238 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



succeed in open culture, and I have cultivated many va- 

 rieties which cannot be raised in England on account of 

 their great delicacy. The true Malaga — on account of its 

 exceedingly thin skin, the most difficult — I have culti- 

 vated to great perfection, and it was pronounced by all 

 who tried them, as far superior to the imported Portugal 

 or Malaga, as a ripe peach to a green one. Among the 

 foreign varieties, I rank first the Muscat of Alexandria ; 

 no grape can equal it in point of flavor, and I have raised 

 them weighing 8| -pounds to the bunch, and without an 

 imperfect grape. Next is the Black Hamburgh, and 

 then the Malaga. These three I place at the head of the 

 list of foreign grapes. 



" Among the native varieties, the most valuable I con- 

 sider the Scuppernong, which cannot be cultivated at the 

 north. It is claimed to be a native of North Carolina. 

 This is a mistake. It is a Grecian grape, known there as 

 the Ala-rio, and from which the finest wines of Greece 

 are made. All things considered, it is unsurpassed as a 

 table fruit, except by the three foreign varieties I have 

 named. As a wine ^rape, it has not its equal. It will 

 3'ield fi^ve gallons of juice to the bushel of grapes. The 

 fruit in Carolina is far inferior to that raised in this cli- 

 mate. In point of flavor, one would hardly recognize it 

 as the same grape. This is to be attributed mainly to 

 our long seasons, the fruit blooming in May, and ripening 

 in August and September. The bunches are small, vary- 

 ing from three to ten berries each, and when properly 

 cultivated, the grapes will average from 2^ to 3 inches 

 in circumference. If manured with vegetable matter, 

 they have but little, if any, pulp. If with bones, oi 



