20 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



1871 



The soils of many of the celebrated French wine 

 districts are sandy or gravelly, and contain an un- 

 usually large proportion of lime and iron. Stones 

 in the soil are considered no disadvantage, though 

 natural or artificial drainage is always indispensable. 

 Valuable grapes are cultivated sometimes on soil so 

 poor that they will bear hardly a crop of mulleins. 

 The finest French wines come from the poorest 

 soils, the quality being in inver.se ratio to the quan- 

 tity. Thus an acre yields hardly more than one 

 hundred and fifty gallons of the choicest grape juice. 

 The yield of Medoc and the Cole d'Or of Burgundy 

 is only two hundred and fifty gallons to the acre, 

 while in rapidly descending scale of quality are 

 products of grape juice of 1,000, 3,000 or even 3,000 

 gallons to the acre. This is illustrated by the story 

 of the vineyard of Clos Vougeot, the seat of an old 

 monastery. From eighty acres the monks only ob- 

 tained 1,200 gallons of very choice wines, the pro- 

 duct of vines 400 or 500 years old. The French 

 revolution dispossessed the monks, and their secular 

 successors obtained from new vines on the same 

 ground not less than 18,000 gallons of the poorest 

 and sourest wine. Young, and recently manured 

 vines, are considered in France on a par, and unfit 

 to produce good wine. In France they manure 

 once in three years ; in Medoc once in seven to ten 

 or even twenty years. To diminish the yield and 

 .perfect the fruit, the vines ar-e somewhat crowded 

 to the extent of from 10,000 to 35,000 on a single 

 acre. A common number is 4,444, that is three feet 

 apart in each direction. 



In this country we want to obtain the largest 

 pos.sible product of ripe grapes, but we have much 

 to learn from European experience. Our grapes 

 frequently remain sour and never ripen ; from the 

 excessive use of stimulating manures, which induces 

 overgrowth and overbearing. We think that young 

 vines in New England are frequently ruined by 

 rich artificial soil in which they are set, or by a 

 subsequent surfeit of animal manures. Mineral ma- 

 nures, such as lime, plaster, ground bone and 

 oxides of iron, need less caution. Not the least 

 advantage of the souche is the severe compulsory 

 winter pruning to which it will subject many of our 

 varieties. A few varieties, like the Rogers' hybrids, 

 are perhaps too rampant for this severe treatment, 

 but they are varieties which thrive with the least 

 amount of care. With many varieties it will be de- 

 sirable, even on the soucJu; to reduce the number of 

 bunches one-half to secure good ripening. 



Pleasant Valley Grapes and Wine. 



The following statement of the growth and the 

 extent of grape and wine interest in Steuben Co. 

 N. Y., is from the Pleasant Valley Fruit and Wine 

 Reporter: — 



One of the largest and leading grape growing 



and wine making interests in the United States, 

 east of the Rocky Mountains, is in Central N. Y., 

 in latitude 43" 30 min. north, and longitude 30 min. 

 west of Washington City, D. C, at an elevation 

 above tide water of nearly 700 feet, in what is pop- 

 ularly known as Pleasant Valley, and around Lake 

 Keuka, lying partly in Steuben and partly in Yates 

 counties. Here vine culture as a business begun in 

 1854, by the planting of Catawba and Isabella vines. 

 These varieties had been growing here in gardens 

 for 30 years before. The area of land suited to the 

 growth and maturity of these grapes was at first 

 thought to be very limited, much more so than 

 since proved. 



From a small beginning in 1854-5, with two vari- 

 eties of vine only, the enterprise has gone on stead- 

 ily increasing until now there are, it is variously 

 estimated, in this Pleasant Valley and about Lake 

 Keuka, from 5000 to 7000 acres in vines of all kinds 

 and ages, and that ?3i and perhaps more, are of 

 bearing age, though not all of good fruit bearing 

 strength — for in grape culture as it is in other, ig- 

 norance and short-sighted cupidity have a place oc- 

 cupied and yield their fruits. The kinds now chief- 

 ly grown are Catawba, Isabella, Delaware, Diana, 

 lona and Concord, while there are many others 

 growing in less quantities. That a perfect under- 

 standing may be had of the proportions planted, 

 let 40 stand for the whole, 35 for Catawba, 6 for 

 Isabella, 3 fen- Delaware, 3 for lona, 1 for Concord; 

 1 for Diana — and as there remains one-fortieth, let 

 this include Israella, Hartford Prolific, Keuka, Wal- 

 ter, Eumelan, Salem, Clinton, Norton's Virginia, 

 Ives' Seedling, Creveling, Adirondac, Rebecca, 

 Mottled, Aliens Hybrid, some of Rogers' as 4, 5, 

 15 To Kalon, Oporto, Una, Cape, Alvey, Rulander 

 Taylor, Maxatawney, Union Village, Lydia, Mary 

 Ann, Anna, Herbemont, and perhaps a few others. 



The average annual yield per acre, taking the whole 

 acreage in bearing is estimated at 3000 lbs. Some 

 vineyards of Csrtawba, Isabella and Concord,Vlo some- 

 times yield 4 tons and even more per acre. Other 

 varieties as Delaware, Diana, lona and many oth- 

 ers, do not yield as much in like circumstances. In 

 planting a vineyard, one year old plants of out-door 

 propagation are preferred and are set mostly either 

 7x7 6x8 or 8x8, supported when two or more years 

 old by wire trellis of three wires, number 11 or 13 

 — the first, 18 or 30 inches from the ground — the 

 next about the same distance above the flrstr-^the 

 third greater from the second, say 33x34, thus di- 

 vided so as to be about 5 feet high. These wires 

 are supported on chestnut or oak posts, rarely ce- 

 dar, of the size of a common fence rail, l},^ feet long, 

 driven into the ground 3 or 3J^ feet. Into these, 

 wrought nails or staples, made for the purpose, are 

 driven to hold the wires in place. The vintage 

 takes place from the 30th of September to the 30th 

 of October. 



