282 lona and Delaware. 



produce is unfit for commerce. It is sold ver}' cheaply, and is emphat- 

 ically a poor man's wine. It is produced mostly by those who rent their 

 land for a term of years. Its early produce and wonderful productiveness, 

 often yielding two thousand gallons to the acre, make it more desirable to 

 them than the better kinds, which do not come into bearing before the sev- 

 enth year ; and then the produce is small, comparatively, — never more than 

 two or three hundred gallons per acre. There is no such reason for mak- 

 ing the planting of poor grapes desirable here in America. Any one able 

 to plant a vineyard at all can be the owner of the land : besides, there is no 

 such disparity between the early and abundant productiveness of our best 

 kinds and those far inferior. With the care and attention given to the 

 vineyards in other countries, we can get early, abundant, and regular crops 

 from such varieties as lona and Delaware ; and in locations where it is not 

 subject to disease, and the season is long enough to ripen its fruit, the 

 Catawba. 



A well-ripened Catawba is indeed a good grape ; yet in my own location 

 on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, where it always ripens, and only 

 once in fifteen years has the crop been injured by rot or mildew or any 

 other disease, even now many are planting Concord, because, though of 

 poor quality, its produce is abundant, and it is believed to require less care 

 in its cultivation. 



Though, with good cultivation and management, the Catawba produces 

 as large a crop as could be desired, and is even more certain than is a 

 good crop of corn, yet it is thrown aside by many that they may plant 

 varieties infinitely inferior, simply because they require, or are supposed to 

 require, less care. It seems to be a constant study with some how they 

 are to grow grapes with the least work and attention ; caring nothing for 

 quality, so that the vines produce grapes. 



It is well known that those who own vineyards in France and Germany, 

 whose wines have a world-wide reputation, make it the business of their 

 lives to produce the best in quality, knowing well that the extra price will 

 repay them tenfold for any loss in quantity. And thus must our vine-growers 

 do before they meet with great success. 



The introduction of the Catawba grape gave to grape-culture in America 

 the first glimpse of success. Mr. Longworth proved that it would make a 



