FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
83 
fourth wire was added, and all vines 
the first planting were trimmed to fruit¬ 
ing spurs, the best and only principle for 
Florida. All my vines begin their spurs 
ten inches from the ground; to get them 
depends on the management of the 
spring growth the year before, which 
naturally is all-important, in fact, the 
foundation of the vine. 
Each vine received about April i two 
and one-half pounds of blood and bone 
and potash, and at this writing they have 
again covered the four wire trellis, and 
with very few exceptions are full of most 
promising fruit. Spraying is done every 
ten or twelve days, depending much on 
the weather, and will be kept up until 
fruit shall begin to ripen. By the end 
of June I shall be able to present to any¬ 
one the finest collection of ripe Vinifera 
grapes ever seen in Florida. 
Still, no variety could yet be safely 
recommended ; but at your next meeting 
I shall be able to name some varieties 
that can be planted with a fair chance 
of success—if grafted on Vitis riparia or 
rupestris only. 
GRAPES, FIGS, KAKI. 
By W. D. Griffing, of the Committee. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
Very little interest is manifested in 
any kind of fruit growing for commer¬ 
cial purposes, outside of the citrus fam¬ 
ily, by this Society; and for this reason 
many of the meetings have been of very 
little value to some of the members in 
the northern and western part of the 
State. 
The subject of grapes, figs and kaki 
will, no doubt, be of interest to some of 
the members of the Society, as fruits for 
home uses at least. We try to have a 
few of all the varieties we grow in fruit¬ 
ing, which amounts to the same thing as 
the average grower having a few for 
home use. In grapes we have quite suc¬ 
cessfully fruited all varieties of the Mus¬ 
cadine class, and believe them perfectly 
at home in any part of Florida. The 
Thomas is the earliest with us by about 
ten days, and is about the best for eating 
out of hand. This is closely followed by 
the Scuppernong, which by many is con¬ 
sidered best of all. Tenderpulp is val¬ 
uable for canning. The James is com¬ 
paratively new and is a very large, fine- 
looking fruit that sells well in local mar¬ 
kets; is also of fair quality, but in my 
estimation not up to either Thomas or 
Scuppernong. It ripens later and lasts 
longer. We have had James until frost. 
We have also succeeded in getting 
very fine specimen bunches of most of 
the trellis varieties that we have tested, 
but find they must be on thoroughly 
well drained land of good quality. Ives, 
Concord, Niagara and Moore’s Early are 
the most easily raised, but with special 
care we have raised as fine DeTawares 
as I ever saw. 
FIGS. 
My experience with figs has been 
mostly with the native varieties, of which 
