190 RURAL NEW YORK 



oldest winery, the oldest vineyard, the first distribu- 

 ting point and the greatest number of varieties. 

 Many of these have been originated the^'e and some 

 of them have been the basis of the best American 

 sorts. Finally, there has been centered there a corps 

 of viticulturalists whose names will long be perpet- 

 uated by horticulturists because of their many and 

 varied contributions to the industry, chief among 

 whom were the several generations of the family of 

 Downings whose nurseries were at Newburg. 



Like other fruits grown in this region, the grape 

 follows closely the shores of the river from Newburg 

 northward. It is a narrow irregular tract of stony 

 mountainous country, with pockets of stony, sandy 

 and silty soils of the Hudson and Dutchess series. 

 Above Poughkeepsie and reaching across the river 

 into lower Columbia County, steep but tillable slopes 

 are commonly planted to grapes. The east slope is 

 usually the warmer and on account of the direction 

 of the prevailing westerly winds most protected from 

 the wind. 



The fourth or Niagara district lies in the angle 

 between the Niagara Eiver and the steep bluff over- 

 looking Lake Ontario. It does not reach much east 

 of Lockport and follows rather closely the foot and 

 lower slope of this mountainous escarpment, on the 

 stony and gravelly soils of the old lake beach. In 

 these respects it is similar to the Chautauqua region. 

 This district is far less prominent than the other 

 three in extent of grape production. 



The number of bearing vines in the several dis- 



