PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 109 



New York, I umlcrstaml tlio report of the coiuniittee was favorable as to 

 its quality, except tliat Mr. Clias. Downing- dissented, giving liis pid'crcnee 

 to the lona. 



At Cleveland it received a prciniuin as the best grape, but the fact as 

 stated by Mr Lyon, of Michigan, one of the committee, is that there was 

 notliing placed in competition with it except the Catawba, and Mr. L. inti- 

 mates that the award would probably have been in favor of the Catawba 

 had tiie latter been ripe. Mr. A. S. Fuller, of Brooklyn, who visited the 

 original vine in 18G2, thus describes the fruit; " buncli large and compact, 

 shouldered; berries large, round; skin thin, dark, nearly black, covered 

 with a delicate bloom; flesh tender, with scarcely any pulp, melting sweet, 

 but not rich." lie adds: "7/" this variety proves to be as. good in other 

 locations as there, I shall consider it a great acquisition." 



" I have written the above for the purpose of eliciting information. If 

 the experience of t)thers has been inore favorable than mine, I should be 

 glad to know it, for I feel an interest in having the matter fairly tested; 

 and if the pub ic arc to invest the two, three, or five dollars per vine, now 

 asked for the Adirondac, I think they should do so in possession of all the 

 facts that can be obtained as to its true character. 



Tea and Coffee — Economy needed in their Use — Substitutes. 



Mr. Wm. A. Drew, Augusta, Maine, gives us the following argument 

 upon the above question, which we commend to all the readers of these 

 reports. lie says : 



" The object of my present letter is to ascertain from you, or the Farmers' 

 Club through you, what, if any, wholesome substitute for the Asiatic tea 

 may be found in our pastures, fields or gardens ? In these times of high 

 prices it becomes the duty of every prudent housekeeper to study economy 

 in the use of the necessaries as well as the luxuries of life. True, in this 

 war, our ladies can do without tea as did the women of the Revolution ; 

 but ftn* the reason that what were ivomeii then are ladies now, I fear that, 

 so muclf are they under the potent influence of luxurious fashion, the wives 

 and daughters of the present day are hardly so personally patriotic in 

 matters of self-denial as were, the mothers and girls of '1Q. Of course, 

 then, we must have tea upon all our tables witli ever}' declining sun. But 

 when, as now with us, providers have to pay a dollar and fifty cents per 

 pouufl for Oolong, we fathers and husbands are tempted to provoke the 

 question, can anything be gathered or raised from our own soils that will, 

 partially at least, if not altogether, take the place of the Chinese herb as 

 an acceptable and healthsome beverage to wash down our bread and but- 

 ter, our pies and cakes, at the third meal of the day ? 



With rfgard to the morning repast, various substitutes have been pre- 

 pared for coffee, some of which are well approved and in general use. 

 These have largel}' taken the place of the Javas and the Rios. .Indeed, I 

 hardly know of a family now that uses the pure unadulterated coffee for 

 breakfast. My own experience in this matter is as follows : I knew, In-fore 

 this war, that chicory was an article of commerce, and even in cheap times 

 entered into the preparations of ground coffee as furnished to the army and 



