286 THE VINEYARD. [March. 
There is not the least doubt but the Vines of any temperate cli- 
mate, can be naturalized in any state in the Union, in a very short 
time: for there is an astonishing facility in plants to accommodate 
themselves to soil and climate, and in very few more than in the 
vine. The Helianthus annuus, or common annual sunflower, is a 
native of Mexico and Peru; and yet we all know that it now grows 
in every part of the Union where introduced, as well as if it were 
indigenous. The Helianthus tuberosus, or what is commonly called 
the Jerusalem Artichoke, is a tropical plant, being a native of Brasil, 
and is become naturalized to our climates, as well as to those of Eu- 
rope, as far north as St. Petersburg, and perhaps farther. The 
Cherry-tree, when first introduced into Italy by Lucullus, a Roman 
general, from the city of Cerasus, in Pontus, whence its name 
Prunus Cerasus, was there treated as a tender exotic; by degrees, 
it had crept into Britain, where it was treated for some time in like 
manner; and experience now proves, that it thrives in America? 
as well as in Italy, Britain, or Pontus itself. Thousands of other 
instances could be adduced of the wisdom and goodness of the Cre- 
ator, in furnishing plants with those accommodating powers; but 
the vine has manifested itself in so many, and so universally, that it 
is unnecessary to recapitulate them; yet we frequently meet with 
people who say, " it will never succeed here!!" 
It may, however, be proper to remark, that where the Peach-tree 
perfects its fruit, in open field culture, so will the Vine: the latter 
is even capable of bearing greater degrees of heat, and of produc- 
ing fruit in perfection, in higher latitudes than the former, mani- 
fested by the quantity of wine made in many places in the south 
of England, from its productions in open vineyard culture; whilst, 
there, they could not have a single peach, from a thousand trees, 
cultivated in the same way, principally owing to the want of a suffi- 
ciency of summer heat to ripen the young wood; and mild as 
their winters are, in comparison to ours, they, under such circum- 
stances, generally destroy the pithy and unripened shoots of the 
Peach, without doing near so much injury to those of the Vine. 
On the other hand, it is well known, that the grape vine will beat- 
fruit abundantly, year after year, when forced in pine-stoves, with 
pine-apples; where, if a peach was introduced, it would scarcely sur- 
vive one season, at least it would not produce a single fruit worth 
eating the second. 
Before entering on the general culture, f shall give a short de- 
scription of the varieties of the grape, hitherto cultivated in Europe, 
either for making wine, or for the table; many of which are now un- 
der trial at the Sfiring-Mill Vineyard, within fourteen miles of Phi- 
ladelphia, the property of a company incorporated by the legislature 
of Pennsylvania, " for the promotion of the culture of the Vine" and 
under the superintendence of My. Peter Legaux, an experienced 
Vine-dresser, and a gentleman of worth and science. 
These I shall divide into three classes, in the order of their ripen- 
ing. 1. Those which ripen earliest. 2. Those which succeed 
them; and 3, The latest coming to maturity. Perhaps, the first 
class might be best adapted for the more immediate culture, in the 
