48 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



carried, in England, to far greater lengths than in this country; 

 and nowhere does the inventor find it more difficult to introduce 

 and popularize his novelty. For many years we have cultivated 

 the Isabella and Catawba grapes, natives of the United States ; 

 by degrees they have been introduced into every State and Ter- 

 ritory, and not only may they be seen climbing the porch and 

 roofing the arbor of the lowly cottage, but an immense amount 

 of capital and skill is devoted to their culture, and the manufac- 

 ture of their wines. About the city of Cincinnati, thousands of 

 acres of hill-side are planted in vineyard, and much of the wealth 

 and prosperity of that city may be fairly attributed to the devel- 

 opment of this branch of rural industry. Thus a conviction has 

 gradually grown in the public mind that the Isabella and Catawba 

 are par excellence the only good American grape ; and of the many 

 thousands who will read this paragraph, or go and see the speci- 

 mens of which we purpose to speak, the great majority will be 

 surprised to learn that there are new kinds which bid fair to run 

 their favorites from the market. 



Vineyardists recognize two kinds of grapes, which are as sepa- 

 rate and distinct in their properties and value as can well be 

 imagined. There is one family whose sweet and luscious fruit is 

 fit only for the table ; while the other, whose juice may be said 

 to possess a high degree of acidity overcome with a higher degree 

 of sugar and agreeably flavored with aromatics, is the true wine- 

 grape of the world. The former, of which the sweet-juiced Chas- 

 selas de Fontainehleau is a type, is termed " feeble flavored ;" while 

 the latter, represented by the Catawba, Diana, Isabella, and a 

 host of others is designated as "vinous" and " sprightly." The 

 juice of the Sweetwater, a foreign grape of the Chasselas family, 

 is described in the very name of the variety, and is nothing but 

 sugar and water, with some mucilage added, and soon palls upon 

 the taste of the eater. Let any one who wishes to see the best 

 collection of American seedling grapes ever grown in this city go 

 to the Horticultural show at Palace Garden, and be convinced of 

 the truth of what we say. There, in close juxtaposition, they 

 will see Isabellas and Catawbas, and a score of other varieties, a 

 mere handful, it is true, of the hundreds which are known to nur- 

 serymen, but still embracing all or nearly all the kinds recom- 

 mended for general cultivation. Next to the Isabellas and Ca- 

 tawbas lie some bunches of the Northern Muscadine, a foxy or 

 rank-flavored 'variety, which hardly ever ripens whole bunches, 



