NOMENCLATURE OF GRAPES. 187 



eight or nine inches long on the old and strong vines, and 

 weigh about a quarter of a pound each ; the berries begin to 

 form a conical bunch on the stem at a distance of several 

 inches from the place of its attachment to the wood ; they 

 are round and a little flattened at the end, and about the size of 

 the Meunier ; they do not contain a great quantity of juice, but 

 what they yield is of the richest quality; the skin is replete 

 with a violet coloured matter, which imparts to the wine a shade 

 equal to the Tinto Madeira, which last it resembles as well in 

 taste as in appearance. 



In conclusion, I will state a remark of Dr. Norton, to* whom 

 I am indebted for the most part of the foregoing description, 

 that " for the purpose of making wine, this is hardly to be 

 excelled by any foreign variety." 



YORK MADEIRA. PR. CAT. No. 407. 



It certainly is a pitiful course for Americans to be continu- 

 ally adopting foreign titles for the natural productions of their 

 own soil. It would seem to indicate a total unbelief in the 

 value of our indigenous productions, which I trust is but sel- 

 dom the case, for I had hoped that the period at which we un- 

 dervalued the blessings which Providence has showered on 

 our favoured land had long since passed away. I cannot re- 

 frain from giving place to these remarks from the great con- 

 fusion and misconception which is caused on all sides by this 

 false nomenclature, and I propose that the foreign titles be 

 dropped in every case and appropriate ones substituted. 



This vine, with the foreign title of Madeira, is a genuine 

 native, and proves, on examination, to be the same as the Al- 

 exander, or Schuylkill muscadel. It is very extensively culti- 

 vated in the vineyards in the vicinity of York, Pennsylvania, 

 and it is this kind which is at present relied on in those vineyards 

 for a crop, but the native variety called there the Claret, and 

 the fine native Catawba, are expected by some of the most 

 intelligent cultivators of that locality to take precedence and 

 supersede the variety first named. 





