THE CANADIAN HORTTCULTUBIST. 



81 



large tracts on both shores of the Trent 

 waters, and also a large portion of the 

 land near Lakes Simcoe and Couchi- 

 ching, and also westwards from Lake 

 Simcoe, there are thousands of acres 

 which cannot be excelled for this pur- 

 pose in any part of this Province. But 

 the most imjjortant factor to be consid- 

 ered in forming an estimate of the 

 probabilities of success is the meteoro- 

 logical conditions of such localities ; 

 and it is in this particular, as may be 

 learned from the following table, that 

 much of this large area has advantages 

 over some of the more southern poi-- 

 tions of the Province, inasmuch as dur- 

 ing the period between the latest frosts 

 in spring and the earliest in autumn 

 severe enough to injure the crop, the 

 atmosphere over these parts is much 

 hotter and dryer during the daytime 

 than over much of the more southerly 

 portions : — 



Aggregate op Monthly Mean Maxima 



Temperature at the following places from 

 May 16th to September 30th inclusive, for 

 the years given. 



From personal observation during 

 many years, taken in connection with 

 the material from which this table is 

 compiled, I am of the opinion that 

 during the seasons included in the four 

 and a half months referred to, an aggre- 

 gate maximum temperature of 350° is 

 the minimum of heat required to ripen 

 the earlier varieties of grapes, and that 

 at least 10° of additional heat is neces- 

 sary to I'ipen the later varieties, such 

 as the Concord, and others ripening a 

 few days after that variety. 



The summer of 1883 will long be 

 remembered by vineyard ists as being a 

 very unfavourable season for the grape 

 crop. By referring to the above table 

 it will be seen that the aggregate of 

 350° of heat was exceeded only at 

 Welland and at Deseronto diu-ing that 

 season, and even in the Welland dis- 

 trict the heat was not sufficient to 

 ripen the late varieties before the 1st 

 October. North of Lake Ontario the 

 heat was not sufficient to ripen the 

 earlier varieties in either of the locali- 

 ties given but at Deseronto ; at which 

 place the climate (judging from the 

 observations recorded during the last 

 two years) would seem to be peculiarly 

 suited to the successful growth of the 

 grape vine. 



If the conclusions here arrived at 

 are correct, then people in any locality 

 may easily ascertain if that place is 

 suitable for the successful cultivation 

 of the grape plant, and the answer to 

 the question, " Where may grapes be 

 grown ?" will be : — Where the soil and 

 situation are suitable ; where there are 

 no spring frosts after the 15th of May; 

 where there are no autumnal frosts 

 eai-lier than the 1st of October more 

 severe than two or three degrees below 

 the freezing point on an occasional night, 

 and where the maxima temperatures of 

 the several months between the dates 

 given shall at least be three hundred 

 and sixty degrees, i. e., that from the 

 16th of May to the 1st of October — 

 138 days — the maximum daily tem- 

 perature must average over 72°. 

 Throughovit this tract of country, ex- 

 tending nearly 200 miles from east to 

 west, and ranging in width from 5 to 

 20 miles, many thousands of acres of 

 land may be found where the quality 

 of the soil and its exposure are emi- 

 nently suited for this purpose, and of 

 but little value for ordinary agricul 

 tural purposes, and where the climatic 

 conditions favor the orrowth of our 



