1871 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST 



}^t limgarlr. 



" raattaews' No. 13." 



To Prof. James Mathews of the Pomological De- 

 partment of the Iowa State Agricultural College, 

 belongs the lionor of having brought tliis new grape 

 into notice. We made mention of this new grape 

 some months ago, but as another year's trial has 

 still more clearly established its worth, we feel 

 inclined to refer to it again for the benefit of new 

 subscribers, if nothing more. 



There is some mystery about the origin of this 

 grape. Mr. Mathews obtained the original vine (a 

 two-year-old) in the spring of 18G2 from Mr. E. S. 

 Rogers, of Salem, Mass., labelled " Rogers' Hybrid 

 No. 13 ;" but Mr. Rogers evidentl)', in some way, 

 made a mistake, as this grape is not his true " No. 

 13." It is evidently a chance seedling sent out by 

 Mr. Rogers undetected, as his "No. 13." Still, Mr. 

 Mathews, so far, has thought best to adhere to the 

 original name, "No. 13." the vine received in the 

 spring of 1863, fruited the following season (1863), 

 and has since given an abundant crop annually. 



We first ate of the fruit in the fall of 1860, and of 

 the two following crops. Impressed with its excel- 

 lence, we made a visit to Mr. Mathews' grounds in 

 the season of 1869, to see both vine and fruit. And, 

 though as all know, the most unfavorable season for 

 grapes ever known, when mildew and rot were 

 universal, we found " No. 13," both vine and fruit, 

 entirely exempt from these maladies, while Dela- 

 ware, standing near by, was a total failure — the 

 vines leafless as in dead of winter, and the fruit 

 hanging witheied and sour. And even the Concord, 

 so renowned for its exemption from disease, was 

 much injured by mildew and scab. 



The vine is perfectly hardy, standing upon 

 the trellis with no winter protection whatever, nor 

 has either vine or fruit ever shown the slighest 

 indication of mildew, scab or rot. In form and size 

 the illustration upon another page is a perfect like- 

 ness of a cluster of "No. 13." 



Fruit translucent ; color light greenish, with am- 

 ber tinge in the sun ; skin exceedingly thin, and 

 parts freely from the pulp ; flavor sprightly, deli- 

 cious. 



Fit liOcatlons for the Grape, 



Orapes— Hly tiny are sometlmet sour. Requisite conditiOM lo 

 early ripening and sweetness. 



R. M. L. complains through the Country Oentle- 

 man that his- Catawba and Isabella grapes are stow 

 in coming to maturity, and that there is a lack of 

 sweetness in the fruit when ripe. A correspondent 

 writing from Poughkeepsic undertakes to explain 

 the difficulty. His reasoning appears to us philo- 

 sophical and sound ; seldom does our eye meet a 

 more sensible article on grape culture. 

 "Now the difficulty mentioned by your correspond- 

 ent in regard to ripening grapes, especially those 

 standard varieties the Isabella and Catawba, is a 

 very common one, and I think in many if not in 

 most cases, the trouble arises not solely from im- 

 proper pruning, or want of pruning, but from a 

 more radical defect, that is the planting of the vine 

 in a soil and position not adapted to its require- 

 ments for perfecting its fruit. If the roots of the 

 vine permeate an unfixvorable soil or the sun does 

 not have full access to its branches, neither the most 

 elaborate cultivation nor the most skilful pruning 

 will cause it to produce a proper quantity of well 

 ripened fruit. I speak particularly of the Isabella 

 vine. 



In my opinion what is first demanded for raising 

 sweet grapes, is a dry, warm soil for the roots of the 

 vine, and a fair exposure to the air and sun for its 

 branches. Experience on this side of the ocean 

 begins to indicate what has been fully taught in the 

 vine-growing regions of Europe ; that the best 

 grapes are raised upon the warm and dry uplands ; 

 a great quantity of fruit, and large both in berry 

 and bunch, can be obtained upon the lower grounds, 

 but not the finest flavored clusters. There is a 

 great ditterence between the culture of the vine in 

 Europe and in this country. Our native vines will 

 not bear the rigorous pruning customary there ; 

 this would seem to be an additional reason, and of 

 itself a sufBcient one for us to prefer the dry, warm 

 soils for raising grapes, for on these there is a less 

 tendency to growth of vine. Our vines have a 

 rampant growth, often so stimulated towards the 



