PRACTICAL PAPERS—Grape growing. 
3S9 
ness for all. I have no special list to recommend indiscriminately, 
but I confess to an opinion in the matter, formed from observa¬ 
tion and experience, and will try to give it. 
Usually the first inquiry is, “what shall we plant!” Before 
the intelligent cultivator can answer this, various other matters of 
importance must be settled, such as the location, soil and its con¬ 
dition, the wants and tastes of the individual and the culture he 
has decided or may decide to give; for this latter usually has 
little or no consideration. If only the common varieties are 
wanted and he has a taste for nothing better, his list is soon made 
up and his wants supplied. But the choicest grape is as much to 
be desired as the choicest of other fruits, and the list of such 
varieties is not small; in fact I think it more numerous than that 
of the purely common grapes. 
I spoke of location as important. For several years, we of 
southern Wisconsin were cautioned by gentlemen of nothern 
and central Illinois, to beware of certain varieties of choice grapes 
that we were planting, but which had universally failed with 
them, and they advised, if we planted them, to do so sparingly. 
And yet we find them as free from disease as others, and yielding 
annually the most prolific crops. 
A gentleman in our city, who lives on the shore of Lake Mono¬ 
na, his garden sloping to the southeast, has been raising success¬ 
fully for years, the delicious Iona. On his advice I planted i 
without hesitation three years since, but have never succeeded in 
getting vigorous growth of fruit, though I hope for a small 
amount of the latter the coming season. My garden is on the 
opposite side of the city from his, on the shore of Lake Mendota, 
sloping to the northwest, and I know of no difference in our soils. 
He, from his experience, would probably advise my neighbor to 
plant the Iona. I, from mine, should'advise him to plant it, if at all, 
only for trial, while I would advise his neighbor to plant it, confi¬ 
dent that he would succeed. The experience of others has been 
similar to mine under like conditions. I cannot satisfactorily 
account for this, but here are the facts, and I mention them to 
show that often within a short distance, with only slightly chang¬ 
ed conditions, we find a marked difference in the success of the 
same variety. 
