Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-05

Thomas Jefferson was one of Major Adj
lum's best friends and exchanged many let
tiers with him in regard to the culture of
grapes. In one of them he alludes to him
self as your brother amateur" When
Jefferson was President, by an executive
order he gave Album the right to make and
sell wine in the District of Columbia In
1872 he says in the American Farmer that
ne has eleven acres of grapes under cult
walton. In 1876. he says, he cleared 81 900
from his vineyard. He planted the vines in
rows twelve feet apart and the vines six
feet apart in the row. He says 1873 vines of
Catawba made forty-seven and half
bushels of grapes. and that a bushel of
grapes made three gallons of wine He
offered to sell cuttings of this 'Tokay'
VINE at the rate of 81 for twelve cuttings
% for one hundred cuttings and 800 for
five hundred-prices which nowadays would
be regarded as rather high
In one of his letters President Jefferson
paid high compliment to Major Album
Winemaker saying that his wines had
graced the table at Monticello, and con-
noisseurs rad been unable to distinguish it
from the very best Burgundy from Cham
berlin, which Mr. Jefferson had himself
Imported from FRANCE. In letter dated
April -. 1919, Jefferson says: The quail
ity of the bottle of, wine you sent me
satisfies me that we have at length found
ole native grape Injured to all the accidents
OF our climate. which will give us a wine
worthy the best vineyards of France"
In letter dated April II. 1923 Jefferson
says: Il received successfully two bottles
of wines you were so kind to send me The
first, Tokay. is fine wine of high flavor,
and. as you assure me there was not drop
of brandy or other spirits added to it, |
may say it is good wine with a body of
its own" In a foot note to this letter
Major Album says: 7 now call this Ca
tawba wine From this it would appear
that some time subsequent to 1893 the name
Catawba was given to the grape which
Major Album had secured from Mrs.
SchoIrs vine.
wild Grape.
1t is a fact that lths -Catawba was found
wild in the woods of Buncombe county
n. c., about ten miles southeast of Ashe-
vile. In 1907 Senator Davey, who lived
on the Catawba river transplanted some
of the vines to his farm. and some time
between that year and 1916 brought cut
tings of his vines TO Washington and gave
them to some friends in Maryland The
SchOll vine undoubtedly came from these
cuttings. American horticulturists are
agreed in the opinion that thu Catawba is
purely native grape. without the Slight
est admixture from European kinds.
The Experiment Station Idea.
There is another respect in which John
Album is entitled to the esteem of the
American people He was the first man to
urge the establishment of a government ex-
perimental farm. In the preface of his lit
tie book published in 1873 he says: almost
every species of grape to be found in our
widely extended country is capable by
proper cultivation of yielding wine equal
to most imported wines. These, however.
from the progress of Improvement and the
rapid increase of population are diminishing
daily and will finally if not attended to in
time become altogether extinct. 1t was to
prevent this evil. far L could be in
strumental in preventing 1t. that l wished
to obtain from the President of the United
States a few years ago Il lease of a portion
of the public ground in the city for the pur-
pose of forming d vineyard and of culti-
waiting an experimental farm. 1t was my
intention, had l been successful, to procure
cuttings of the different species of the ma
tive vine to be found in the United States to
ascertain their growth, soil and produce
and to exhibit to the nation new source
of wealth which had been too long neglect
ed. My application was. however rejected
and l have been obliged to prosecute the
undertaking myself without assistance and
without patronage, and this ] have done to
the full extent of my very limited means
desire to be useful to my country has
animated all my efforts and given stimu-
lus to all my cXertions.
The scope of Albums plans for an ex-