THE CONCORD GRAPE .\ND ITS ORIGINATOR. 19 



about the grape, and on the appointed day when he had agreed to 

 bring it into the exliibition he was taken suddenly ill, so asked a 

 neighbor to take it in for him. About noon two members of the 

 Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society ap- 

 peared at ]Mr. Bull's house in Concord and asked why the grapes 

 had not been sent as promised. Mr. Bull replied that they had 

 been sent and the committee were much puzzled but returned to 

 Boston on the next train and went directly to the exliibition, and 

 after some searching found the missing grapes among the vegetables 

 in a very inconspicuous place. The new seedling at once attracted 

 much attention, ifi fact, created a sensation in the horticultural 

 world. It was described in Hovey's Magazine in 1853 as follows: 

 "Mr. Bull's new early and delicious native variety was exhibited 

 before the INIassachusetts Horticultural Society on Saturday, 

 September 3, fully ripe — being more than two weeks before 

 Diana. It has not only proved by far the earliest grape we have, 

 but also one of the most delicious, having in place of the musky 

 flavor of the Isabella the rich aroma of the Catawba, with which, 

 probably, its parent was somewhat fertilized. Specimens were 

 exhibited before the committee, who say that it fully maintains the 

 high character heretofore given it." 



"We are gratified to announce," continued the report, "that Mr. 

 Bull has decided to offer it for sale in April next and has placed the 

 entire stock in the hands of IVIessrs. Hovey & Co. for disposal. 

 It will be called the Concord grape, having been raised in the town 

 of that name, very near the spot so memorable in the annals of our 

 history, and known as the Concord battle ground." 



The report of the fruit committee of the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society for 1853 was more or less conservative in its esti- 

 mate of the new seedling and read as follows: "There are many 

 seedling grapes being raised at this time; indeed a perfect mania 

 for raising grapes abor.nds and among them all five or six are 

 promising, one of these being Concord which had attracted much 

 attention during the past year, and the committee called upon Mr. 

 Bull at his home, September 7, 1854, to examine the grape. To all 

 questions put he gave free, frank answers. The vines were located 

 on a southeast exposure, protected from the north and noKjJ/ieast 

 by a hill; the soil was sandy. Some vines had received a coating 



