64 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



it will not be abandoned in our State, either for home use or 

 market. Some of the best sorts to grow are the Mayduke, Black 

 Tartarian, Black Heart, Downer and Elton. 



The plum is so little raised since the black wart and curculio 

 made their appearance that we will not devote time or space to 

 its consideration. 



We pass now to the grape, a fruit that has received the 

 attention of fruit-growers from the time of Noah certainly ; and 

 probably Adam plucked the rich clusters ripened beneath the 

 influence of an Eastern atmosphere. It has been a favorite fruit 

 wherever cultivated, not only for table use, but for wine. Few 

 or none of the foreign varieties have ever flourished here, and 

 it was not until the Isabella and Catawba made their appear- 

 ance that our people took much interest in the cultivation of 

 this fruit, and even then but here and there a vine could be 

 found on our Northern farms. Later the Diana was added to 

 the list, and others of lesser note ; but the honor of giving a 

 grape to the country, that was to be extensively cultivated and 

 highly prized from the extreme East to the extreme West, was 

 reserved for one of our own citizens ; and when Mr. Bull sent 

 out his Concord grape he conferred a great boon upon the 

 country. Immediately new seedlings were announced in every 

 direction, each claiming to possess superior merit. In this con- 

 nection we should not forget Mr. Rogers, Dr. Grant and others. 



All this had the effect to call the attention of the public to the 

 importance of this branch of horticulture, and to-day we look 

 abroad and behold hundreds of thousands of acres devoted to 

 vineyards. Volumes have been written in favor of grape-grow- 

 ing, grape-growers' societies formed, conventions held, addresses 

 delivered, premiums offered, vines raised by millions, and sold 

 at low prices ; in short, nothing has been left undone to stimu- 

 late and encourage the planting of the vine. The Eastern mar- 

 kets that were formerly supplied only with limited quantities 

 of this fruit, late in the season, now receive nice Delawares or 

 Hartford Prolifics by the middle of August, from the Soutli, to 

 be followed by immense quantities from the Western and Middle 

 States, to supply the market until Christmas, or past. Lands in 

 some parts of the State of New York, and along the shores of 

 the lakes, that a few years ago were of little value, now com- 

 mand high prices ; and it is claimed that good grapes can bo 



