Evening journal., 1901-10-21
HOW THE CONCORD GRAPE
WAS FOUND 90 YEARS

| tlueI varieties OF udllN6 grapes COM
bined." said the proprietor of a Chau-
taudua Lake. n. j., vineyard. There
are many localities where other varie-
ties are scarcely known, but there is
not nook or corner of the land where
| the Concord is not found, and it ap-
pears abundantly even in the vineyards
of France. Years and years ago Hor-
ace Greeley gave the Concord the name
of "the peoples grape" and in spite
of tine fact that since its discovery,
nearly sixty years ago, many other ex-
ce.lent varieties have been put upon
the market. the reliable old Concord
has ever maintained its lead.
"A remarkable thing in the history
of this grape is that the original vine
the parent of all the thousands and
thousands of acres of Concord vine
yards, and of the untold number of
Concord vines that cover the arbors
and trellises of home gardens through
out the country-is alive and vigorous
yet, and bearing generously every year
! OF the grape that has done more for
the general advancement of viticulture
as a great commercial industry than
any other grape. The patriarch vine
Is on the Old Ephraim Bull place, a
mile from Concord. close by the his
toric home of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
1T is doubtful If even among vine
yardists who have made fortunes out
of the Copcord grape there are many
who know how the popular and profit
able grape originated. II was the pro-
duct Of chance wild grape vine. More
than sixty years ago Ephraim w. Bull.
an invalid. removed from Boston to
Concord for the benefit of his health.
His brother then lived in the Haw-
thorne house. and Ephraim bought the
cottage and grounds nearby. He had
some knowledge of grapes and grape
growing, and planted a number of
Chasselas and Black Hamburg vines
both foreign varieties-and the native
Isabella. but the season was so short
that it was only with the greatest care
and attention that he succeeded in get
ting ripe grapes from them. He tried
other varieties in his experiments in
raising table grape successfully, but
none could withstand the late spring
and early autumn frOsts of that local
ity. He then conceived the idea of pro-
.ducing a grape from seed.
"A neighbor of Bulls had two sons
who were constantly in the woods or
fields hunting and fishing. In the fall
of 1910 they came home with a quantity
of wild grapes, which they said grew
on vine in a piece of woods near the
Concord river They showed Bull
where the vine was. but the grapes
then upon it were not just in the CON
dition he desired for his experiment.
Not until the fall of 1893 did they bear
and ripen in that condition, and that
fall. early in October, Bull planted
number of the grapes whole. They
We're a large. sweet grape. tam in color
and with a foxy after taste They
were unlike any wild grapes he had
ever seen. and there were no others
like them anywhere in the vicinity.
"The seeding vines that came up
from the grapes were transplanted
and cared for until 1S49 without result,
but in that year. on September 10. Mr..
Bull picked a large bunch of black
grapes from one of them-the first
bunch of Concords that ever grew.
Delicious as the grapes were. he con-
tinued the cultivation of the vines until
1852 before he considered that the fruit
had come to a state of perfection, and
in that year he placed a basket of them
on exhibition with the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society, with the result
that an instant demand for cuttings
from his vines arose.
THE creating of the Concord grape
was the first successful use of the seed
of the wild grape in obtaining a new
variety of table grapes. The name
Concord was given to this grape by Mr..
Bull. The grape Itself was not put in
the market until 1854. 1t has been
there ever since. with a constantly in
creasing demand for it, Millions of
dollars have been made from its sale,
and the sale of vines. It's discoverer
died few years ago at the age Of
nearly ninety and poor
New York City receives $4,000 tons
or grapes from the vineyards OF this
State alone every season, and the great
bulk of that supply is made up of Con-
cords. The Chautauqua district of
1900 acres grows comparatively few
other grapes, and a great part of the
vast Lake Kueka region is planted
with Concords. 1t is probably a fact
little known outside the trade that the
favorite Catawba grape, which is the
latest native grape to come into the
market, cannot be prOfitably grown
elsewhere than in Lake Keuka district,
owing to climatic and meteorological
conditions. Hence the supply of Ca
tawba that comes to this city is from
that region.
1t was for many years a source of
wonder to consumers of grapes why
there was no standard variety of ma
tive white grape in the market, such as
Concord. Catawba and Delaware were
among black grapes. In the trade all
grapes that are not white are black,
whether they are black, red or purple.
Ever since grape culture became an
industry in this country vineyardists
and nurserymen have been striving to
produce a native white grape which
would possess qualities to commend it
as profitable in the market.
Many excellent white grapes are the
result of these experiments, among
them being the Lady Washington.
Prentiss, Pocklington. Rebecca and
Duchess. These are all grapes of fine
quality, and when the Prentiss was
discovered il was believed that the