1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



85 



than we ; if he feels himself able to enlighten and 

 instruct us, he must come down to us, and adapt 

 his remarks to our capacities, so that we can un- 

 derstand him." 



I hope I have not been misunderstood in the 

 foregoing remarks. They are not intended to be 

 hypercritical or censorious ; nor are they aimed 

 at any particular writer in your interesting and 

 useful paper ; but they are intended to convey a 

 gentle hint to all the writers in the New England 

 Farwer, not only to aim at simplicity and per- 

 spicuity in the use of language, but to avoid, as 

 much as possible, the use of technical terms and 

 foreign idioms, since the words in our own lan- 

 guage are so simple, so significant, and so expres- 

 sive. If any writer is compelled to use technical 

 terras and foreign idioms, let him define them as 

 he proceeds, because it is very inconvenient to 

 hold a newspaper in one hand, and a dictionary 

 in the other. John Goldsbury. 



Wancich, December, 1860. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE DEIiA^^STABE GRAPE. 



Mr. Editor: — A week or two since I sat 

 down to my writing-table, to give j^ou, as is usual 

 with me at this time of the year, a little sketch of 

 our agricultural products in this county. But on 

 second thought I resolved to defer my communi- 

 cation until I should arrive in Ohio, and I am 

 very glad now that I did so, as I find myself most 

 favorably situated to gain some facts on a topic 

 which has interested your readers in New Eng- 

 land. You will perceive by the postmark, that T 

 am in the place where the Dclav/are grape origi- 

 nated, and as many of my neighbors at home are 

 procuring the grape, and others doubtful whether 

 to do so or not, waiting till it shall have been 

 more fully tested, I take great pleasure in impart- 

 ing all the facts which I can glean upon the sub- 

 ject. 



Mr. G. W. Campbell and Mr. Thompson, of 

 this place, have been among the most active 

 in circulating and growing this grape. I have 

 been spending a few days in the family of the for- 

 mer, and he has, with great patience and kindness, 

 answered all the numerous questions which an 

 inquisitive Yankee, who does not like humbug- 

 ging, might wish to make. 



Mr. C. obtained his grapes from the original 

 vines, which are still growing about three miles 

 from this place, on the Sciota river, where they 

 were first planted when brought from New Jersey, 

 about twenty years ago. The vines were brought 

 by a ?vlr. Harford, not a Gorman, and one vine 

 planted in his garden, and another in that of his 

 neighbor, Mr. Heath. There they may still be 

 seen. 



These parties believed the Delaware to be of 

 foreign origin, but they knew nothing certainly 

 of the matter. 



Mr. Campbell says : "I have investigated the 

 matter carefully, and believe it to be either an ac- 

 cidental seedling from a native American grape, 

 or a hybrid from an American crossed by a foreign 

 variety. The latter supposition seems to me most 

 probable, and I have boon for some years engaged 

 in a carefully conducted series of hybridizing ex- 

 periments, with a view to test its agency in pro- 



ducing new varieties, and in ameliorating the 

 quality of older ones." A very stong argument 

 in favor of its native origin is the fact that seed- 

 lings from it have borne fruit with a hard pulp 

 and a decidedly foxy aroma and odor. 



When Mr. Longworth first received this vine, 

 he thought it was the Bed Traininer a foreign 

 grape, and many orders for "Delaware," in vari- 

 ous parts of the country, were filled, and honestly 

 so no doubt, by nurserymen with vines of the 

 Traininer. 



This has, no doubt, caused much of the con- 

 fusion and deception (so called) with this grape. 

 Mr. Longworth altered his mind after further in- 

 vestigation. And now, Mr. Editor, I knoi.v what 

 some hundreds of your readers in Vermont are 

 asking, about this grape. "Is it a good table 

 grape ?" and next, "Is it hardy, and suited to our 

 climate ?" 



What we wish is a grape that we will not be 

 under the necessity of protecting. 



As to the eatable qualities of the Delaware, I 

 believe there is not a dissenting voice among 

 those who have fruited the genuine vine. It is 

 pronounced superior even to our foreign grapes 

 in richness of flavor, and as a table grape is far 

 ahead of any American variety. 



As to its hardiness, there is now near the 

 window where I write, a vine, now seven years 

 old, that withstood the winter of 185o-6, without 

 protection, when the thermometer went 28° below 

 zero, coming out fresh and bright in the spring. 

 This and the Logan were the only vines among a 

 great variety in the same garden that were not in- 

 jured by that severe wintsr. 



As near as I can ascertain, there is no grape so 

 well adapted to New England and so worthy of 

 universal cultivation. It has one other recom- 

 mendation, that of being a very superior wine 

 grape. On this subject I may not personally be 

 a competent judge, but I cannot be mistaken as 

 to its "boquet," which is most exquisite, and far 

 surpassing all our ordinary wines. That which 

 I drank was the pure juice of the grape, without 

 the addition of any sugar, and was much superior 

 to any of the other native wines, a number of 

 which were tested at the same time. 



Since I commenced this article, I find that this 

 grape has received the commendation of the Cin- 

 cinnati Committee on Grapes. They say "it 

 ripens three weeks earlier than the Catawba, 

 stands spring frosts better, the grapes never rot, 

 and it is healthier and hardier." 



Now, Mr. Editor, I have no Delaware grapes 

 to sell, (I wish I had.) My one vine, originally 

 from this place, stood last winter well, and made 

 a good growth last summer. Since coming here 

 and seeing for myself the good qualities of the 

 grape, I would not part v;ith it for five times its 

 marketable value, and I wish it could be univer- 

 sally cultivated in New England ; but I would ad- 

 vise those who wish to procure one, to be careful 

 to obtain the genuine, as there have been spuri- 

 ous vines sold under that name. 



The "Logan," to which I have referred as being 

 very hardy, is another, attracting some attention. 

 I have obtained the following facts which may be 

 of use. The fruit of the Logan was first exhibit- 

 ed before the Mass. Horticultural Society by 

 Mr. Campbell, of Delaware, O., in the fall of 1837, 

 when it received favorable notice. The following 



