NEW  YORK  CITY,  SEPT.  30,  1876, 
VOL.  XXXIV.  No.  14.1 
VVIIOL.E  No.  1 
PRICK  »I3C  CENTS 
»‘4.,'S0  PER  YEAR. 
IRntered  acoordlni?  to  Act  ot  Oon(fro*.i,  tn  tho  year  1876,  by  the  Rural  Publlshlnsr  Company,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Oongregg  at  Waahlngton.i 
®(jc  IJiluuilrt. 
MINER’S  SEEDLING  GRAPES. 
We  have  received  from  time  to  time,  during 
last  year  and  this,  several  samples  of  what  ap¬ 
peared  to  be  vei'y  promising  new  varieties  of 
drapes  from  the  gronuds  of  Mr.  T.  B.  Mixeu  of 
Linden,  N.  J.  Boliovlng  it  to  ho  a  matter  of 
public  interest,  wo  at  length  oonohided  to  exam¬ 
ine  those  drapes  in  tho  vineyanl,  and  aooordingly 
visited  Idnden  on  Wednesday,  Sept.  13.  Sir. 
MrjiBii  has  about  40  varieties,  which  are  the  best 
of  about  1,500,  all  raised 
from  tho  Conconl  abont 
ton  years  ago  in  Clinton, 
N.  Y,,  whore  lie  Uien  re¬ 
sided.  Among  these 
Grapes  originally  were 
many  white  varieties,  six¬ 
teen  of  which  were  pre¬ 
served  and  are  now  grow¬ 
ing  at  Linden.  Tho  re¬ 
mainder  of  tho  forty  sorts 
are  black.  All  of  these 
Grapes  'fruited  at  Clinton 
previous  to  the  vines  being  r"  ^ 
removed  to  New  Jersey,  \ 
and  consequently  thoiri  \ 
productiveness  may  be  V  V 
considered  as  woll-estab-  \ 
hshed.  \  V  V 
Mr.  Miner  claims  to  ) _ 
have  tho  best  White  \ 
Grapes  of  mtivt!  origin  \  '  JT^ 
ill  the  United  States,  and  C  N. 
if  so,  he  may  well  ask  to  f  — __V  ^ 
have  the  fact  made  known  ' 
through  the  press  —  not  X.  1 
that  ho  may  he  pecuniarily  /  ^ 
benefited  at  present,  as  he  X 
has  no  vines  for  sale,  hut  ) 
as  a  matter  in  which  the  ^ 
whole  country  is  more  or  \  \ 
less  interested,  espooially  /  ^  'n. 
as  good  Wldte  Grapes  are  \  ' 
very  scarce,  at  least  va-  X - 
rieties  that  give  promise  I  ^ 
of  being  adapted  to  gen-  j  ^  7 
eral  culture  over  a  wide 
range  ot  country.  As  a  S  . 
proof  of  this,  wo  may  look  (  \ 
through  our  markets  in  / 
vain  for  good,  eatable  I  ^ 
Wliite  Grapes,  although 
Rtxl  and  Black  sorts  are 
abundant.  An  occasional 
lot  of  the  Martha  may  be 
found,  but  these  are  ex-  -X 
ceedingly  rare  and  com-  ^ 
mand  but  little  attention.  ^ 
No  good  Wliite  Grape  is  \ 
to  bo  found  in  tho  New  v.  - 
York  City  markets  —  that  j 
is,  none  which  give  full  / 
satisfaction  to  dealers  and 
their  customers,  while  the  j 
demand  for  such  varieties 
is  groat  and  remains  un- 
Bupplied,  consequently  we 
may  repeat  what  we  have 
frequently  said  before— 
that  the  person  who  pro¬ 
duces  a  White  Grape 
equal  to  the  Concord  in 
productiveness  and  early 
ripening,  adapted  like  it 
to  all  sections  of  the  coun¬ 
try  and  of  as  good  quality, 
will  be  a  public  benefac¬ 
tor.  We  do  not  name  the 
Concord  as  a  standard  of 
great  excellence  in  the 
quality  of  tho  fruit ;  but  it  is  quite  satisfactory 
to  the  masses,  and  besides,  it  has  succeeded  in 
localities  and  under  conditions  where  hundreds 
of  other  sorts  failed.  Flonco  its  widospi-oad 
impularity  in  years  past  as  well  as  at  tho  present 
time. 
It  is  certainly  well  to  aim  high  in  seeking 
anything,  but  wo  may  sometimes  oversight  om- 
mark  and  gather  in  no  game  as  a  result,  as  thou¬ 
sands  have  done  in  seeking  extra  lino-llavored 
Grains  homo  on  weak  and  naturally  fcoblo 
vines.  Perhaps  tho  time  may  come  when  we 
shall  have  varieGes  combining  all  tho  good  qual¬ 
ities  now  known  to  be  distributed  among  Uio 
many,  but  until  such  are  found  wo  must  accept 
of  the  best  to  bo  had,  although  constantly  seek¬ 
ing  for  bettor. 
Those  who  liave  been  satisfied  with  a  good, 
well-ripened  Concord  for  a  Black  variety  will 
certainly  be  pleased  with  tho  now  White  sorts 
raised  from  it  by  Mr.  Miner,  for  tho  vines  pos¬ 
sess  the  hardy  constitution,  vigor  and  produc¬ 
tiveness  of  their  parent.  In  fact,  after  a  very 
careful  oxatulnaGun  of  tho  loaves  and  canes  of 
those  Wlu'to  sorts,  wo  failed  to  find  any  oharao- 
toristic  whicli  would  dialinguisli  them  from  Uio 
Concord.  They  have  the  samo  large,  tough  loaf, 
with  tho  brownish  puboscenco  undornoatU,  and 
tho  bark  of  tho  canes  the  aamo  dark -brownish 
or  mahogany  color. 
Wo  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  all  of  tho 
now  sorts  raised  by  Mr.  Miner,  but  merely  a 
few  which  wo  consider  most  distinct  and  promis¬ 
ing,  although  It  may  be  addeil  that  tlio  entire 
sixteen  White  sorts  are  worthy  of  cultivation, 
hut  in  some  instances  the  dilTeronco  between 
tliom  is  not  Hufllcient  to  justify  their  perpetua¬ 
tion  as  distinct  varieties. 
Tho  prosont  season  has  been  tho  severest  ever 
known  in  Now  Jersey,  an  almost  uninterrupted 
drought  having  prevailed  from  the  first  of  May 
until  within  tho  past  few  daiis,  and  its  effect 
upon  Grapes,  as  well  as  other  fruits,  is  quite  ap- 
I  parent  in  thoir  small  uhio  and  generally  undevel 
I  oped  condition,  although  not  deficient  in  fiavor. 
WHITt  VARIETIES. 
Victoria.  -Bunch  quite 
large,  moderately  o  o  ra- 
pact  and  Homowhat  clus¬ 
tered,  as  shown  In  tho  ac¬ 
companying  illnstratiou. 
Berrios  largo,  globular. 
Skill  thin,  slightly  tinged 
and  specked  with  amber 
in  the  sun,  biit  covered 
with  a  dense  whito  bloom. 
Flesh  toudor,  but  with 
some  tough  pulp  at  cen- 
Y  ter ;  of  a  sweet,  rich  and 
' — sprightly  flavor.  Ripens 
/  ’I  with  Concord,  or  a  few 
V  /  j  days  earlier.  It  is  a  showy 
A.  and  handsome  variety. 
7  Aijousta. — Bunch  largo 
and  cluster  -  shouldered. 
*^**^3^  Berrios  medium  to  large, 
—  yCZT  globular,  semi  -  transpa- 
I  [  rent,  with,  slight  amber 
\  tinge.  Skin  moderately 
j/  ^  tough.  Flesh  not  very 
A—  I  /  tender,  witii  some  pulp  at 
J  \/  V  center,  but  with  a  spright- 
^  Uy  y  j  ly,  vinous  flavor.  A  few 
/  \  Concord. 
^  variety,  although  not 
L  HO  good  in  quality  as  the 
^  would  probably  excel 
<  (  ^  it  as  a  market  sort,  on 
p  \  /  account  of  the  large  and 
^  f  \  y  handsome  hunches. 
[  Beatricb.  —  Bunch  is 
s  shouldored,  com- 
A  ^  -X  pact.  Berries  quite  large, 
^  globular,  of  a  greenish 
tinge;  in  fact,  the  color 
may  be  called  a  light  grass 
green.  Skin  thin.  Flesh 
tender  and  of  a  sweet 
but  somewhat  foxy  flavor. 
Ripens  before  Concord. 
Euoenie. — Bunch  largo 
and  compact,  shouldered. 
V  Berries  medium,  globular, 
pale,  light  amber  in  the 
sun,  greenish  white  in  the 
shade,  covered  with  a 
dense  white  bloom.  Skin 
firm,  but  not  tough. 
Flesh  tender,  sweet  and 
juicy,  but  some  tough 
pulp  at  center.  Ripens 
two  weeks  before  Concord 
and  may  bo  considered  a 
very  early  variety. 
Ida.— Bunoli  medium, 
compact,  with  shoulder. 
Berries  largo,  globular, 
greenish-white,  with  thin 
bloom.  Flesh  tender  and 
of  sprightly  flavor,  some 
little,  tough  pulp  at  cen¬ 
ter.  llipeus  with  Concord. 
Cablotta. — Similar  to 
the  last,  but  exceedingly 
