Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 273 



Mr. ]^. C. Meeker. — It is impossible to tell what is the cause and 

 remedy, since we do not know the nature of the soil. It looks as 

 though thev had been planted on wet ground and had been Avinter- 

 killed. Grapes, particularly the Concord, have done remarkably well 

 on the elevated plateau of Central Iowa, for instance, at Des Moines.' 

 This I know, for I have a vineyard out west from vines grown at that 

 place. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — Last winter was quite trying on grapes. 

 Even the Hartford prolific, supposed to be entirely hardy, suffered 

 much, even in a sheltered position. 



Mr. Caywood. — We lost several thousand dollars worth of vines 

 last winter, owing to the wet summer and fall, which gave green, 

 spongy wood, unfitted to go through the "Winter. If the wood is 

 unripe in the fall the roots also will be unripe. 



Mr. A. S. Fuller. — Some grapes on wet ground will ha,ve dead 

 roots, while the tops will be green. Of course, such will die. 



Mr. H. B. Smith, Westfield, Mass. — Even hardy grapes with me 

 suffered very much last winter. 



Mr. Horace Greeley.—^ good deal depends on the preparation 

 of the soil as to the ability of vines and trees to withstand the cold. 

 I had a piece of rye on low ground which was mostly winter-killed ; 

 but this would not have been the case had the ground been under- 

 drained. I would advise our loWa friend to try again, and if he 

 underdrains I venture to sa}^ he will not lose vines in ten years. 



The Walter Grape. 



Mr. A. J. Caywood, of Poughkeepsie, spoke of the remarkable 

 qualities of this seedling. It was developed by Mr. Caywood after 

 many years of patient trial, and, as they think, is destined to a wide 

 popularity as the American grape, valuable alike for wine making 

 and for the table ; adapted to all latitudes, from ]l^ew Orleans to 

 Georgian bay ; in each of which remote places the vine is now growing 

 and doing well. The Walter is a cross between the Delaware and 

 the Diana ; a Delaware in size and color of fruit ; a Diana in size and 

 the growth of the vine. It does best in a thin, warm soil, and does 

 not bear high feeding. Hence it will be the favorite vine in Jersey, 

 Delaware, and Virginia. It is earlier than any other variety grown 

 among us, except the Miles, a vine little known, and esteemed only 

 for the single quality of giving the earliest fruit. The clusters of the 

 Walter are large, and the amount of sugar quite remarkable. It is 



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