The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1882-08-24
lPassaic Daily Times.1
SDeer's VINEYARDS.

Just on the outskirts of this city Mount Prospect
Avenue, better known as the "Notch Road" leading
to Little Falls through the notch In the mountain,
three of Mr. Speer's vineyards of the Oporto grape
from vines originally imported from vineyards the
banks of the river Doura in Portugal where the ORR
ginal and finest port wines were made.
But few people know to what extent Mr.. Speer's
twenty five years of experimenting on grape culture
and wine making has been carried in this country
We made hasty trip to his Mount Prospect Vine
yards few days ago, and while going there passed
his Concord grapery small vineyard on Bloomfield
Avenue near the NJ. e. Church. This known as the
''First Vineyard" About a mile further on after
turning from Bloomfield Avenue to the right on to
the Notch Road we came to the second, third and
fourth vineyards, about tyfour in extent
ering Mount Prospect.
The vines are trained wires about three hundred
feet long, supported by long heavy posts at each end
and staped to intermediate posts fifteen feet apart.
There are four rows of wire along every posts
forming wire trellis the top wire being about seven
feet from the ground; these treis or rows are six
feet apart leaving ample room for sun, and cult-
vatfon Two Of three hundred of these rows form
what Mr.. Speer calls a section. There are a great
number of these sections upon which there must be
over two hundred miles of wire stretched The drive
avenues Tor teams and carriages run the vine
yard at right angles to the wires treis and
are three hundred feet apart, they between the
ends of two sections and arbors are built verthem
high enough that top carriages may drive under
without touching the grapes vines overhead.
There two miles carriage drives these
arbors and handsomer sight we never saw; for two
miles we drove under these shady canopies the lus
cous fruit hanging in abundance every side vines
thick with clusters hanging overhead and all around
and as far we could up and down thousands of
gangways we passed were loaded with grapes no dis
ease, worm insect of kind has yet attacked
Mr. Speers and the prospects that there
will be a much greater crop than ever before. We
saw men working in every part Of the vineyard,
hoeing others breaking out the suckers or superu-
vines and still others tieing up the vines to the
wires. In our drive met the foreman Of the vine
yard; he estimates the yield this year will be nine
thousand baskets Of Concord grapes for market and
six hundred barrels of Oporto grape besides the
Burgundies and Clarets. The Oporto grapes are al
lowed to shrink before being gathered for Port
Wine by which they lose considerable their watery
principal, and form greater amount of sugar, the
juice is thus reduced in quantity, but heavier
much richer in quality making the rich Port wine
that has become so celebrated among physicians.
The new wine cellar that Mr.. Speer was building
for the nine large wine tons that brought from
Germany is completed and the tons have been laid
and filed by rackng some of the Port of last years
vintage from the barrels the second floor Of his
warehouse, the wine passing from the barrels to the
tons through hose to prevent its coming In contact
with the air.
The wine is to remain in these tons from three to
four years before racking to the inner cellar where
the oldest wines fned and bottled. The inner
lar is kept at nearly Uniform temperature the year
round. Persons who understand the labor and X
pense connected with the making and four years
of such excellent Port wine as Mr.. Speer produces
cannot be surprised at its being higher in price than
other wines, nor should physicians be surprised at
the superior effect of this wine in restoring their pa
tients. Mr.. Speer's wines extensively used In
Washington by the foreign legation and members of
Congress and the Cabinet He also has orders from
London Dresden and Paris, and from San Francisco,
California. The iron contained in the brown stone
shaly sell of this locality Is just adapted for the
growth of the Port wine grape and the making
Pert and Burgundy wines. Mr.. Speer says he does
not think there is any place in the United States
where the Oporto grape be raised successfully
as the Eastern slope of our mountains down to the
Passaic River.