216 THE GRAPE CULTURI8T. 



ADIRONDAC. 



What is supposed to be the original vine of the Adiron- 

 dac grape was found in the grounds of J. G. Witherbee, at 

 Port Henry, in the town of Moriah, Essex County, New 

 York, and first noticed in 1852. The vine stands about 

 ten rods up the slope, and about fifty feet above the waters 

 of Lake Champlain. The hills at the base of which the 

 vine grows are some two hundred feet high, and shelter it 

 on all sides as well as it could be protected naturally, the 

 valley opening only to the south. The situation is very 

 favorable in every respect for the early maturing and full 

 development of the fruit, with the one exception of being 

 rather too far north for many of our best varieties. 



I visited this vine in the fall of 1862 and took notes of 

 the surroundings, and description of fruit, etc. ; on my re- 

 turn I made a verbal report to the Fruit Growers' weekly 

 meeting at the office of the American Agriculturist. That 

 report, as published, is on the whole correct, with the ex- 

 ception of the last line, which reads : " J consider it a great 

 acquisition /" it ought to have read, u If this variety proves 

 to be as good in other locations as there, I shall consider 

 it a great acquisition." When I first saw the report in 

 print, I did not notice that I had been made to recom- 

 mend a new variety from merely seeing one vine in fruit ; 

 and I am far from having any such confidence in my own 

 abilities as to determine the future value of a grape by 

 seeing only one vine in bearing. 



The fruit from the original vine of the Adirondac has 

 been shown the past season, and still promises well, but 

 how it will prove in other localities is still unknown. It is 

 without doubt a seedling of the Isabella, and may possess 

 some of the faults of that variety when removed farther 

 South. 



The following description was made at the time of visit- 



