12 AMERICAN GRAPE CULTURE. 



Their relative merits will be discussed here- 

 after. 



Location. Having determined upon plant- 

 ing a vineyard, the first point to engage our at- 

 tention will be the selection of a proper loca- 

 tion. We attach more importance to this than 

 some others do. It is said that we need not 

 be particular on this point, since the vine is 

 found growing wild almost every where, even in 

 swamps. This is true ; but the fruit produced 

 upon vines growing in wet places is very ill-fla- 

 vored ; redolent, indeed, of that peculiar odor 

 popularly called " foxy ;" the skin is thick, 

 tough, and acrid, and the flesh hard and indi- 

 gestible. If the same vine be removed to dry 

 soil, and cultivated, these offensive characteris- 

 tics become in a small degree mitigated ; show- 

 ing conclusively the ameliorating influence of 

 culture and position. The fruit even of the 

 cultivated vine is more or less affected by what 

 is called a " wet season :" it is found to lose a 

 portion of its tenderness, and to deteriorate in 

 flavor. These, and other facts, must necessarily 

 lead us to attach much importance to the selec- 

 tion of a location that is naturally dry ; and 

 the experience of the great mass of cultivators 



