120 



FRUIT GARDEN COMPANION. 



comparing the leaves of the native and foreign grape, 

 it will be seen that the former are of a much firmer 

 and more compact nature than the latter, and per- 

 haps, as nature is ever perfect in her works, such 

 leaves do not either perspire or respire so freely as 

 those of the foreign grape, that are of a softer and 

 more succulent nature ; and hence we may infer that 

 the sudden changes do not act so injuriously on the 

 native as on the foreign grape. The wood of the 

 foreign grape is rarely well ripened in the fall, and 

 has generally more pith than the native ; therefore, 

 supposing it was not attacked by disease in the sum- 

 mer, the winter's severity and sudden changes would 

 naturally act very severely on it, particularly on a 

 southern aspect, where the sap is liable to be often 

 frozen and thawed during the winter and early part 

 of spring, which must certainly burst some of the 

 sap-vessels and cause much injury to it. 



The most injurious disease to the grape is the 

 mildew, which always affects the weak and tender 

 parts of the vine, as, the young leaves and tender 

 branches, and from those to the bunches of grapes, 

 which seldom recover when once diseased. I have 

 never been fully satisfied that any cure can be made 

 of the mildew when vines are much diseased ; I be- 

 lieve that when once a vine is affected in any part, 

 the disease is soon conveyed to every part through 

 the sap-vessels, and the constitution of the vine is so 

 materially injured that it takes some time to recover 

 it to its pristine health and quality. 



Whether the mildew is an animalcule or fungus, 

 I will not pretend to determine; but I am of 

 opinion that it is at first generated by a stagnation 

 taking place in the leaf, in such a manner that the 



