The penny press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1859-1860, 1859-09-27
Are We to Have Better Crane for
Wine than the Catawbas

We are very we'll content with the Catawba
wine. ltneeds no bush to direct us to its
merits, but it may be supposed from the letter
read on Saturday, to the Cincinnati Horticul-
tural Society, that there is promise of bet
ter grape. There is such promise! we wait
its fulfilment. The West is strongly in COM
petition with Europe for superiority in wine
making. The letter we refer to was written
BY S. Mcdowell of Franklin, under date of
tho 10th of June last, announcing that he had
been appointed committee to investigate the
merits of Southern grapes, and gives the his
tory of the Catawba. Mr.. Mcdowell says:
That more than thirty years ago Colonel
william Murry, at the time residing on farm
eleven miles south of Ashwelle, Buncomb
County, North Carolina, on o stout brook called
Cain Creek, an afluent of French Broad River,
upon some part Of his farm he found growing,
IN wild state, vine producing grapes which
he thought of superior quality, and shortly
thereafter sold his farm and moved to the
State of Georgia, where he still resides, but
not before he transmitted some of the cuttings
OF his fine native grape to Mayor Adelurn, of
the District of Columbia, and that Mayor Ade-
lurn, under the name of the Catawba Crane,
furnished it to Mr.. Nicholas Longworth, of
cincinnati, Ohio, and that, through the char
aeter given it by the latter gentleman, it now
has worldwide reputation, as being the yery
best of all the varities of native American
grapes hitherto brought into cultivation. But
why it was called Catawba I have yet to learn,
as on the brook on which it was found by Mr.
Murry was on the west side of the Allegheny
chain of Mountains, while the Catawba River
and all its branches are on the east.
Chance led me in the year 1927, to farm
not moro than four miles from where Colonel
Murry found his fine grape, and was there
shown a native grape that surpassed any wild
grape had ever before seen, and, from INV
present recollection of it, I am of opinion L
was superior to the Colopel's Catawba, Itwaa
OF the same size and color, with thinner skin,
very sweet and juicy, and high aromatic
favor--so much so that young lady, recol.
lect, objected to 1t as being too sweet and aro-
matte. 1t suited my taste exactly, as IL was
precisely that Of tho Scuppornary crane, On
recently visiting the locality, learned TO INV
dismay that the grounds where it grew had
been converted into field, and not tho first
vestige Of the fine variety remained. But
have tho cheering belief that among the thir-
teen fine varieties have heard of, the most of
them will prove Of valuable quality, and will,
to all intents and purposes, either for produc-
ing wine of tho best quality, or for table use,
supply the place of all the foreign varieties Of
grapes which failed to thrive in the climate
and soil of any part of the United States. One
of these fine varieties Mr.. Bond Moor, of Cher
okee County, has promised to produce for you
next fall, and have engaged several other
gentlemen to procure others. In my selec ton
shall strictly exclude all grapes bearing the
very least resemblance to the Fox. grape family,
as hold all its specific varieties in the highest
abomination. For why? Their thick, muci-
'Nginous hull, as well as that acid, pungent
matter that they contain in the center Of their
betWixt their comnact stony oasdo