PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 257 



fallen to tlic groiind, and rooted again. This vane produced last year 23^ 

 bushels, 40 pounds to the bushel. In cultivation, the vine grows so rapidly 

 that it will not bear nianuriiig. It runs then to wood instead of fruit. 

 Lund that will produce twenty bushels of corn to the acre is rich enough. 

 The berries are of medium size, nearer round than the Isabella, and give a 

 rich, dark ct)lor to the wine. When grown in Central New York, the juice 

 requires from one to three pounds (jf sugar to a gallon of must. I mix the 

 sugar, and ferment it with the pulp from twelve to forty-eight hours, /fhis 

 prevents the vinegar taste which the wine would otherwise have. I fer- 

 ment the wine in barrels by the use of a siphon, or else cover the bung 

 hole with oiled silk and several folds of old newspaper, held down by a 

 ■weight. "We are in latitude 43 degrees, and must use sugar there with all 

 grape juice, to give it sufficient strength to keep. The wine should stand 

 tw(.> years before bottling, and should then contain about 12 per cent, of 

 alcohol. 



Dr. Ward observed that many persons condemned sugar, declaring that' 

 good wine can only be made where the climate is favorable to produce a 

 sullicient quantity of the saccharine principle of the grape. 



Dr. Sylvester contended that if sugar is added in exact quantity it 

 always improves win^e, and he road a variety of extracts from foreign 

 authors to prove this position. To grapes grown in high latitudes it is 

 necessary to add sugar, while in the South it is equally necessary to add 

 tartaric acid. , The quantity of saccharine matter in grapes varies fiom 

 eight to thirt}' per cent. Potato syrup is recommended, the same that is 

 used in this country extensively to adulterate honey. In England wine* 

 Avas made in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by mixing honey and 

 spice with the grape juice. In France, sugar and water are both used, 

 and in one case mentioned, the grape skius were washed eight times, and 

 5,000 gallons of wine were produced from a quantity of grapes sufficient' 

 to produce only 300 gallons of must. In an essay upon the art of doubling 

 the product of a vineyard, the author contends that the addition of sugar 

 is not an adulteration of the wine, but an improvement, and Dr. Sylvester 

 thinks that where must is deficient in sugar, three pounds should always 

 be added to a gallon. 



Mr. George Bartlett. — If the object of adding sugar to the must is to 

 give alcoholic strength, why not add pure alcohol? It is worth now about 

 40 cents a pound, and cane sugar about 20 cents. There is a large estab- 

 lishment in this city, manufacturing sugar from starch, and the starch of 

 potatoes is as good as the starch of grain, and as this sugar must be 

 cheaper, why not use that? But first, why not use the pure alcohol? 



Dr. Sylvester replied that it had been tried to some extent in this coun- 

 try, and to a greater extent in Germany. It is found that alcohol cannot 

 be reduced and amalgamated with the grape juice, so as to entirely lose its 

 character as it does when produced from sugar combined with the must. 



Sugar Corn — A New and Valuable Variety. 



Mr. James B. Olcott, East Greenwich, llhode Island, says: "I forward 

 [Am. Ixst ] Q 



