PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 233 



the great mass of I'oots which a soil of such wonderful fertility is certain 

 to produce. If this position is true, no one can estimate the value of the 

 prairies for grape-growing' and wine-making. The time may come when, 

 in many sections, a bucket of wine will be more easily obtained than a 

 bucket of water. We are only beginning to develop the riches of our 

 country. Clearly it is a superior race which is doing it. For two hundred 

 years, California was known by the Spaniards. The Anglo-American got 

 possession, and in tAventy years they have developed n)ore resources than 

 Rome developed in her whole empire during a thousand years. It is good 

 for us to know these things. 



Now, if I were called upon to say where grapes will grow best, or where, 

 according to all the light we have on this subject at tlie present, they will 

 not rot and will prove a most profitable crop, I would say it is on the Ohio 

 Lake Sliore. And yet ten years ago they did not know that they would 

 grow there, or there was no thought on the subject. I have no reason to 

 doubt but the southern shores of Lake Ontario and of Lake Michigan are 

 equally good. By the way, it seems to me, that there are as many locations 

 in Michigan as around the little lakes ; on the gravelly hills, and generally, 

 on the ground sandy soil, where grapes cannot fail to do well, and in par- 

 ticular the Concord, for it is earlier than the Catawba. 



The grape region of the Ohio Lake Shore extends along the whole length 

 of the lake, and is from thx'ee to six miles wide. Why grapes do well is 

 of less consequence than the fact; some give one reason, some another, 

 many mention proximity to the lake — one thing is certain, all rules and 

 conditions which are considered important elsewhere, are overturned and 

 of no importance here. Back from the lake, and usually about two miles, 

 is a gentle ridge, not far from a hundred feet high, or at the distance named 

 from the lake the ground rises to this height, but more gradually. Below 

 the ridge is a strip of sandy soil, from a quarter to a half of a mile wide — 

 next is a strip of about the same width, which varies from sandy loam to 

 thick, blue, greasy clay, and between this and the lake is another strip of 

 sand}^ soil, rich and easy to cultivate. In some parts strips change places, 

 and clay is found in place of the sand — as, for instance, the blue clay 

 pushes into the lake, and from this excellent potters' ware is made. On 

 the ridges mentioned the soil is clay, in which is abundance of worn slaty 

 ground, though there is considerable variation. In some other places, as 

 above Cleveland, the soil is gravelly sand or even blue clay, and underneath 

 are a species of volcanic rocks, or which show the action of fire, and these 

 form bold precipices along the shore against which the waves dash. In 

 some places it is impossible to get down to the water, which often may be 

 twenty or more feet deep at the foot of the rocks. This is called the iron- 

 bound shore. Such is the general character of this region. So far as I 

 could learn from many inquiries, grapes grow well on all these varieties 

 of soil. 



The vineyards I visited are through a distance of several miles east of 

 Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga. The varieties raised are the Catawba 

 and Isabella. The Cuyahoga originated here. It is said that a gentleman 

 by the name of Whimple was sitting on the steps of a store, one day, and 



