DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 241 



arc new, rare, and believed to be very precious. It is 

 only when varieties enter into general cultivation, or 

 over an extended region of country, that we can begin 

 to form some idea of their commercial value, and no 

 matter what our individual tastes may be, we must cater 

 to that of the general public if we expect to get a fair 

 return for our labor in the vineyard. Of course, I am 

 not disposed to inveigh against the special favorites of 

 the vineyardist, nor of the amateur with only a vine or 

 two in his garden, for these usually afford the cultivator 

 the most pleasure and yield fruit far superior to that 

 grown for market. A smooth, agreeable flavor, even if 

 it is not rich, will better suit the masses than a rich 

 fruit with peculiar flavor, for these will only suit people 

 with peculiar individual tastes. 



A grape that possesses but very little sugar and very 

 little acid may be agreeable, but not rich ; for a fruit, to 

 be of the best quality, must contain both sugar and 

 acids in abundance, along with the other ingredients 

 that are found in all good grapes. The Isabella, which 

 so long held the foremost place in the markets of the 

 Eastern States, is one of those feeble flavored, agreeable 

 varieties, and the Concord, which, during the past two 

 or three decades has taken its place, belongs to the same 

 group and species, and, while it is far from being either 

 rich or delicious, it is passably good and agreeable to 

 those who have not been accustomed to anything better. 

 The fruits that are most readily accepted by the great 

 majority of consumers are those which do not possess 

 any very pronounced distinctive flavor, although it must 

 be admitted that long continued familiarity and use has, 

 in many instances, tended to lead people to tolerate, and 

 even acquire a taste for, rank and distinctive flavors in 

 both food and luxuries. 



There has been, and there is still, much discussion 

 as to what constitutes best quality in a grape, and so 

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