1872 The Western Pomologist and Gardener. JfQ 



A New Seedling Grape.— Tlie << Orion." 



Br Calvin Bradley, Naitvoo, III. 



The grape is one of the most grateful and delicious of all fruits, the most universally 

 cultivated of all fruit-bearing plants, and at an earl}' age yields in profusion greater than 

 any other fruit. It is one of the mo.st precious boons of nature to man. Everj-tldng iu 

 the grape vine is beautiful and noble. The delicately shaped leaf, the fragrant blo.ssom, 

 and the delicious grapes are always beautiful, always welcome. It finds a home in the 

 deep recesses of the forest, it grows on the rocky hill side, and luxuriates in the fertile 

 garden. It trails on the ground and climbs to the top of the tallest trees. By training 

 it can be kept as small as a shrub, or made to cover a thousand feet. After many failures 

 of the early vine growers in attempting to acclimatize the foreign varieties, the business 

 has at last been started in the right direction. Labor, skill and science, aided by energy 

 and wealth are embarked in the business. By planting the seed of choice varieties indi- 

 ' genous to the country, and by hybridizing, new and valuable varieties well adapted to 

 our soil and climate are obtained. Such etlorts must and will be crowned with success — . 

 will give us the grade we need for all purposes. 



Acting under the influence of this belief, I have given some attention to the cultivation 

 of seedlings, and have succeeded in raising a new variety that will be a most desirable 

 acquisition to wine growers. This vine came from the seed in 1866. The first season it 

 grew five feet high, requiring a stake. In the spring of 1867 I cut it down to two buds. 

 The}' made a rampant growth, encroaching upon their neighbors. In the spring of 1868 

 I cut one of these canes down to two bud.s, leaving the other longer for bearing wood. It 

 ■was now two years old and it produced eight bunches of grapes and made a fine growth 

 of wood. In 1869 it matured forty-five (4.5) bunches of grapes, and a large amount of well 

 ripened wood. In 1870 I let it have a little more bearicg wood, and il gave me one hun- 

 dred clusters of choice, well ripened grapes, a part of which were exhibited with the vine 

 and leaf attached, at the State Fair at Keokuk, and left in the hands of Capt. James Math- 

 ews, of Knoxville. In 1871 it bore and ripened one hundred and twenty-five clusters, and 

 made a large amount of ripe wood. It is now five years old, and has borne four crops of 

 grapes. It is perfectly hardy and a most vigorous grower, and I think it may be called a 

 prolific bearer. It ripens with the Concord, but remains on the vine as late as you wish, 

 never splitting or the berries falling off. It is a medium size black grape, compact clus- 

 ters, somewhat resembling the Clinton, but every way superior. It stands where it was 

 planted, has never been disturbed, no root pruning, no summer pruning, and never a leaf 

 taken trom it after spring pruning. I made wine from it this fall, which I think is of good 

 quality. The must by Oescheles scale showed 98, while the must of the Concord showed 

 68 at the same time. I have named it the " Orion," hoping and trusting it may form a 

 bright star in the galaxy of new seedlings. 



DwARP Apples. — Mr. Albert Noyes writes to the Maine Farmer that twenty-two years 

 ago he set out dwarf apple trees of the following varieties budded on the Paradice stock : 

 Red Astrachan, Drap' d' Or' Early Margaret, or Bell's Early and Early Harvest ; and on 

 the Doueain stock. Duchess of Oldenburg and several other varieties. Most of them 

 ■bore fruit the following year, and have continued to do so ever since. The Drap d' Or' 

 Early Margaret, Early Harvest and Astrachan are uniform annual bearers. The Duchess 

 of Oldenburgh, every other year produces a mry heavy crop — the past season it yielded 

 from four to five barrels. A very good way says Mr. N. is to plant dwarf apple trees 

 alternately with the standards ; as you then get fruit from the dwarfs immediately, while 

 the standards are more tardy in coming into bearing, and they will not interfere with 

 each other by their growth for twenty years certainly. 



Mt. Vernon Pear. — The Horticulturist gives this new pear high praise for fine 

 growth, productiveness, excellent flavor, and as a winter sort to follow the Lawrence — and 

 gives the following list of sorts to precede it and to form with it a regular succession from 

 summer to mid-winter, viz : Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre d'Anjou, Lawrence, and Mt. Vernon 



