FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
6 l 
species or raisin grapes that are so ex¬ 
tensively grown on the western coast, in 
California, for wine and raisins, whilst I 
have given them, that is, most of those 
grown on a large scale there, and some 
that are not, a trial, I have never found 
any that gave much promise of profit ; 
though you can grow a few for home use, 
and they are quite enticing for the novice 
to experiment with. You see glowing ac¬ 
counts in the papers of this one or that one 
having phenomenal success with these 
choice varieties and promising to revolu¬ 
tionize grape culture in Florida. You 
hear the report quite distinctly, but listen 
in vain for the echo. 
There are two kinds of the Vinifera 
varieties that seem to be worthy of more 
extensive notice and also a trial. The 
one that I am acquainted with is the one 
known as the St. Augustine grape. It is 
thin of skin and of a good flavor, quite 
thrifty and prolific, ripening in July, bun¬ 
ches are large, berries resembling the Ca¬ 
tawba ; but the bunches are not so compact. 
It thrives in and around St. Augustine, 
and is supposed to have been brought from 
Maderia by the Spanish in the early settle¬ 
ment of the place. It seems to flourish 
and fruit with as little care as the Scup- 
pernong, but ripening so much earlier than 
the Scuppernong helps to extend the sea¬ 
son for this fruit. Then at St. Augustine 
they have a blackish-purple grape, pretty 
much the same as the above, and of the 
same family, but having larger berries 
and ripening when the other is about 
gone. It is quite prolific. Both of 
them are supposed to come from Spain. 
I traced their ancestry back for about one 
hundred years, and then it seemed to end; 
but all agree that it was brought from 
Spain with the earliest settlement of St, 
Augustine. 
There is still another grape, said to 
grow on the Keys in and around Key 
West. I wrote to the board of trade of 
Key West about the grape, but failed to 
get any definite information. 
From all I could learn, the grape is of 
the Vinifera species, and without a doubt 
came from Spain, though some say Eng¬ 
land ; but this I doubt. The vine is said to 
be quite a thrifty grower and quite a pro¬ 
lific bearer. The grape is as large or larg¬ 
er than the Niagara. The fruit itself is 
reported to resemble the famed Malaga, 
in color a reddish-purple, bunches large, 
said to weigh from five to seven pounds. 
Indeed, I have been told some of them 
have been known to weigh as much as 
twenty pounds; but I would advise taking 
quite a liberal pinch of salt with the state¬ 
ment about the size and weight of these 
bunches. In fact, it would be well, per¬ 
haps, to take a grain or so with the whole 
story. Mr. E. V. Blackman is the only 
one I have ever met that claims to have 
seen the grape, and he says he has seen 
the bunches that would weigh from five 
to twelve pounds each. Some years ago 
I had a talk with James Mott about this 
grape. He took a trip to the Keys par¬ 
ticularly to find this grape,'and if I re¬ 
member rightly, failed to do so. The vine 
is said to be quite tender, but in time 
this might be overcome. I think perhaps 
Mr. E. V. Blackman could give us some 
definite information, he being so close to 
where it is said to grow. I think it well 
worth further investigation than I have 
been able to give it. 
Now as to the fig. This is another 
fruit, if you will allow me to call it a fruit; 
for really it is not a true fruit. That 
which we call fruit being the fleshy recep^ 
tacle, of a conical form attached to the 
1 )ranch bv the narrow end, the broad end 
