VOL,. XXXVII. No. 43 
WHOLE No. 1500. 
PRICE SIX CENTS, 
Sa.50 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878. by the Rural Publishing Company, 
such as he chose to send, that we might place 
them before our readers. 
Concord No. 1 (see cut, p. 679) is a hybrid 
between Conoord and Black Muscat of Alexan- 
I dria. The bunch is large to very large. Berry 
i8 blaCk ’ 0va1, irre S alar in Biz®, the small 
»,msMl without any seeds. Flesh melting, juicy, rich 
with a strong Muscat aroma. Foliage large, 
lobed, serrated, with the appearance of the 
foliage of native kinds. This may prove a 
,, JM firnt-class Grape for the amateur. 
Golden Gem (see cut) is a seedling of (Jlin- 
ton and Delaware. Bunch small, shouldered ; 
berry, ovai, size of the Delaware. Flesh soft, 
melting, with a racy flavor not to be found in 
any other grape we have ever tasted. Foliage 
BBePPe like Clinton This is ripe with Hartford and is 
perfectly hardy on Mr. Ricketts’s ground. 
HRXy'si A a Gazelle (see cut below) is a hybrid between 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
NOTES ON VARIETIES OF GRAPES, 
D. S. MARVIN 
Oub crop of native grapes is fast becoming 
next in importance to the apple orop. This 
beautiful and healthy fruit has an older history 
than any other one of our cultivated fruits. 
More sentiment, and more poetry are connected 
therewith than with any or all other fruits. It 
has also its intimate relations with our religion, 
for its relations are so close and tender with the 
Saviour, the apostles and Biblical heroes that 
the study of the grape is a part of the study of 
man and the Christian religion. 
Mr. Longworth was of the opinion that Cin¬ 
cinnati was near the northern limit of success¬ 
ful grape culture, but I have twice received first 
premiums at the Cincinnati Exposition for grapes 
grown upon the forty-fourth parallel, and year 
by year we find the cultivation of the grape ad¬ 
vancing northward, for the reason that the vine 
there finds less mildew to encounter, while the 
abundance of tropical heat during our short 
summers ripens in great perfection our early va¬ 
rieties. Indeed this splendid fruit seems designed 
by Divine Providence for cold olimates as well 
as for warm ones, because its flexible trunk en¬ 
ables the husbandman to bend it down and give 
it winter protection. 
As the Grape’s greatest enemy is mildew, it 
must be grown upon well-drained and high 
l&nas. Among its different classes, their several 
Golden Gem. 
varieties, and their hybrids, kinds may be found 
that sucoeed admirably in every portion of our 
country. 
There is, however, no one Grape that is equally 
valuable everywhere, and a close study is needed 
to develop the facts as to which varieties suo- 
oeed best in each district where like climatic 
conditions prevail. It would be a valuable record 
for the purposes of future reference, if t' e sev¬ 
eral correspondents of the Rural would give 
truthful and unbiased statomeuts of which varie¬ 
ties succeed best in their respective neighbor¬ 
hoods. This I will now do with regard to the 
varieties that thrive best in northern New York. 
I value them in about the following order, for 
this district. Those marked with a 6tar are 
early, tuose with a cross are moat subject to 
mildew. The many other varieties that I am 
testing will hereafter be reported upon. 
* x Delaware. x Agawam, 
* Huun-litn, x VViiite Delaware, 
* l reveling. * x Masmisolt, 
1 Ajlir.mdac, * Hartf .rn ProllHc, 
*W.>rdeii. x Croton, 
* Whitehall, x Autiichon, 
M ixatmvny, * x Brant, 
x Walter, x Nenasqua, 
* '-‘‘dy. Isabella, 
•Champion, Alvey. 
Concord, * Mites, 
Iona, * Sherman, 
. ; rae , n »> Rent*. 
•Martha, Ives, 
Diana, x Uelvirtero, 
Telegraph, x Allen's, 
Dulon Village, Cottage, J 
x Rebecca, * .Janesville, 
•xVViuier. Mary Ann, 
•x Brighton, Svnthia Ann, 
* x Merrimac, x Othello, 
x Salem. x Catawba. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
RICKETTS’S GRAPES 
—we might say, perhaps, thousands upon 
thousands, and there are bnt a few varieties 
for which even the claim is now made of superi¬ 
ority over old sorts. Among Hybrids, Mr. 
Ricketls s varieties have claimed a large share 
of public interest and admiration as they 
have been exhibited at our chief fairs for sev¬ 
eral years past. Many of them are beautiful to 
look at; many aro all that could be desired for 
eating qualities. But are they fit for general cul¬ 
tivation ? Nobody can answer this question. 
Except Lady Washington which is now offered 
for sale, a life portrait of which was presented 
in this journal of Nov. 10. 1877, the public as 
yet has had little opportunity of knowing any¬ 
thing about their adaptahilily to different situ¬ 
ations and climates. Mr. Ricketts, several years 
ago, sold his Secretary which, we believe, is now 
offered by certain nurserymen. This is a black 
grape riponiug with the Concord, The bunches 
are very large and it has proved with us very 
fruitful, but there seems no special merit about 
it that will insure its widespread popularity. 
Several other of his varieties were sold to Messrs. 
A. Hanoe A Son of Red Bank, N. J., specimens 
of which were by that establishment sent to us 
for trial. Their names are El Dorado. Don .r n » n 
GRAPE NOTES FROM NORTH CAROLINA 
M. B. PRINCE, 
The reader must bear in mind that these re¬ 
marks are only intended to apply to this im¬ 
mediate vicinity, and may or may not be true 
of other localities only a few miles away. For 
instance, less than ten miles from this place 
grapes have rotted to a serious extent during 
the past two seasons, no variety entirely escap¬ 
ing, while iu my own vineyard but little rot was 
noticed last year, aud then only on a few va¬ 
rieties, and there has been none at ail this year. 
In preparing this article I acknowledge the aid 
of the pioneer in grape culture here, Mr. Henry 
Smith, who has spent the best part of a life¬ 
time in the vineyards of France, a few years on 
l he shores of Lake Erie, and the past seven years 
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