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of all to keep; "What, poorer than the Concord?" asked one: "Yes, poorer than any other;" said Mr Dewey, "for I put a basket of about twenty pounds of fine bunches in my cupboard one day, and in 24 hours afterwards not a grape was to be found!" This proof was deemed quite conclusive that the Delaware is a bad grape to keep!

DIANA.-Mr. Elliott and Mr. Storrs said their impressions of this grape were more favorable than formerly.

Mr. Bateham thought it very variable; had seen it quite poor, ripening unevenly and flavor very bad, and at other times very good; he was not yet prepared to recommend it highly.

Mr. Lum had it ripen well, but flavor was too foxy.

Mr. Jones, of Toledo, liked the flavor, found it ripens as well as Catawba.

Dr. Warder thinks the vine a little tender; does 'nt quite like the fruit; not fit for table, thick skin and pulp objectionable; may prove useful to give flavor to wine like the Delaware.

HARTFORD PROLIFIC.-Mr. Elliott spoke well of it as an early and hardy grape, good for the north. Its chief fault is the habit of the berries falling off as soon as ripe, rendering it unfit to carry to market.

Mr. Powers likes it well, berries do not fall off much after the first one or two crops. Mr. Dewey and Mr. Boalt approve moderately, another "farmers' grape." The gentlemen from Michigan and Indiana also like it pretty well.

ISABELLA. Mr. Storrs said this was still a good and popular grape in many parts of the country, though not so much thought of as formerly. He alluded to the habit of this variety to sport or vary in the form and size of berry and bunch, and the discussions that had arisen therefrom, some persons supposing there were two or more kinds.

Mr. Batebam said this subject was discussed at some length at the meeting of the Committee Ad interim in September, and he read an extract from the report of the

same.

Mr. Elliott said there were certainly two varieties of the Isabella on Kelley's Island some years ago, if not now, and also in Medina county, and some other parts. Dr. Taylor said he was at Dr. Kirtland's one day, as grapes were ripening, and Dr. K., said: "There was a good Isabella till the roots got into that sewer, and now it is a good Aiken." He had noticed wherever the supposed two varieties existed, that the Aiken had the richest soil.

Mr. Campbell said he had vines from Dr. Kirtland, as the Aiken, planted them in rather poor soil, and the fruit was simply the old Isabella.

Mr. Powers found the Isabella doing well in his locality; had noticed the disposition to vary in size and shape; where he had dug a trench and put in dead dogs, manure, &c., fruit large, round, resembling the Union Village, while others retained the old size and shape.

Mr. Dunnipace, of Perrysburg, had seen grapes exhibited as a new variety, very large, round berries and compact bunches; procured cuttings from the vine, and set

them in a vineyard along with the common Isabella, and the fruit was precisely the same-the old shape and size.

Mr. Batebam spoke of the improvement of this grape by good culture, and of the necessity of thinning the crop when bearing full, to ensure its ripening evenly.

Mr. Dewey said he had made fair wine from this grape, but the addition of a little sugar was necessary, the must only weighs about 70°.

Mr. Adrian said the Isabella was more grown than any other variety in Michigan, and was approved there.

LOGAN. Mr. Elliott spoke well of this grape: had seen it several years; as early as the Hartford Prolific, and better quality.

Mr. Barney had known it very many years; original vine on Scioto river, in a big wild cherry tree; thought it the best early grape.

Mr. Nelson had known it in Indiana, 25 or 30 years; it was introduced there from the Scioto country; he thought it of some value for earliness and hardiness, but not of very good quality.

Mr. Campbell said it was very hardy and early, fair quality, but deficient in size of bunch and productivemess.

LYDIA.-Mr. Flliott thought this might be found a good grape for early market culture; has thick skin, fitting it to bear carriage well, fine color, and good flavor. Mr. McKelvey, of Sandusky, said it had done well with him the past seasonrotted the year previous.

Mr. Barney and Mr. Lum, of Sandusky, had observed it for several years; thought well of it, but did not think it a good bearer.

Mr. Ward said he had a fair crop of it, but not half so much fruit as on the same wood of Isabella. Did not think it sufficiently productive for a market variety.

Mr. Campbell had found it early and good-not quite as early nor as productive as the Delaware.

MOTTLED. Mr. Elliott said the more he saw of this grape the more highly be esteemed it; thought it might prove a good wine grape.

Mr. McKelvey had seen it several years at Mr. Carpenter's; did not think very highly of it.

Mr. Barney has had it for six years; finds it improves; counts it worthy of trial by amateurs.

NORTON'S VIRGINIA was spoken of by Dr. Warder and others as becoming very popular as a wine grape in Missouri and the southwest, but doubts were expressed whether it could be relied on to ripen its fruit generally in Ohio; though Mr. Elliott said he had known it to ripen well at Cleveland.

REBECCA. Dr. Warder, Mr. Fahnestock, Mr. Powers, Mr. Elliott, and others spoke well of it.

Mr. Campbell said it was not quite hardy, and mildews sometimes.

Mr. Adair said it wants a little protection in Michigan, but fruit is fine, and he likes it.

ROGERS' HYBRIDS.-Mr. Campbell, by request, stated his views at considerable

length in regard to these new grapes, describing the most valuable and promising ones; but his remarks being in substance the same as already published in this and other journals, it is not necessary to occupy space with them here further than to say that, as the result of his experiments with a large number of these seedlings, he gives the preference to the following six, in the order here named: Nos. 3, 15, 19, 33, 4, 9. No. 3 he considers best of all he has yet tested. It ripens with the Delaware. ALLEN'S HYBRID.-Mr. Elliott spoke well of it as an amateur variety; had doubts whether it is a hybrid; perhaps only a seedling from a foreign sort. Mr. Campbell likes the fruit-good deal like Chassellas-has not mildewed as yet-seems as hardy as Isabella-fruit too delicate for market; season a little later than Delaware. Mr. Patterson had found it very good in Michigan.

ADIRONDAC.—Mr. Elliott spoke of this new grape as promising to be the best early hardy grape known-the vine as hardy as the Delaware, and a vigorous grower; fruit of fine size and quality; very early and productive; not yet fruited in Ohio. CREVELING. Mr. Campbell had fruited it, and finds it a pretty good early grape -better than Hartford Prolific and quite as early.

Mr. Campbell gave a brief account of his experiments in raising new varieties of grapes from seed, mentioning several byt rids that he thinks may prove of value, but which have not been sufficiently tested as yet.-See an article from his pen in the Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1862. Remarks were also made on quite a number of other new grapes, but too little was known respecting them by persons present to make it worth while to publish what was said.-Sec'y.

ON GRAPE CLIMATE AND CULTURE.

The proximity of this meeting to the famous grape regions of Kelley's Island and the adjacent coasts of Lake Erie, secured the attendance of quite a number of gentlemen engaged in this branch of horticulture, and nearly a whole day was devoted to discussions on the soil and climate best adapted for grape growing, modes of culture, training, pruning, &c.

J. W. Scott, Esq., read a paper on the peculiarity of the climate of this grape region, as compared with the vine-growing districts of Europe and other parts of this country, giving statistics from the Smithsonian reports of the fall of rain in different parts of the year, &c. The average amount of rain during the summer months is

found to be, at Cincinnati, 14 inches; Cleveland, 10 inches; Ann Arbor, 8 inches; Sandusky and Toledo, about 9 inches. He attributes the remarkable success of the grape in this region to several causes: the excellence of the soil-calcareous, marley clay, naturally dry or easily drained; the climate sufficiently warm to ripen the fruit; moderate fall of rain, and seldom heavy dews or fogs-during the latter part of summer and early autumn; the blossoming of the vines being retarded in spring by the coldness of the water in the lake, absorbing the warmth of the air till danger of late frosts is over, and the ripening time being prolonged in the fall by the warmth of the lake keeping off early frosts.

Mr. Scott referred to a valuable essay on the Climatology of American Grape Vines,

by J. S. Lippincott of N. J., published in the Report of the Department of Agricul ture, and from which he read the following extracts:

"It has been demonstrated that at those localities where the summer mean temperature falls below 67° the wine grape will not ripen its fruit so as to produce wine of any valuable quality; 65° mean summer temperature is the lowest that will permit the vine. Extremes of humidity and dryness are exceedingly injurious to the wine grape. [He quotes Blodgett's Climatology.] Throughout the Northern States the fall of rain during the summer varies from 9 to 14 inches. 'The region over which the fall of 9 to 10 inches of summer rain extends includes all the localities where the cultivation of the vine, in the Northern section of our country, has been attended with the largest share of success.' At Cincinnati and St. Louis the summer fall of rain is about 14 inches.

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Temperature as affected by the Lakes.--In May, the water of the lower lakes, one foot below the surface, is but 7° above the freezing point. Its temperature rises gradually to that of the atmosphere the latter part of July, and above it in August. In September it is nearly three degrees warmer, and to the middle of October it retains the temperature of 53°, which is 60 above that of the air along the southern shore. The region around the southwest shores of Lake Erie, Blodgett says, corresponds more nearly than any other section of our country to the wine-growing regions of the Rhine."

In reference to the distance inland from the lake, which these advantages extended, considerable difference of opinion prevailed. Mr. Dewey, of Sandusky, thought that an average of about a mile was as far as could be relied on. Mr. Scott thought two miles would be safe if the soil was good, but in going towards Cleveland from Sandusky, the character of the soil changes to a sandy loam, which is not as favorable for grapes, especially for making wine. This was followed by remarks of similar import by Mr. Kelley, of the Island, Mr. Elliott, of Cleveland, and a number of others.

SOILS.-Mr. Dewey said the Catawba grapes grown on sandy lands east of the Huron River ripened well, apparently, but were not as sweet as those grown at Sandusky, and on the Island-the latter showing 90° or 92° by the saccharometer, and the former only 750 or 80°. Mr. Elliott said that 75 to 80 was about the average of the Catawba must at Cleveland, and which had been regarded as making fair wine. He would like to see some rule established in regard to the strength of the must requisite for making good wine. Dr. Warder said at Cincinnati the range was from about 75 to 90°.

Mr. E., respecting soils, said he believed facts prove that clayey soils are best for grapes, especially for wine. One reason probably is, such soils do not start up the heat and growth so early in spring as warm, sandy soils, and they retain the heat longer in the fall.

Mr. Kelley said, Mr. Addison Kelley once used stable manure on a portion of his vineyard, and it caused the fruit to speck and rot for several years. Plaster is found to have no effect on the Island.

Mr. Dewey had tried slaughter-house manure and lime mixed, a shovelful to a

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vine, on a vineyard of one acre, with very good results. Mr. McKelvey said no manure was generally used around Sandusky, and the best vineyards were on the poorest land. Mr. Barney preferred to be near the lime rock.

Mr. Elliott said no manure was often used around Cleveland; when it had been tried it usually caused mildew on the fruit and vines. PREPARATION OF SOIL.-Mr. Kelley said the first requisite was to drain the land thoroughly-he makes the drains about 40 feet apart. Next plows as deeply as possible, say 15 to 18 inches. Trenching with the spade is not practised in that region, nor deemed of advantage. Mr. Elliott said trenching is not now practised around Cleveland, and is not necessary if land is well drained. It was formerly thought that sloping hill-sides were requisite for vineyards, but that was a mistake; most of the vineyards in Cuyahoga county, and also around Sandusky, are on level lands.

In planting young grape-vines Mr. Kelley recommended cutting off all the surface roots, as if left to grow the lower roots will die and all will be surface roots, to the detriment of the vine. [Is that fact, or only theory?-Sec'y.] Dr. Warder said another reason for preventing the growth of surface roots is, they are apt to be in the way of the plow or cultivator, in tilling.

The distance apart for setting the vines on the Island is about 6 x 8 feet, which is a little over 900 to the acre. This is allowing the vines more space than has been the practice at Cincinnati, and most other places.

Note.--The discussion on planting, training, and pruning the vines is not published here, as the information may be found in better form in the Patent Office Report for 1861, and in several other publications.-Sec'y.

ON PLUM CULTURE AND THE CURCULIO.

Mr. Bateham inquired whether any progress could be reported in the cultivation of plums in Ohio, or in discovering a mode of preventing the ravages of the curculio. Mr. Scott said the best remedy for the curculio was to cut down all the plum trees and not plant any more; we can easily do without them. Mr. B. said he was not disposed to give up the contest so readily; for his part, if he had suitable land and opportunity he would as soon plant an orchard of plum trees with an expectation of profit as any other kind of fruit. He referred to the practice of Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry of Rochester, and their success, by the jarring method. Their plum orchard is on a level piece of ground, convenient to the house and workshops. It is a part of their system to spade the ground each spring, then roll it hard and smooth, just as the trees are in blossom, or when the insects begin to appear. It is kept hard and smooth during the summer, so that the fallen fruit can easily be gathered up and burned. Then during the three or four weeks that the "little Turks" are about, the trees are jarred two or three times a day with a blow from a mallet having an Indiarubber cushion on its face, to prevent injury to the bark, a catcher in the form of a light frame with muslin stretched on it being first spread under the tree, on to which the insects drop, and from which they are transferred to a pail of scalding water. This process is quite simple and easy, and very little expense compared with the

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