Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1879-12-13
FARM TOPICS.
THE scuppERNosG GRAPE.

As very little OF thls species OF grapes
(TTtis rot,nd1olia) is known by YOU
Northern readers, some of them may b,
sufficiently curious 10 know more of it,
peculiarities. In common with all thu
other native varieties, it is diGciou'
y0lyganluS, or in other words the pistil
late or fruitful plants have a portion O
perfect flowers and portion of imper
feet flowers in the same cluster, while
staBinate plants have all the fower'
entirely destitute of a stigma and pistil
and are consequently all entirely barren
This being the case, of what use are
these latter plants? They are not need
ed for the fertilization of the fruit-bear.
ing portion, as sufficient flowers are per.
feet to produce an enormous crop OF
fruit, and it makes no difference in the
quantity Of fruit if there is not a stami-
nate plant within miles Of them. This
is the case with labrHscd, cordtfoiiG,
ri,aria and rot,ndijolia. y. Gstiralis
nave never examined critically. have
been cultiyating the rotundifolia class
for some thirty years or more, and
also have proved some forty OF
fifty varieties of the other classes
which are cultivated at the North.
Some years since L abandoned all eN-
cept Y. rstnndttoiia, which l find to be
the only one exempt from disease. ]
now have quite a large variety under
cultivation, having raised a large num-
Der of seedlings from the seeds of the
Scuppernong, which is a white or yell
lowish grape, with berries varying in
size from three-fourths Of an inch to
one and quarter inches in diameter,
the clusters varying from one to twenty
berries, and it is the only native grape
which carries the Muscat aroma. None
of the varieties have ever fail to pro-
duce good crops, and the vines are en-
tirely free from disease in vine, leaf and
fruit. The weight of fruit on each vine
is beyond belief by those who have never
seen this class in full bearing have
this season had arbors crushed down
with the great weight of the fruit on
them, although they were built of good,
stout chestnut fence rails. Some grape
growers complain that the clusters are
too small; this is not so; each vine is a
huge cluster IN IT'S entirety In gather.
ing them when' ripe, they are Shaken
down on to sheets made for the pur-
pose, instead of being picked by hand
as is the case with the cluster varieties
and in 80 bushels of the berries, which
are gathered entirely free from stems,
one viii not find a rotten or imperfect
berry. My vineyard, which is a small
one, has this year yielded -four. gallons
of must or juice per bushel of fruit. |
have one vine, . seeding from the
Scuppernong, raised by myself, which
viii compare very favorably in quality
with the Black Hamburger, while the
berries are from one 10 one and A quar-
ter inches in diameter, of black color,
speckied with russet. This class OF
grapes always blooms about the 18th OF
June, and consequently the clusters are
never injured by frosts The growth OF
the fruit is very rapid, the crop being
ripe by Sept. 18th. Could not this grape
be cultivated in your grape-houses at
the North7 II is killed to the ground
when the mercury gets TO, zero--does it
get as low as that in Your grape-houses?
IL not, your summers are long enough
and warm enough to ripen the fruit.
have one variety that ripers the last of
August. II is a fine, large Black grape,
also 4 seeding from the Scuppernong.
Vines of this class are never pruned,
and rarely manfred or cultivated. The
roots running an inch or Two below, the
surface Of the ground, cultivation is en-
tirelyimpi acticable. and the leaves from
the vines furnish most of the manure
they get. Stable manure is death TO the