1873 The Western Pomologist and Gardener. Ill 



Spain, il is universally admitted by wine growers that no grape can flourish where lime 

 does not exist in the soil. 



Our great error here, is to follow too much the European me' hods of training. We 

 have not only a different climate, but different families of vines from tliose found in the 

 German and French vineyards. There the ordinary varieties of wine grape seldom attain 

 an annual growth of over two or three feet; here, many of our native varieties, under 

 favorable circumst4nces, perfect canes of from ten to forty feet. If we follow the French 

 and German method of vineyard culture, planting vines four feet by four, or four feet by 

 six, we must necessarily follow their sj'stem of close pruning. This, our rampant grow- 

 ing varieties cannot long withstand. Pruning forces our vinSs to form more wood than is 

 consistent with their economy. If this is repeated annually for a series of years, our vines 

 become exhausted and fail. The aim of the Southern vinyardist is to study somewhat 

 the natural habits of our vines, and not to follow implicitly the advice of European vine 

 dressers in all their teachings. Our native grape vines require to be planted at distances 

 not less than ten feet in the rows; in rich soil still farther apart. 



In pruning, the bearing canes must be left from four to six feet^and trained in such a 

 manner as to afford as much shade as possible. Here, again, we have to work for a differ- 

 ent result from that which the European vintner expects ; he must advance the maturity 

 of hi.s grapes by giving them sunshine ; we must retard it by shading the fruit. All of 

 our native varieties have a dense and luxuriant foliage, which is a provision intended by 

 nature for a certain object — that of shading the fruit from the scorching heat of our sum- 

 mer's sun. The European varieties of Vitis Vinifera differ from ours in that respect by 

 their light, and, generally, deeply lacerated leaves, which afford little protection against 

 the sun ; showing in their case that light is essential to the perfecting of their fruit." 



Origin and Prosx>ectlTe Value of New Varieties of Grapes. 



The past one, two or three years has been fitfully exuberant of new fledgeling or seed- 

 ling grapes, each with as much promise as ever bid good morrow to its parent, either in 

 vegetable or animal life. 



I cannot say that I have some for all, for this is a wide countrj-, and with the most wide- 

 spread of friends or enemies, it is not any one man that is enabled to grasp all; yet I think 

 I. may say I have my share of observation and correspondence relative to the new or so- 

 called newly originated varieties of grapes, their taste and character comparative, together 

 with a large number ol courteous communicative descriptions and ideas of their origin- 

 ators. 



At this present time we have on our list of named and described hardy and so-called 

 native grapes over one hundred and fifty varieties, and of which only one has record of 

 success in all sections, localities, soils, and under various modes of cultivation. * 



We have before us, according to my knowledge, but two men in the Northern States 

 who are really devoting time, intelligence, labor and expenditure towards a rroposed im- 

 provement of the grape suited to general culture. These two men are Geo. W. Campbell 

 of Delaware, Ohio, and James H. Ricketts of Newburgh, N. Y. In the South we have 

 Dr. J. P. Wylie, of Chester, S. C. There may be others. Aside from these three enthus- 

 iastic, careful students, and appliers practical of principle, there are many who sow seeds 

 and base their record on some chance production ; these chance productions perhaps 

 sometimes proving good in the place of their origin, but with no definite parentage to 

 enable one to judge as to their probable success in other soils and localities. 



I like all this, for it keeps more or less of unfanciful .testers constantly occupied digging 

 up and planting, noting, etc. ; but if we are to have a first class grape for general culture, 

 I think it has got to come from some more systematic rule of ))arentage ; whether hybrid- 

 izing, crossing or renewing, by growing from seed of the best again and again, according 

 to Van Mons, will bring the result, is of course yet a disputed point. 



But now let me speak of Mr. Campbell, who, for twenty or more years, has been stead- 

 ily at work raising seedlings, testing and throwing them away, with a consciousness that 



