390 [Assembly 



in the second. Younger vines seldom bore until the second year. In 

 the spring of the second year, after planting, he set out posts from 

 5 to 7 feet above the ground, and about 12 feet apart. The rows or 

 posts were from 6 to 7 feet apart. In each post he drove three nails 

 two feet apart, and around the heads of these nails wound wire of the 

 size of from 11 to 13, making three lines. He then took the branch- 

 es, six branches to a vine, and stretched them out on to the w^res, 

 •which would not be covered with the vines under three or four years. 

 He had dipped the wires in tar made of bituminous coal, but (Itemed 

 it unnecessary, as his did not rust much, and he thought they would 

 last fifty years. He had planted his vines facing all directions, and 

 could see no difference in the result. He had pressed out a pipe or 

 two of wine, but had not given much attention to wine making. 



The difficulty in making wine in this country was the want of good 

 cellars. We wanted deep cellars in the north side of hills as they 

 had in Germany and Spain, where it was cold. The difficulty in 

 making wine was in the first summer, when it could not well be pre- 

 vented from fermentation without such a cellar. But if kept through 

 the first summer, then the danger was all over. 



Our grapes, says Dr. Underbill, will make wines resembling the 

 Rhenish wines. He had been informed by intelligent Germans, con- 

 versant with the subject, that our grapes were better for wine than 

 the German grapes, as they contained more saccharine matter, con- 

 sequently we could make wines resembling those of the south of 

 France. Dr. Underbill also spoke of the Isabella and Catawba, as 

 susceptible of producing the best kinds of hock and champagne. 



Mr. Holmes, of this city, said that he had in his yard, in Broome 

 street, in this city, a Scuppernong vine that he procured in Savannah, 

 in 1826, which bore from two to five bushels every year. Its trunk 

 "Was now some six inches in diameter. He had put down some French 

 vines, but they lived only four or five years; but his Catawbas, plant- 

 ed seven years since, has done well. He had some wine of Scup- 

 pernong grapes, made in 1826, and he would bring some to the 

 Club at the next meeting. 



Dr. Underbill said that the Scuppernong vine had generally failed 

 at the North, though it originally came from the same place as the 

 Isabella. He understood the cause of the failure to be this: In the 

 Isabella and Catawba, the male and female principal are on the same 

 vine; while in the Scuppernong, ihey are on different vines; and as 



