498 Report oF tHE HorTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
Hammondsport, and were so successful that they increased 
their plantings in 1858. Their example was soon followed by 
others and in 1860, 200 acres were set in Pleasant Valley alone, 
with large plantings in other places about Keuka Lake. The 
first plantings were made on the Yates side of Keuka Lake in 
1855 when Mr. W. W. Shirland set a small vineyard to Isabel- 
las. The first plantings about Canandaigua and Seneca lakes 
seem to have resulted from the spreading of the industry from 
the Keuka region. The dates and places of the first plantings 
are not known but there is evidence of plantings about Avon 
before those in Pleasant Valley. Mr. J. W. Prentiss made the 
first commercial shipment from this region in 1854, when he 
sent a ton of Isabellas, packed in tubs, to New York. A second 
ton sent by him “ broke” the New York market. The Concord 
and Delaware were introduced into this region the same year; 
the first was introduced by John Mead, of the town of Benton, 
and the latter by Henry Rose of Penn Yan. Wine-making be- 
gan about 1860 and the manufacture of wine, brandy, and 
champagne, has since developed into an important industry. 
About twenty-five companies are now found mostly centered 
about Keuka Lake. The acreage of the several counties in this 
region is estimated as follows: Yates, 7,940; Steuben, 5,570; 
Ontario, 2,630; Schuyler, 1,014; Seneca, 1,540; making a total 
of 18,694 acres. The principal varieties grown in this region 
are Catawba, Concord, Delaware and Niagara. 
The topography of the region is more or less rough and 
broken; steep hillsides of the lakes formed both by erosion and 
tilting of the land, ranges of hills, and moraine deposits all 
combine to give character to the district. 
Deep narrow lakes, occupying what are generally agreed to 
be preglacial valleys, temper the climate so that it is much less 
severe than in adjacent territory. Seneca Lake is so deep and 
its water so slow in cooling, that it has been known to freeze 
over only a few times in a century. Ranges of hills protect 
enclosed valleys. The high banks of the lakes protect the vine- 
yards along the lakeward slopes from winds while the water 
