APPENDIX I. 311 



JUDGE COXKLIN'S VINEYARD ON LONG ISLAND. 



From the Country Gentleman. 



" The facts in the following description were derived from a memoran- 

 dum prepared by Judge Conklin at our request, which, togetlier with a 

 personal examination of the vineyard, will enable us to show the actual 

 results of his mode of cultivation. 



"The first experiments were made with the foreign varieties ; they grew 

 vigorously and fruited uniformly well, especially the chasselas or sweet 

 water, producing full crops of fine grapes for several years. After experi- 

 menting with them four or five years, they began to fail in maturing their 

 fruit, which was supposed to be owing to the severity of the cli'r.ate on 

 this island. A subsequent trial of three or four years more proved tlrs 

 to be the case, after which the open field culture of all the foreign varie- 

 ties was given np as useless. 



"In the mean ime a few cuttings of the Isabella which were planted 

 began to produce some fruit, which appeared to be a pretty good substi- 

 tute for the more delicately flavored foreign varieties, and from the date 

 of this discovery the vineyard was commenced. 



"Situation and Soil. — The grounds are located at Cold Spring Bay, 

 around which the hills are steep and abrupt, leaving but a narrow slope 

 of arable land between their wooded declivities and the shore ; beyond 

 these wooded hills, which rise from a quarter to half a- mile, are fine culti- 

 vated table lands. Below the woods, on a western slope, lies the oldest 

 part of the vineyard, and beyond the woods on the table land, lies the 

 more recently planted portion. The soil, like most in this part of the is- 

 land, is light and porous, composed of sandy mold and a large proportion 

 of gravel, containing small stones from the size of a pea to three inches 

 in diameter, mostly of polished quarts. Some spots are quite alluvial to 

 a considerable depth, formed by the action of the rain descending from 

 the hills; other portions approach the quality of soil called light loam, 

 which is esteemed best for all general purposes ; the under stratum is ex- 

 tremely porous, full of coarse gravel and small stones, with layers of sand 

 but no clay. On account of the steepness of the declivity, some of the 

 ground required to be terraced, the descent t),eing so great as to wash 

 both soil and seed into the harbor during the prevalence of heavy rains. 

 The most abrupt portion was so barren that after it was terraced it ap- 



