THE CANADIAN H0RTICULTUKI8T. 



269 



quality. Among the red grapes I pi-e- 

 fer the Brighton. It is far the best 

 with me. And among the black 

 varieties, take it all round, the old 

 Concord beats them all. The Concord 



seems at home here. It has ripened 

 now two seasons in succession perfectly, 

 and hope it will continue to do so, for 

 it is unsurpassed. Mildew is a thing 

 unknown here so far. 



LESSONS OF THE DROUTH AND ITS EFFECT ON GRAPE VINES. 



THE DELAWARE, CLIXTON 



BY A. IIOOD, 



r&> ITTLE as we may desire at any 



'^ '' time to be visited by such a 

 prolonged drouth as the one we 

 have just passed through, and dearly 

 bought as we consider any lessons it 

 inculcates, still there is something to 

 be learned even from misfortunes ; 

 something which it is frequently pos- 

 sible to turn to good account. 



The first thing that stiikes me on j 

 looking back is a feeling of surprise j 

 that vegetation has not suffered more 

 than it has ; with the thermometer day 

 after dav, and week after week in the 

 neighbourhood of the nineties, and with 

 soil as dry as dust, it is surprising to 

 nie that some of my plants continue to 

 live ; and that they have lived and in 

 some cases flourished, would seem to 

 indicate that they must draw their 

 supplies from other sources than rain- 

 fall. When considering this subject I 

 have sometimes supposed that as the 

 simple elements of which Avater is com- 

 posed are found in abundance in the 

 soil, and in the atmosphere, that roots 

 of plants might possess the power of so 

 uniting those elements as to furnish 

 themselves with the needed supply ; 

 be that as it may, if they have no such 

 power, then the moisture tliey require 

 must be drawn largely from the sub- 

 soil by capillar}- attraction ; not in 

 sufficient quantities, however, under a 

 scorching sun ^— especially if accom- 

 panied by wind — to answer the re- 

 quirements of vegetation. 



I noticed during the very hottest 



, BRANT AND CONCORD. 



BARRIE. 



weathei", and when we were longing 

 for those showers which we knew fell 

 to the south, while we only got a few 

 drops that would scarcely wet a leaf, 

 that plum trees and grape vines were 

 suftering severely ; the latter losing a 

 great many leaves and threatening to 

 dry up the whole of the fruits ; a week 

 or two later, although no I'ain had 

 fallen, both ap])eai'ed to revive quite 

 perceptibly ; the cause being I pi-esume 

 that as the weather had become much 

 cooler, and the evaporation from leaves 

 so much less, that the moisture brought 

 from the sub-soil by capillary attrac- 

 tion was sufficient for ordinary require- 

 ments. 



As therefore we had more of the 

 drouth than our neighbours to the 

 south, we have had better opportunities 

 of observing its effects, and as regards 

 grapes I find that the Delaware has 

 suffered less than any other kind. on 

 my grounds ; having i-ipened perfectly 

 the whole of its fruit ; which is more 

 than can be said of any of the others ; 

 Clinton and Concord lost so many 

 leaves that part of the fruit shrivelled 

 up and was worthless ; part of it filled 

 out but never perfectly ripened, and 

 was worthless also, and scarcely half 

 was fit for sale or use. Roger's No. 9, 

 15, and Salem, wei'e nearly as bad, and 

 might have been worse if the crop had 

 been as heavy. 



With the excejition of the time when 

 the grape vine leaf hopper attacked my 

 Dela\vai-e I have always raised as 



