84 
A JAUNT IN OHIO.-NO. 2. 
as the case may he; with the two towns of 
Covington and Newport, on the.opposite shore, 
the deep, sluggish, narrow Licking, of Kentucky, 
between them, and these tilled with smokes, and 
frurnaces, also, all gave a character, Pittsburgh 
excepted, anomalous, almost, in America; yet, 
in its evidences of thrift and industry, highly 
gratifying to one who enjoys a scene of activ¬ 
ity and bustle. 
Taking any of the thoroughfares leading out 
of Cincinnati, after passing the gorges of the 
hills— which, in the progress of their cutting 
down and filling up the intervening hollows, 
present a most raw, jagged appearance—a 
beautiful, high, and undulating country is pre¬ 
sented on occasional portions of which still re¬ 
main fine groves of the grand old beech for¬ 
ests of original growth, and dotted with fine 
houses, surrounded with welLcultivated gardens, 
grounds, yineyards, and orchards, many of them 
the abodes of business men in the town, or re¬ 
tired citizens. Here, too, are numerous market 
gardens, nurseries, green and hothouses, dai¬ 
ries, and various other establishments that 
minister to the wealth and luxury, and enjoy¬ 
ment, both of the suburban residents, and the 
people of the city. Many of these, I visited and 
received the attentions and hospitalities of their 
proprietors and occupants, and examined the 
nice cultivation of their gardens, fruits, and 
flowers, in the propogation of which, they show 
much taste and discrimination. Almost every 
one who has a garden, has also a vineyard, 
more or less extensive, of the Catawba grape— 
the grape par excellent of this region, both for 
wine and the table. There are several hun¬ 
dred acres of vineyards about Cincinnati, from 
which many thousands of gallons of wine are 
annually produced; and the best Hock, and 
Champagnes of the hotels are the production of 
the neighborhood. The founder of vineyards 
here is the veteran Mr. Longworth, whose 
wealth and enterprise have proved equal to sur¬ 
mount all difficulties in their growth, and the 
manufacture of the fruit into wines to an en¬ 
tirely successful result, so that wine is hence¬ 
forth to be one of the staples of the Ohio Valley. 
So general, indeed, has the production of the 
Catawba grape become, that it is now, in its 
season, carried by the wagon lead into the 
Cincinnati markets, as common as either po¬ 
tatoes or cabbages, and by its cheapness and 
abundance, is largely consumed by all classes 
of people. The Isabella grape does not thrive 
so well here as at New York; either the cli¬ 
mate or soil not being so congenial to it as 
the Catawba, I should remark that the soil of 
these hills and valleys is a calcareous, clayey 
loam, intermixed with and based on limestone, 
which abounds in the hills a few feet below the 
surface, and frequently cropping out on their 
sides, furnishing any quantity for building ma¬ 
terials and lime. The vineyards on the steep¬ 
est hills are cultivated in terraces five to ten 
feet wide, with a step bank to the next terrace, 
of two to three feet high, the vines set four to 
five feet apart, with usually two vines to a hill, 
and trained to stakes about six feet high. Five 
to a dozen bunches were the products of each 
hill, according to age and cultivation, then in 
full ripeness for the vintage which was to com¬ 
mence the coming week. Mr. Longworth has 
about 150 acres in vineyards, cultivated by ten¬ 
ants, chiefly Germans. This gentleman has 
introduced and cultivated other varieties of 
grapes than the Catawba, from which, particu¬ 
larly the Herbemont, excellent wines have been 
produced; but the Catawba, so far, has proved 
the surest and most profitable of them all. 
Such kinds will unquestionably be cultivated, 
and probably hereafter make equally valuable 
and varied qualities of wine. 
The chief autumn show of the Horticultural 
Society was held the week that I spent in Cin¬ 
cinnati, and well proved the attention and skill 
which is displayed in that department. In the 
luxuriance of fruit, flowers, and vegetables, I 
never saw this exhibition excelled; and in the 
constant attendance of the proprietors and pro¬ 
ducers of these fruits and flowers, and vegeta¬ 
bles, during the exhibition, and their delight 
in the display, so different from the affectation 
of our would-be “ merchant princes and savans’* 
of the eastern cities, who, with few exceptions, 
usually exhibit through their gardeners, and in 
their readiness to communicate all their ex¬ 
perience and knowledge in production, 1 was 
delighted. The fruits are large, larger than in 
our more northern latitudes, particularly the 
apples and peaches, and their size, I think, is 
attained somewhat at the expense of flavor ^ 
yet they are very showy, and in most instances 
fine. The yellow bellflower, a noble fruit, 
even in New York, is here in still greater per¬ 
fection. Many other varieties of apples are 
also cultivated, some introduced from our east- 
.ern orchards, others indigenous to the soil, deli¬ 
cious and beautiful. 
I had long heard of the superiority of the 
Cincinnati markets. They struck me as not so. 
They are full, abundant, and cheap, but not 
superior in quality to those of New York and 
Philadelphia. The sweet potato of Ohio, though 
plenty and of enormous size, is clammy and 
