THE CONCORD GRAPE AND ITS ORIGINATOR. 27 



when it is realized that this grape was to be the parent of practi- 

 cally all of our best hardy native varieties, when it is understood 

 that an industry was to be created by this discovery, an industry 

 which increased so rapidly that within fifteen years of the appear- 

 ance of the Concord grape, vineyards aggregating thousands of 

 acres were planted all over the country, and the grape which had 

 heretofore been a luxury among a few people was to be placed 

 within reach of the simplest householder, then, perhaps, one can 

 grasp the breadth of this man's work and what it should mean to 

 his country. One very important result of Mr. Bull's work was 

 the arousing of an enthusiasm in others to experiment along the 

 lines of his discovery. ]\Ir. Bull was most anxious for this and 

 he said in an address before the jNIassachusetts State Board of 

 Agriculture: 



"Now I want your help. I have given my life to this work, not 

 solely for the benefit of others, not alone for a selfish purpose, but 

 because I must do it. The enthusiasm which has animated me in 

 regard to grape culture for thirty-five years does not abate, but 

 increases with increasing years; and so long as I live I shall go on 

 with my work. But I must depart, and if somebody does not 

 follow it up, we shall never have what we ought to have — an 

 American grape which shall excel all others." 



The later years of Mr. Bull's life do not present the bright and 

 happy picture that we wish they might. The many disappoint- 

 ments incident upon the introduction of his later seedlings and the 

 treatment at the hands of the men he had trusted had a marked 

 effect upon his nature and helped to change him from a simple, 

 frank, neighborly man to one of suspicion and bitterness toward 

 his fellow men, so that his life became more or less that of a recluse. 

 It was only the advent of a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture 

 which could draw him from his retirement. These meetings 

 seemed to be the one connecting link with the life of the past and 

 Mr. Bull loved to attend them and give to them his best thought. 



Mr. Bull had built a small greenhouse behind his cottage where 

 he spent much of his time cultivating tender grapes and flowers, 

 and here at all times in his later life he might be found caring for 

 the plants which were the only solace of his lonely and simple life. 

 He lived, however, to see one of the results of his labors, the Con- 



