THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. X7? 



and it is now decided to examine the Canadian grape with the view 

 of seeing what can be done with them by applying the accrued wisdom 

 and experience of the French vintners to their manufacture into wine. 

 The speedy prospect of Ottawa being a great railway centre ; her easy 

 access to the head of tide-water by the Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa 

 Occidental Eailway or other easterly route, would point to this locality 

 as a desirable point to direct the attention of the French delegates 

 when they come to " spy out the land," which will probably be the 

 case next spring. And it is trusted that the Governments of Ontario 

 and Quebec, and the Dominion will all three unite in placing matters 

 in a proper light before them, at the same time securing the most 

 suitable guides to sho\v them over the country, and advise them as to 

 the best localities for future operations. 



The French Commissioners were favorably impressed at the Phila- 

 delphia Exhibition in 1876, with the grapes there displayed by the 

 Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario, athough these specimens 

 passed over several hundred miles of railway during exceedingly hot 

 weather! The fruit would have been much more attractive had it 

 been seen on the vines at the points where grown. 



The writer is well acquainted M'ith many of the grape growers 

 around Ottawa, and he has yet to learn of a single instance of any of 

 them who have failed in securing good paying crops where ordinary 

 skill and intelligence. have been exercised; at the same time, ninety- 

 nine out of every hundred engaged in the business are extending their 

 plantations, and securing as far as possible any new or other varieties 

 for trial which they do not possess, whilst others are rushing enthu- 

 siastically into the field to add their quota to this new yet fascinating 

 Canadian enterprise. 



Every year brings forth new and sometimes better varieties ; these 

 are being produced by our Canadian and American hybridists, so that 

 the grape list is being constantly extended and improved, both in, 

 quality and earliness of ripening. This leads one to the conclusion 

 that the possibilities of grape culture on this continent, and more 

 especially in this section, are practically unlimited ; and it is predicted 

 that our vineyards before fifty years, perhaps twenty, will rival those 

 of sunny Italy or La Belle France, and wherever either farm cottages 

 or suburban residences are dotted over the land, the vine will be found 

 as one of the necessary accompaniments of health and civilization. 



