GRAPES IN NORTHERN OHIO 
During the past week, I iuive visited 
many acres of vineyard along on the south 
shore of Lake Erie, and had records by let¬ 
ter of many more. So fur the crop as a 
whole is more than an average, and at this 
time the berries are larger than when at full 
maturity last year. The amount of foliage, 
owing to almost daily showers of rain, is un¬ 
precedented, but with exception of Rogers’ 
15, Eumehtn, and Rogers’ It, 1 find no disease 
injurious to any extent. 
Rogers' to, in almost all locations where I 
find from twenty to one hundred bearing 
vines, is seriously mildewed, and in one loca¬ 
tion the crop may be said to be destroyed. 
Rogers’ !) I find occasionally struck with 
dry rot, but perhaps not destructive of the 
crop; nevertheless it has more than any 
other sort which T have examined. 
Catawba, so far, is exempt, and Iona is 
beating itself in vigor and abundance of 
well formed and, so far, perfect bunches. 
Miles had a little mildew, and so did Isabella, j 
about the middle of July, but it has passed 
away without, creating any injury. Con¬ 
cords, in many vineyards, are only sparingly 
set, attributed mainly by growers to ilicir 
having permitted the vines last season to 
overbear. All the new or first year bearing 
vines are full, Norton’s Virginia is loaded 
with fruit and perfectly healthy in the few 
vineyards where it has been planted, and the 
growers arc ull satisfied of its success here 
and its value for wine purposes. 
Ives and Miles are coloring in advance of 
Hartford; but whether they will mature in j 
advance remains to be seen. Ives, where J 
have seen il trained on stakes, is productive, 
while some on wires are not — probably 
owing only to locality, causing it to bloom 
just when some of the many heavy rains of 
the season occurred. 
Adirondac and Israel la are found semi- 
occasionnlly with good strong canes and 
fine bunches of fruit; but the majority of 
the vines are feeble and unlienl(by. Dela¬ 
ware is everywhere vigorous and the vines 
loaded with line bunches of fruit, having 
unusually large berries. e. 
t hem before they were ripe, in order to save 
I them, and even then they would not bear ship- 
PhtR to New York. The twigs on which (he 
fruit grew also died, so that, some of ihc trees 
looked as though a severe frost hud touched 
them. My ground is mostly high, sandy land, 
those on low land rotting very little worse than 
i those on high. Canyon give me any informa¬ 
tion whether tills variety is subject to decay in 
the same manner when Die trees attain age? 
Fruit in our section along the Currituck 
Sound is abundant. Wm. L, JLamhonk.” 
In all years gone by, trees of Hale’s Early 
that have come under our observation have 
always rotted more or less just at maturity, 
largely lessening the value of the variety. 
We have advised thinning, under the im¬ 
pression that the trees had not vitality suffi¬ 
cient to carry the amount of fruit set, but 
this advice, like most gratuitous matter, lias 
been received, hut not used. 
Hale’s Early, this year, is late, around 
Cleveland. We have just (30th ,July) visited 
an orchard in which were pci haps five hun¬ 
dred Hale’s Early—the trees literally break¬ 
ing down with the fruit set, hut none of it 
ripe; the trees are about eight years out, fine 
and vigorous, the ground having been fre¬ 
quently stirred with the cultivator. We 
shall watch, for disposition to rot as the fruit 
matures. 
Another correspondent of ours, to whom 
we wrote, says:—" 1 may he without foun¬ 
dation, in fact, for my thoughts, but they are 
these:—Hale’s Early has ever shown a dis¬ 
position to decay just at maturity. May it 
not be inherent in the variety, having been 
grown from the stone of a tree upon which 
the disease had exhibited itself one, t wo, or 
more years? If so, then age of tree will have 
little to do with remedying the trouble; on 
the contrary, I should look for its increase.” 
We shall be glad of notes from growers of 
this variety relative to its rotting, for other¬ 
wise we believe the variety one of Ihe best 
early sorts. 
The Nark Apple. —E. Y. Tkas, Richmond, 
Ind., writes that he notices “ some one gives 
the Stark Apple an indecent fling in a late 
Rural, classing it with the Main grape; 
and some months ago I noticed a statement 
from Mr. Hovey, that Stark and Pennock 
were identical: no good reasons for this con¬ 
clusion being given, because, I presume, none 
could be. The Stark and Pennock do not 
more resemble each other than Stark and 
Baldwin, only in that Baldwin is smaller 
than the other two. The difference between 
Stark and Pennock is distinct and well 
marked, both in fruit and the growth and 
habit of the tree. No intelligent pomologist, 
acquainted with both varieties, could be so 
misled as to confound them, I shall he 
pleased to forward specimens of Stark at the 
proper time lor comparison, if the American 
Pomological Society does not sooner settle 
the question.” 
THE KITTATINNY BLACKBERRY. 
AUTUMN PLANTING OF STRAW¬ 
BERRY VINES. 
moist than in this country. It has been 
persisted in and advised; but except in 
small gardens where extra care, amounting 
in labor to more than the value of the fruit 
crop, is taken, its results have rarely been 
satisfactory. The experience of nine out, of 
ten, if not of ninety-five out of a hundred, 
I venture to assert, has shown poor and 
unsatisfactory results. 
It is written by enthusiasts and those who 
have plants to sell, that the strawberry may 
be planted In August or September, and the 
next spring the owner may gather and sell 
fruit to the amount of three or four hundred 
dollars. Let me say it’s all a fil>. The 
strawberry may produce abundantly when 
Ihe plants have been planted in spring and 
well cultivated during the season, then 
mulched in winter and again labored among 
in spring; but the net profit on the hundreds 
ot acres of strawberries grown has never yet 
averaged that of the potato or many other 
agricultural crops. 
Grown in the private garden and carefully 
protected, the cost, of labor is as nothing, 
because the fruit is both a luxury and a 
requisite ot health; but, he who expects to 
make a fortune, “just right off," by planting 
strawberries in autumn, in an agricultural 
sense, or for market purposes, had best think 
twice before setting about the labor. 
A. Tiiorx. 
ter than tin' Rochelle. 9th. Il ripens n lew days 
earlier, (about a week.) lOlli. It is perfectly 
hardy, amt hm never winter IdlUct. In fact, it 
possesses all the virtue* with nunc of the vice* of 
the New Rochelle, except tlie thorns. These 
facts and claims are. I think, amply borne Out 
by Die voluntary lost iinonials of those who have 
tried it long enough to know its merits. 
And now we take pleasure in stating that 
time, which proves all things, has dene insta¬ 
ted the truthfulness of the description given, 
and claim made, nearly four years ago. In¬ 
deed, judging from what we saw during a 
recent visit to the premises of Mr. Wn.uAMS, 
at Montclair, we arc of opinion that the Kit- 
tatinny, as there grown, excels any account, 
of this superb blackberry -which we have 
seen. The plantation certainly far exceeded 
our expectations, and its appearance elicited 
the surprise and admiration of several ex¬ 
perienced fruit growers in the party. Wc 
found long rows of Kittatinnies, with strong 
bushes seven ieet in height, heavily loaded 
and bending beneath the weight of large and 
luscious fruit — the most wonderful black¬ 
berry show or panorama (for many of the 
berries soon moved from the bushes to watery 
mouths) we ever witnessed. At the time of 
our visit (July 31) there were, on less than 
an acre, many bushels uf ripe berries— one 
great advantage of the RitLatinny being that 
t it ripens in clusters, (or many at a time, on 
i each cluster,) and is therefore easily and 
^ rapidly picked for home use or marketing. 
The plantation was put out only five years 
; ago, yet this was its third crop. The plants 
l were set in rows 8 feet apart, the caues being 
J 4 feet apart in the rows, on very thin and 
poor soil. When they bad taken firm hold 
f in the. ground, and had strong roots, the sur- 
ft f;,co sod was hauled back a little from the 
POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP, 
BY F. R. ELI.rOTT. 
STRAWBERRY EXPERIENCE, 
Pears, that are naturally rather green or dull 
yellow at maturity, maybe made beautifully 
rosy tinted by touching spots on them a few 
weeks before maturing, with sweet oil. A light 
camel’s hair pencil brush is best for the purpose. 
As the past, season has been a productive 
one for strawberries, I think it would not he 
out of place for me, and others who read 
the Rural, to make a statement of tacts in 
regard to yield, culture, variety, &c. The 
statement that 1 now make is no guess-work, 
but actual measurement. 
I bnve a small patch, which I have meas¬ 
ured, and find there are fifteen square rods 
and seven square feet of ground. From 
Packing Grapes.—Will “F. G." tell us per 
Rural how he packs Clinton grapes to keep till 
May ?—l. A. L. 
The ernnberry lands in Ocean county, N. J., 
produce this year TO,000 bushels, against 0,000 of 
last year, and are valued at $3,500,000. 
