Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1861-02-21

The DeIeWaFe Grape En- Missouri
N0Ft0n's Virginia.
BY GEO. HUsaAFE, HEanAEr, no.

BY GEO. HUsMANN, HERMANN, NO.
1 notice ID your valuable journal, for
November, that the war about the origin
of this Invaluable grape, Its produc,iye-
ness, and adaptabiliiy to vineyard culture,
is not yet ended; and as you seem to
wish information about It from all quar-
tiers, 1 thought what little l could say
about il hers, might prove acceptable TO
your readers.
Two years ago, I Iobtained a few scions
from Mr.. Samuel Miller, which / grated /;
and one Of them, the only one which
lived. made a firm, short-jointed growth
of over twelve feet that season. It was
grated on q Catawba vine in the open
vineyard, in a rather favorable location.
Another graft in our neighborhood { Mr..
M. Poeschel's vineyard also made about
! the same growth. At the same time
procured a plant, very small one, and
planted it il common soil, without any
extra care. The first season it grew but
sparingly, but made a fine growth the
last very DRY summer, and expect fruit
from it next year It made as good a
growth as a Catawba would have done,
under the same circumstances. My graft
pruned, in the fall of 1859, to cane of
twelve eyes, and a spur of one eye. and
it produced last summer forty-six fine
lunches of fruit, while Mr.. PoescheI's,
under similar treatment, produced, as
near as / can recollect, forty-eight bunch
es, besides making about twenty-five
strong layers. The fruit was ripe the
first Of August, al ripened equally, and
was, in my opinion, and the opinion of
more than fifty others who tried ii here,
the best grape we ever tasted. 1t may
not be as rank a grower as some varieties,
but it makes wood enough, and am so
well convinced of its hardness, that
have left it, and about fifteen other vines
which were grated last spring, entirely
unprotected. although ! would not lose
them for thousand dollars.
As you seem TO wish for information
on certain points, / will take them up in
succession, and give you the opinion of all
here who have watched It's habits with
anxious eyes, not simply mine, although
/ heartily concur IN them, but of at least
twenty of our best grape growers here ::
l. 1t mildews as little as any other
grape known to US.
2. 1t bears more than we ever saw any
other vine bear under the same circum-
stances.
alt is one of the hardest vines we
ever saw. ar
A. 1t is of robust, healthy growth, quite
strong enough.
5. It is the best American grape we
eyer tasted.
g. We think it native variety. pro-
baby produced from seed of the Trami-
ner, from which grape well known to
many Of us) it is, however, entirely dis
tinct.
To all this we may add, that we con-
slider it eminently adapted to wine-mak-
ing. and are so confident of its success as
a wine grape, that all the wood to be had
in this neighbUrhood will be used TO graft
on old Catawba vines next spring; be-
sides which a good many plants will be
planted here. A small quantity Of wine
made last fall was so rich, that i! could
not be weighed by the saccharometer,
which only weighs 100 deg, but was es-
timated to weigh lis deg.
/ consider Mr.. Thomson, and all who
labored to disseminate this grape, as
benefactors Of the public and here, az
we are on the subject, and Mr.. VIM. r.
Prince has made similar assertions against
me in regard to the value Of Nort0n's
Virginia, that he has made against others
in regard to the Delaware, will state
that, even if the disseminator of fruit
of small merit is a nurseryman, 1t does
not necessarily follow that selfanterest
must be bis leading principle. Is Mr.. p.
perhaps so oInvulnerable on that point, that
he should Judge of others? But | will
be charitable, and only state the facts, as
for as | think the public are interested,
as they ought 10 be enlightened as 10 the
true merit of fruit or vine, and the re-
lance they can place upon the assertions
Of the disseminaior, not with any wish of
becoming personal toward Mr.. Prince.
But as this must necessarily involve some
leading facts in the history of Norton
! Virginia here, will sum them up as brief
ly as possible.
Il was introduced in 1913, as near as
eau find out, and planted by few of our
| vine-growers; and as Mr.. Longworth
was then considered the great authority
in grape-cuIture, they made inquiries
about il of him, and his answer was ex-
tremelv unfavorable, as be stated that II
would make harsh. acid, good-for-n moth
inc wine. Sull few cultivated it, as a
SORT of forlorn hope; and in few sea-
sons il bore fruit, which, although small
seemed very good, bore plenty of it, and
and IN seasons when Caiawba and Isabella
failed on account Of miIdew and rot. this
escaped unhar med and when il was
made into wine, it produced an excellent
Claret, nearly resembling Port. / be-
came acquainted with it in 1852, and OBJ
served il closely for several years and
in 1859, whenI was fully satisfied of its
merits here, published the following as
sertions in the Valley Farmer, proposing
al the sarne time TO bring in the testimony
Of more than twenty Of our best grape.
growers sin support Of them:
1st. II is as hardy as an oak. having
{ aven ulthstood the terrible winter of ~