104 



THE ILLINOI 



E MEE. 



Apri] 



abundant, that tlio fruit receives more sap than it 

 c:m possibly use, and that it is the sap more than 

 the grapes ? " 



There c;in be no doubt that our German vine 

 dressers prune too severely and many of them ac- 

 knowledge it and are giving their vines more space. 



" Dr. Warder's vineyard is in a fine condition, 

 and yet the grapes rotteil badly this year. Every- 

 thing is in finest order and the fruit trees are thrif- 

 ty and in great variety. One sees tlionce many 

 miles of the Ohio. The house stands about three 

 hundred feet above tlie water. As a fruit farm, 

 the Doctor's place is but a few years old. Of the 

 Delaware, I was told they did not like it so 

 well as the Catawba, because, being sweet, 

 they can eat but few of them. They showed me 

 some of Dr. Grant's five dollar Delawarcs. I could 

 see thetn. They looked like dried sinait-weed, and 

 verv poor at that. I find many similar vines of 

 this variety from many other source?. They told 

 me what I had never heard before, that is, that 

 their dogs eat grapes, and they eat th<'m as readily 

 as a hog eats corn. Almost every one I have in- 

 quired or thinks it would be a good plan to hedge 

 a vineyard with evergreens. Beside the protection, 

 it would secure a more equal tenipcrature. It 

 might pievent rot. 



What I have related of the three vines at Bloom- 

 ington would Iciid one to think that the prairie soil 

 is most excellent, if not superior, for grapes. I 

 know that it is a solitary instance, but I sec no 

 reason whatever why any one else may not do as 

 well. I think that success on the prairies will turn 

 upon giving the vine room, so that it may have 

 branches to correspond with the great mass of roots 

 which a soil of such wonderful fertility is certain to 

 produce. If this position is true, no one can esti- 

 mate the value of the prairies for grape-growing 

 »nd wine-making. The time may come when, in 

 many secticuis, a bucket of wine will be more easily 

 obtained than a bucket of water. ^Ve are only 

 beginnning to develop the riches of our country. 

 Clearly it is a sup'.Tior race which is doing it. For 

 two hundred years, California was known by the 

 Spaniards. The Anglo-American got po.-.session, 

 and in twenty years they have developed more re- 

 sources than Rome developed in her whole empire 

 during a thousand years. It is good for us to know 

 these things. 



I should not omit speaking of the Islands. They 

 art nearly opposite to Sandusky. Here grape- 

 growers have been remarkably successful, and 

 comuieneed the business next after they at Cincin- 

 nati. Several years ago I was on Kelly's Island, 

 whence so many grapes are shipped to all parts of 

 the country. From my recollection they have a 

 soil of rather stiff clay and the rock are limestone. 

 The lime used in Northern Ohio mo-tly comes 

 from the Island. They claim that here the crop 

 always is certain. I have understood, however, 

 that they have been troubled, to some little extent, 

 with the rot. It is certain that the grapes raised 

 here and on the shore sell better in Cincinnati than 

 their own grapes. The fruit dealers tliero told me 

 so. 



In preparing the ground on Kelly's Island they dig 

 ditches, pai'allel to each otiicr, three feet deep and 

 thirty feet apart; flat $tones are set up in the bot- 

 tom, so as to form a roof, and small stones are put 

 on these within fourteen inches of the surface, 



when they fill the ditch with si plow. They think 

 the common plan of trenching c?oe.'! more harm than 

 good! Tlicy plow the whole ground us deep as 

 they want to plant the young roots. Their distance 

 is 6 by 8. They triiin on trellis. 



Nine miles east of Cleveland, at collamcr, among 

 other vineyards, I visited those of Dr. Dunham. 

 He has four acres in bearing, and is putting out 

 eight or ten acres more. He has the Catawba 

 mostly, which is the best grape for that region. I 

 did not hear much of the Delaware. Of course, 

 it wou'd do well. Almost all these vineyards have 

 a noithern or north-western exposure. The vines 

 were loaded to their utmost capacity. I cannot 

 do better than to give Dr. Dunh-m's own account, 

 which he has kindly i'urnished me : 



Dear Sir : In reply to your inquiries, I would 

 say : 1st. That in preparing the groinid for a 

 vineyard we simply give our land a good deep plow- 

 ing, and then with a spade prepare a place for the 

 roots. If the ground be sod-land I . should prefer 

 having it broken up late in the Fall, and then, be- 

 fore setting the roots in the Spring, I thoroughly 

 harrow to prevent the growth of grass, wldihia 

 apt to show its self at the edge of the furrow. 

 \Vhcn practicable I sliould much prefer the Michi- 

 gan, or double plow, which throws the sod at the 

 bottom of the furrow, jdacing it so doep tltat the 

 grasss cannot possibly grow, and furnishing food 

 fur the young vines. 



2d. Our method of cultivation does not dififer, 

 materially, from that given to other crops. We 

 use the plow, cultivator and hoe freely, so as to 

 keep the ground clear. We are careful not to plow 

 deep near the vine, so as to endanger the main 

 roots, but prefer cutting off' the surf ice roots. Af- 

 ter the crop has been gathered, we plow, throwing 

 the earth to the vines, leaving an open furrow mid- 

 way between the rows so as to carry off the water, 

 and in the Spring plow from the vines. 



3d. We train our vines to two stakes each (.-take 

 seven f^et long), placing them from twenty inches 

 to two feet on either side of tlie vine. 



4th. We adopt the spur, or short pruning, leaving 

 spur.*, with two buds each, at regular intervals, and 

 the leading cane with five or six buds. When 

 vines first begin lo bear there should not be more 

 than one or two spurs left on each branch, but as 

 the vine acquires strength more should be left. 



otb. Our vines are now seven and eight years 

 old, and this season yielded four and one tliiid tuns 

 per acre. I think they may be made to yield five 

 or more tuns to the acre. 



The reader will observe that here is no trenching 

 at .§75 an acre, nor draining at half this sum: 

 and not even sub-soiling. The Cincinnati grape- 

 growers, in speaking of this method, predict that 

 after a few years vines planted in this way will 

 gradually die out. I could not see it. Suppose 

 they do. It is easier to replant a vineyard every 

 ten years than to trench. It is a small job to raise 

 roots from layers. 



Four tuns and one third are 8,666 pounds. Twen- 

 ty bushels of wheat, a good vield for an acre, are 

 only 1,200 pounds; .50 bu-"hels of corn, 2,800 

 pounds; 100 bushels of potatoas, 5,000 pounds. 

 The average price nf these crops will not be two 

 cents a pound. If grapes will not bring eight cuts 

 a pound it is more profitable to make them into 

 wine. An acre of Dr. Dunham's grapes would 

 make more than 700 gallons of wine. After the 



