Loyal Valley, Jan. 5, I883 



Dear DoctorJ 



Thank you for your letter of Dec. 25. Since my last letter T have finally 

 received the white Vitis monticola with good roots, frora the vicinity of Friedericks- 

 burg, through a fairly reliable observer, and have plant ed them. I sent you by mail 

 2 specimens with roots and a pair of cuttings. I hope you have received them. Since 

 the white varieties are observed quite often in the vicinity of Friedericksburg, 

 (probably only because a considerable number of the settlers make wine themselves 

 every year) and since I surmise that also the non-climbing Rupestris grows there 

 in white variety, I have instructed the collector to also send me some specimens of 

 these. 



Vitis Candicans and several other Vitis varieties with large berries grow 

 upward all over in the granite region, there for grow just as abundantly in a granite 

 location as in the lime soil of the chalk formation. Vitis monticola does not occur 

 in the granite region but only in the lime region. In the lime region the white or 

 light red variety of candicans is quite rare, however here in the granite region the 

 white variety is very abundant. ^he peo-pl e w here, above (in the granite 



region) make wine mostly only from Vitis candi c ans , and from fox p r^pe s. Sugar and 

 is added. Here the recipe: 80 lb. brown sugar (some use ♦ * . . however the brown 

 kind does it just as well) for 1 barrel of kO gallons, 1 1/2 b^rrels of grapes are 

 pressed, with or without stems in a trough. Some sugar is sprinkled over the pressed 

 grapes in order to accellerate f ermentation, and some water. As soon as the spent 

 residue rises, the juice is drawn off into a barrel, the barrel filled with water, 

 until it all makes the *f0 gallons and the rest of the sugar (from the 80 Ibs. ) is 

 added. This takes place most often after 3-4 days, reckoned from the pressing. 



After 3 - ; 4 weeks the thus obtained not fully wine is tapped over 



to a different clean barrel, whereby much Sediment remains in the first barrel. 

 The thus tapped beverage in the new barrel remains just quietly open until it has 

 fully finished fermenting, and is then drawn into bottles. At Fredericksburg the 



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