84 STATE POMOLOQICAL SOCIETY. 



Grape vines should, on the approach of winter, be pruned and laid 

 down upon the ground ; and it is well to place on them a few ever- 

 green boughs or something of the sort, especiall}' if the}' are not 

 situated where the snow will drift over them early to protect them. 



In buying, I always as far as possible order of the originator of 

 the variet}' wanted. Next, of long-established and reliable nurser^'- 

 men, at their nurseries ; and then take pains to permanently label 

 the different varieties. A very simple waj* to do that is to write the 

 name on a small strip of sheet zinc with a common black lead pencil- 

 It will last for 3'ears. 



I think that in the southern part of the State, where the long list of 

 grapes that ripen about with the Concord will bareh' mature, better 

 fruit would be obtained b}- planting the best of the ver}- early varie- 

 ties, as they would ripen while the weather was warm and more 

 favorable for the development of that sweetness which onh' comes 

 with a proper degree of warmth and b}' long hanging upon the vine. 



THE SWEET PRINCIPLE OF FRUITS AND PLANTS. 



Reprinted from the transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by 

 permission of the author, 



Dr. James R. Nichols, of Haverill, Mass. 



The most interesting phenomenon connected with the growth of 

 fruits and vegetables, is the development in their structures of 

 chemical principles which influence in a peculiar manner the sense 

 of taste. A variety of impressions are produced upon the nerves 

 of taste, some of which are agreeable and others disagreeable, by 

 bringing in contact the juices of certain fruits, roots, grasses, 

 leaves, etc., in their mature and fresh condition. The sense of 

 sweetness is usuallj- agreeable, while the sour and the bitter are of 

 the opposite character. 



The term sweet is applied to a class of bodies which are found 

 in fruits, and in a considerable number of vegetable structures, but 

 we do not clearl}- understand how the}' are capable of exerting so 

 decided and pleasurable an influence upon the palate, not only of 

 human beings, but upon animals as well. As we walk through 

 our gardens and orchards, and watch the growth of the luxuriant 

 products of the soil, we do not often stop to consider the intricate 

 and wonderful chemical reactions which are unceasingly taking 

 place in everything that springs from the earth upon which we 



