AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
495 
the  Catawba  is  more  liable  to  the  rot,  the  wine  it  produces  is  so  much  su- 
perior to  all  others  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  only  variety  that  is  culti- 
vated here  with  the  view  of  wine-making.  There  are  at  present,  within  a 
short  distance  of  Cincinnati,  1200  acres  under  cultivation,  and  of  them, 
about  800  to  1000  acres  are  in  a  bearing  condition.  The  average  yield  per 
acre  is  variously  estimated.  Particular  spots,  under  favorable  circumstan- 
ces, have  produced  as  high  as  1000  to  1200  gallons  of  wine  to  the  acre.  A 
fair  average  will  be  about  400  gallons,  which,  allowing  there  to  be  1000 
acres  in  bearing,  will  produce  400,000  gallons  of  wine.  This,  at  an  average 
price  of  $1.25  per  gallon,  amounts  to  half  a  million  of  dollars  in  value. 
"The  mode  of  culture  pursued  I  shall  not  dwell  upon,  as  I  cannot  find  any 
two  growers  who  entertain  the  same  views  in  regard  to  it.  There  is  much 
yet  to  learn  on  this  subject.  The  methods  adapted  to  foreign  wine-culture 
have  not  been  found  to  work  well  in  practice  here  ;  they  require  considera- 
ble modification  ;  time  and  experience  will,  however,  overcome  all  such  dif- 
ficulties. The  vines  are  usually  grown  from  cuttings ;  these  are  planted  in- 
rows,  and  from  four  to  six  feet  apart,  and  as  the  vine  grows  it  is  fastened  to 
upright  posts  about  eight  feet  high,  and  is  kept  closely  trimmed  to  this 
height.  Other  plans  are  adopted,  such  as  trailing  them  upon  low  lattice 
work,  according  to  the  caprice  of  the  grower. 
"The  culture  of  the  grape,  like  every  other  branch  of  agriculture,  is  attend- 
ed with  many  vicissitudes.  The  blight  (Oidiurn  Tuekeri)  and  the  rot  are 
the  most  destructive,  and  which  careful  and  unremitting  toil  and  culture 
will  not  avert.  The  blight  which  for  the  last  few  years  has  almost  destroyed 
the  vintage  of  some  parts  of  Europe,  is  no  stranger  to  the  vineyards  of  the 
West,  and  is  a  disease  against  which  no  remedy,  as  yet,  has  been  discovered. 
It  makes  its  appearance  early  in  the  season,  about  the  time  the  young  fruit 
is  about  the  size  of  a  pea.  There  are  no  premonitory  symptoms  of  its  at- 
tacks to  be  observed ;  everything  about  the  vineyard  may  look  prosperous, 
and  the  wine-grower,  elated  with  the  prospect  of  a  good  crop,  may,  upon 
waking  in  the  morning,  find  that  his  rich  anticipations  of  yesterday  have, 
like  his  dreams,  vanished ;  the  greater  part  of  his  grapes  covered  with  a 
white  dust-like  substance,  the  skins  shrivelled,  which  soon  blacken,  and  the 
grapes  eventually  fall  to  the  ground.  These  attacks  continue  from  time  to 
time,  until  the  vineyard  is  almost  entirely  stripped  of  its  promise. 
"  The  origin  of  this  disease  has  been  attributed  to  various  causes ;  for 
instance,  the  want  of  inorganie  constituents  in  the  soil,  and  to  the  attacks, 
of  parasitic  fungi.  The  appearance  of  this  fungus  growth  upon  the  grapes 
ig  not  the  result  of  either  of  these  suppositions.  It  is  the  result  of  a  dis- 
eased action,  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  the  effect,  not  the  cause  of  the  disease, 
which  is  undoubtedly  the  result  of  atmospheric  influences,  and  beyond  hu- 
man control.  I  have  studied  this  disease  for  the  last  three  years,  and  can 
form  no  other  opinion  in  regard  to  its  origin.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
season,  about  the  time  the  young  fruit  is  formed,  the  temperature  during 
the  day  time  is  apt  to  be  exceedingly  warm,  the  heat  causes  a  rapid  evapora- 
