Taylor, Concord, and Clinton proved entirely hardy, and yielded a full crop of well-ripened fruit.

I again covered all of the last setting, and opened in the spring with Red Traminer, Miller's Burgundy, White Scuppernong, Los Angeles, and White Sweet Water all killed, excepting one plant of the last, the leaves of which seemed inclined to rot or mildew, and fell off about midsummer.

Blood's Black and White, of very inferior quality, foxy, and of no use whatever. Cassady, bunches large and compact, being medium to small, nearly white, sweet, and very good. Child's Superb, one small bunch. a white and insipid grape. Cuyahoga, a white grape of good size; quality a little better than the above. Brandywine inferior, bunch very large, of second-rate quality. Baldwin, a small grape, with very good wine qualities. Albino, large white, miserable fox. Elizabeth, a greenish white grape; had but two bunches of fruit; berry and bunch large, sweet, but of no decided flavor.

Wright's Isabella and Christie's Isabella, simply Isabella, are slightly varying, and no better.

Northern Muscadine, large, very compact bunch; fair, but too much of the fox; Mary Ann, very early; bunch large, being medium, oblong, very good, yet foxy. Louisa, almost Isabella, a few days earlier, yet of no more use here than the old Isabella. Lenoir is simply the Herbemont. To Kalon, a few bunches of very large and nearly black grapes, of fine quality, and very good.

I covered no grapes of any kind this fall, determining to throw all my vines upon the ground, with the intention of discarding such as did not prove hardy. A severe winter followed, and every variety except Concord, Clinton, Catawba, Taylor, Blood's Black and White, Franklin, North America, Hartford Prolific, Oporto, Marion, and Kitchen, were mostly destroyed. A small portion of the Catawba escaped being entirely killed, and these were strong old vines. The next spring I set Rogers's Nos. 1, 2, 4, 9, 15, 19, 22, and 34; Perkins, Norton's Virginia, Maxatawney, Ives's Madeira, Isabella, Iona, Adirondack, Creveling, Underhill's Seedling, Elsinborough, some fine four-year old Dracut Early Amber, and several others claiming a good or local reputation.

Rogers's No. 1 were all from single eyes under glass, and also Iona, Isabella, Adirondack, and Underhill's Seedling. All the grapes were left upon the ground, and a little litter thrown upon them. I felt no uneasiness, as they had a reputation for hardiness. All the other varieties were one-year layers. Rogers's Nos. 1, 4, 19 were killed to the ground, but survived, and made fine growth next season. Perkins, Norton's Virginia, Joe's Mariole, and Dracut Amber were perfectly hardy. Rogers's Nos. 2, 9, 15, 22, and 34, Isabella, Iona, and Adirondack were killed outright; Creveling, Underhill's Seedling, and Elsinborough somewhat damaged. All had received the best of cultivation, and made a good growth, ripening up their wood perfectly.

The experiment on the last year's setting might not be a test sufficient to discard or retain upon its merits, as a portion were layers and a part grown under glass from single eyes; yet it is a test for grapes grown under glass for open-air culture, and decides materially against the glass-grown vine; and no western man should allow himself to purchase such vines, unless he is an amateur cultivator, who can grow them two or three years in beds, and give them the protection they require to make good plants to set out at three or four years of age, in garden or vineyard.

I know that this position will be unpopular with a majority of those who seli vines; yet I am writing of a costly experience for me for the man who has to buy rines to set for himself, and for the benefit of those who cannot afford glass structures, or to wait for fruit from vines that require years of nursing.

A layer from old wood is preferable to any other vine, or, at least, a two-year vine if made from the current year's growth when layered. Cuttings make good vines when cut to two eyes, yet my preference is for layers. A friend in Mis

souri has been growing under glass single eye vines bought in Illinois, and he is fully convinced that for his State layers are preferable to any other; and I believe a majority of the growers in the west will substantiate the opinion. The people want grape-vines, not little soft-wooded affairs, of which you can put a hundred in your coat-pocket.

In Minnesota, the Concord and Clinton are the only grapes to be fully relied upon. We have seen the Hartford Prolific and Delaware succeeding in the southern part of the State, and they bore full crops. Many others have been tried, but mostly failed. Norton's Virginia and Ives's are under trial there, and I have no doubt but that they will succeed well, having proved hardy the past two seasons. The Delaware has met with poor success at the west, particularly in Nebraska, Illinois, and Missouri. In portions of Iowa it has succeeded well, but in far too limited a space to become popular.

The Concord is the grape for all the west, possessing more good qualities and less poor ones, and, though not perfection in flavor, is very good. The decision. of the Greeley prize committee has stirred up the ire of the producers of seedlings, men who are flooding the country with grape-vines with fruit of fine color, fine size, fine quality, and perfection in flavor, at from $3 to $5 each.

The award of that committee is honorable and fearless, and a benefit to the poor man who can afford but a few grape-vines, and cannot afford to test pet seedlings that may succeed for a year or two, and then be swept away in a single season by mildew. The good sense and judgment of this committee are fully supported by four-fifths of the grape-growers in the land.

The intelligent fruit-growers of the west have taken the Concord and placed it at the head of the list for their own use in their families and for market, and many of them find it a first-class wine grape. In Nebraska, a few are still holding on to the Delaware; yet, as their patience of trial continues, the vines of that variety seem to grow less. The Dracut Amber is a grape without very much quality to recommend it; yet, being entirely hardy and the earliest of any tested, will be grown by many.

For the west, we would say buy the Concord first for the table; if you can afford more, set the Hartford Prolific and Taylor's Bullitt. For wine, plant Ives's and Norton's Virginia, and Clinton, and you will never have cause to regret that you did not buy any larger number of unknown kinds.

The Concord and Hartford Prolific have never shown a diseased berry or a spot of mildew in Nebraska, and we have never heard of any disease in either of them anywhere in the west.

Any improvement with the Concord as the starting-point promises to give us larger fruit, better flavor, and equal hardiness, with thrifty growth, healthfulness, and productiveness, and will be welcomed as a grape worthy of general cultivation.

WINE-MAKING AND VINE CULTURE IN THE MIDDLE STATES.

BY WILLIAM C. LODGE, CLAYMONT, DELAWARE.

WINE has not heretofore been made, in any considerable quantity, in the middle or New England States. The venerable Nicholas Longworth, of Cincinnati, spent a portion of his time, and considerable of his abundant means, in the generous endeavor to demonstrate the practicability of making good wines in the

latitude of 39°, with partial success. I say with partial success, for, however excellent may be the quality of the Longworth wines, the cost of their production should be such as to render them profitable. Regarded, however, as a mere experiment, it may not be proper to take the cost into consideration, as so many difficulties were to be overcome by a beginner in the business in this country, and so much machinery procured from abroad, most of which trouble and expense may be saved to his successors.

Our old-fashioned housewives have tried their hands in the manufacture of wines from blackberries, elderberries, currants, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, from time almost immemorial. But grape wines, of domestic manufacture, were seldom to be met with, on account of the popular opinion, then existing, that it requires greater skill and more experience to make wine of grapes. Such an opinion is now found to be fallacious, for, by careful treatment and a knowledge of the principles of wine-making, a far superior article can be made of grapes, at the same expense and trouble, than can be made from any other fruit. The difficulty, in this latitude, is simply that the short seasons will not always allow the grapes to mature perfectly. A well-extended season and warm sunshine are necessary to properly mature the grapes and elaborate properties on which depend the successful manufacture of wines of highest excellence.

For wine-making in this section we should cultivate only such grapes as mature carly, having in view their wine essentials. It will be better to select the best varieties from a more northern climate, rather than those even superior in quality from a southern locality, as upon the perfect maturity of the grapes depends the quality of the wine, as well as its durability.

The best wines are made from grapes containing, in proper proportions, sugar, water, and acids; and to give them this proportion of constituent matter the most favorable climate and soil are necessary. Even with these advantages, so much depends upon the seasons, and a variety of causes, that the best article cannot always be produced.

The celebrated wines of France and Germany, which constitute standards of excellence throughout the world, are not always made with certainty. The famous vineyards which produce the Steinberg and Johannisburg wines do not come up to their highest standard oftener than once in five or six years, and the grade of their wines is sometimes so low as to be excelled by the best years of other vineyards possessing few or none of their advantages.

We therefore conclude that no locality can be recommended for all seasons, no particular soil for all latitudes, and no single variety of grape for all localities. The variety of grape should be adapted to the soil and climate, and that variety which contains in greatest quantity the essentials for wines in the gathering season should be the grape adopted for its especial locality. The Concord, or other early-maturing variety rich in sugar, would probably give as good wine in the latitude of New York, as the Isabella, or other variety requiring a longer season, would give in the latitude of Richmond, Virginia, all other things being equal.

Yet it must be admitted that, as continuous sunshine and a long season enrich the grape, the chances for successful wine-making are more favorable in the south than in the north.

Knowing, from actual experience, that good wine may be made from native grapes in the middle States, I propose to give the results of my own experiments, conducted through a series of years, without especial regard to the rules laid down by European manufacturers. Indeed, it would not be practicable to follow their plans throughout, inasmuch as their vineyards are quite extensive, their labor procured at a low rate, and the manufacture of their wine conducted on a scale truly grand. The proprietors of small vineyards seldom make up their grapes, but sell them to the large establishments, where the requisite skill and machinery are found for successful manufacture.

Our grapes are often picked from the vines before they acquire ripeness at all, as it is by the color we judge of maturity. Perfection of color does not always indicate maturity, as nature continues her elaboration and refinement of the juices long after the coloring is completed, and even until the grapes shrivel. We pick our grapes in September, or the first week in October. In the same latitude in Germany, the grapes are allowed to hang until frost, or even late in November. The popular opinion with us is, that American grapes are unfit for wine, inasmuch as the quality is so inferior to those of Europe. It is true that we can show no such magnificent berries and clusters as their Chasselas and Hamburg, and many others, but we still have varieties by no means contemptible in appearance, nor deficient in wine-producing properties. Nor can we grow grapes of equal merit in the same degree of latitude. They have advantages of soil, or modifying influences of climate, which are denied us, and their grapes consequently become more perfect in their wine essentials. Nevertheless, we have an abundance of sweet grapes that ripen early, and will acquire all the perfect wine essentials, by hanging late upon the vines, or, in case the weather prove unfavorable, or the birds become so troublesome as not to allow the grapes to hang late, they may be picked earlier, and ripened on straw in well ventilated rooms.

PICKING.

We are accustomed to pick all our grapes at once, particularly those of the same variety, without regard to difference in ripening. In Europe, several pickings are made from the same vine, selecting only those clusters which are fully ripe. The berries ripen unevenly upon the same vine, and in the same cluster. The splendid and expensive Johannisburg cabinet wines, known as Green Seal, Silver Seal, and Gold Seal, are made from the most perfect grapes, selected individually from the ripest and most perfect clusters. The Green Seal is familiar to us, the Silver Seal is sometimes imported into this country, but the superb Gold Seal is practically unknown to us. Seeing the care taken in the selection of the grapes, and the profitable results, in the old countries, where the manufacture of wine has so long been familiar to the people, and where the machinery is almost perfect, we need not be surprised that our sour and unripe grapes, made into wine by inexperienced hands, and by our rude implements, should not equal the better, or even the medium, wines of Europe. Nor is our partial failure, so far, a proof that good wines cannot profitably be made by us, when we bring well-matured grapes, and the proper implements, in combination with skill and experience.

CRUSHING AND PRESSING.

Having selected the grapes, they are picked from the stems, and bruised so as to burst the skins, either by passing through a small mill made for the purpose, or by placing them in a tight clean cask, and pounding them with a wooden pestle; or, as is sometimes practiced in the old countries, by treading them in a vat, with the feet encased in wooden shoes. A sieve is sometimes placed in the bottom of the vat, and, after the treading or bruising is completed, the juice is allowed to drain, without pressing, into vessels set to receive it, and of this juice or "must" is made a wine of the first quality. The mass, composed of the remaining juice, seeds, and skins, is then pressed, and a wine of the secondary quality made of the expressed must. It has been observed that the grapes should be picked from the stems; this, however, is not always necessary, but is the best plan for our grapes, as the stems contain a large proportion of tannic acid, which gives the wine a tart and harsh taste, well dispensed with, inasmuch as the grapes themselves are charged with a full supply of those properties.

FERMENTATION.

I now come to the most critical stage in the process of wine-making, as upon the fermentation depends the quality of the wine, no matter what care may be taken in the selection of the grapes, or the preparation of the must. It is generally preferable to allow fermentation, either partially or fully, to take place before the separation of the skins, as the color resides in the inside of the skins, and is best extracted by the process of fermentation.

When the grapes are pressed immediately after being crushed, the wine will be colorless, even from dark or black grapes, whereas it will assume a light red, a deep or port color, according to the time it is allowed to ferment with the skins. The seeds and skins also impart other qualities, and it is generally conceded that the wine so made will be more durable.

The vessel in which the wine is left to ferment may be either kept continually filled by must of the same age, or by sweetened water, so that the act of fermentation will eject all extraneous matter from the top; or, it may be left without refilling, when the yeast, &c., will settle to the bottom, and the clear liquor may be poured from the settlings. There is generally a difference in the quality of the wines so manufactured, that in which the sediment all remains in the bottom of the vessel usually possessing more body. Much, too, depends upon the temperature which effects the process of fermentation. In cold weather the must ferments so slowly that, when exposed to the air, there is great danger of its becoming sour. Acetic . fermentation is caused by long exposure to the air, and the result is vinegar instead of wine. We therefore prefer the fermentation to take place in closed vessels, so as to exclude the air from contact, when practicable. This is done by fitting an air-tight cover, or bung, to the cask, and inserting a siphon, the other end of which is placed in a tub of water, into which is discharged all the fermenting matter.

We may hasten the fermentation by artificial means, so that it may be completed before the must becomes sour at all; but it is liable to after fermentation, and requires care and watchfulness, and is not so durable as when the whole process is slow and perfect. Much, too, depends upon the temperature of the must, for it is this generation of caloric, in the mysterious laboratory of nature, that produces fermentation. Should the weather be such as to warm the must to a proper degree, the fermentation will at once take place, and proceed rapidly to completion, which will greatly lessen the risk of souring.

From well-matured grapes, which have hung upon the vine until their skins become thin and somewhat shrivelled, good wine can be made without any additions whatever. But if the grapes be gathered before the sugar formation takes place, and the refining process is completed, it is best to add sugar before fermentation of the must, and afterwards alcohol, in proportions of from half a pound to three pounds to the gallon, and from a gill to a pint of either alcohol, winespirits, or white brandy, according to the maturity of the grapes, or according to their quality. In wine made from perfectly mature grapes, the addition of sugar might be detected by the taste, and the largest amount above named would make a cordial instead of a wine, from the fact that there would not be a proper balance of acid, which is necessary in a good wine; but in the must of unripe grapes the acid already exists in far too great a proportion to the water and saccharine properties. Sugar and water may, therefore, be added with advantage, though the result will be a wine of less durability, and probably of a lower grade. A liquor is sometimes made and sold as wine, without any grape juice in its composition. It is drank by the inexperienced without a suspicion of its true character, and is even preferred to wine of inferior quality.

SPARKLING WINES.

Sparkling wine, known as champagne, is made by preventing the escape of the carbonic acid contained in the grape, and which is, in a great measure, given