The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-06-12
GkeQntelliqenoer*
Grape ProSpcc's..The Business about
WhPelIuEs

Crane PTOUpcc 'E.sThe business RDOu'
Wheeling.
We paid visit yesterday to the Vine
ward Of our friend end ne'ghbor, hr
CHRISTIAN HISS, the merchant tailor
situated on the brow Of the hill west o.
Martins Ferry, and found much more
promising prospect of grapes thSp, w
had been led to expect from the severity
Of the past winter and from reports @
The condition Of the vines in other sec
tIons Of the country. At Kclley's lslSnc
and in other parts Of Northern Ohio the
Catawba and other less hardy varieties Of
vines havc been seriously injured. a
very light crop Is expected at kelleyS Is
land. We hear that the vinysrds on Whee'
ling Hill, Immediately adjacent to this
city, hsve also suffered severely by frost
The vlnes do not appear to be winter
Killed, but II seems the buds or "eyes"
were destroyed by the spring frosts. Sin
gular as II may seem, there Is nothing OF
this on tue other side Of the river, 80 lar
as our observation extended. In the
vineyard Of Mr.. HISS, and In that OF his
neighbor, Mr.. TURNER, the vines looked
thrifty and Furnishing. They are
lust blooming, and the air Is bur-
deued with the delicious perfume
Of Tue young bloom, The blossom Is
abundant and there is every prospect for
as good q crop ss they have ever borne.
On Wheeling Hill, where there are about
atty acres, we regret to learn that there
will not be more than half EAcr0p-in one
vineyard not quarter Mr. HISS CON-
plains that his Concord grapes have suffer-
ed last year and this from the ravages OF
small blue bug which attacks the inctp'
lent bud and cuts out the heart as neatly
as done with the point Of knife, .!
course rendering fruitage impossible Mr..
HEss suffered last yeSr In this way to the
extent Of several hundred gallons Of wine.
All the Concord vines in tho neighbor-
hood, we learn, have suffered In the same
way. If taken at the right time the bug
can bo gathered of the vine more easily
than the potsto big is gathered. The
growth OF the vine Is then rapid, and as
soon ss the buds develop the bug is pow
erless. So q little care at the right time
will prevent damage from this insect.
Most Of the grapes grown on the other
side of the river are marketed in this city,
some for family consumption and some for
the wine press. The principal makers Of
vine on that side Of the river are Mr.
HISS, the Wheeling & Belmont Wine u
Mining Company, aud Captain Il. CRAw'
FORD. Mr.. HESS presses all his grapes
and usually makes from five to seven
thousand gallons year. The company
referred TO has been in the habit Of pres
sing part OF their crop and marketing part
Captain CRAWFORD has pursued the same
policy. THEY find sale for some OF their
crop in this city aud also ship TO the East
ern cillcs, where II they get their grapes
into market early and in good condition,
they sometimes realize high prices; and
sometimes, we regret to learn, under op-
posite conditions scarcely pay charges.
The other grape growers in that vicinity
rely entirely on selling their grapes In this
city, either tor family consumption or for
pressing. Major FRANzuEIM and Messrs
WELTY are the largest manufacturers OF
wine who have their presses and cellars In
the city. The former has been making
some thirty thousand gallons a year for
two or three years past. WhstsmOunt Is
pressed by the Mcssrs. WELTY, we are not
advised. Father KWEUsCH, who owns the
large vineyard on the east slope Of Wheel.
Ing Hill, makes large amount of wine,
great deal Of which is disposed Of to the
Catholic Church societies for sacramental
purposes. r
From best estimates at hand it apperrs
that in the vicinity Of Wheeling Including
some vineyards elsewhere that find their
market here, there are about thousand
acres OF grapes, the predominant variety
being the CAtswbS. At least hundred
thousand gallons Of wine arc manufAc'
Iured In and about this city, and nesrIy
sll OF 1t Is Of excellent quality. The best
Cstaw5a wine made here is equal to the
best made anywhere In the United States
and is so pronounced by persons who Np'
preciAtc the difference between pure wine
and the adulterated and chemical com
pounds which pass for wine with so.largG
snumbeFot people. Our Wheeling wine
growers flnd customers for their wines
in nearly all the States Of the
Union, and the demand Tor them Is
steadily growing though prices the past
two or three years have not been rCmune'
rative. There appear to be several rca'
sons for this. The Americans as mass
have not yet acquired the wine'drinktng
hablt-they prefer whisky; and the foreign
born population take largely to beer both
by reason of their preference for It and OF
Its superior CheGpness. But intelligent
people are llndiug out that whisky Is not
good TOR steady drink, while pure light
native wines, IL not positively good, arc
st least comparatively harmless, while
they supply the alcoholic suIuulAnt with
ont which 1t seems impossible for the ma
i,,i,y ~ ,oonlo ~ vpL comfortably