, but the horticultural mind, not 

 wearied with difficulties, but seeking new expedients, has 

 turned to our indigenous vine, and marked success has already 

 rewarded many intelligent cultivators, who have originated 

 seedlings of merit, hardy and excellent, and marking a new era 

 in grape culture in this country. But it is not my purpose so 

 much to speak of the new sorts of grape which have been bred 

 out of our native stock, as to offer to my friends and neighbors 

 some hints in regard to grape culture, drawn from my own 

 experience, which I hope may be of some service to them, in 

 saving perhaps some time which otherwise they might devote, 

 as I have, to experiments now to some extent made and estab- 

 lished. And I shall proceed to speak of soil, aspect, training, 

 pruning, cropping, <fcc,, as briefly as the case will permit. 



Soil. — There is some diversity of opinion as to soil. Some 

 contend that a strong, rich soil is the best for the grape. In a 

 hot climate this is probably true, as such a soil would resist 

 drought better than sandy loams, which are generally recom- 

 mended for the grape. Buchanan, however, in his excellent 

 treatise on the grape, says that the sandy soils are not so good 

 for the grape ; the juice is not so rich nor so sweet. He recom- 

 mends a dry, calcareous loam, with a porous subsoil. English 

 writers of repute recommend a soil of burnt clay, and I have 

 found this to be excellent, but it would be too costly in most 

 cases. Almost any soil, however, will do to grow the grape in, 

 if it can be made mellow, avoiding soils underlaid by a stiff, wet 



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