The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-02-21

shan poor soil. though and sandy sol
in Eastern North Carolina can be-
made very profitable In scuppernons
Grapes.
A word as to the profit. An acre wiz
set ITO vines. At three years old with
proper care, they should produce from.
a peck to a half bushel each. At four
years old they should produce not less
than n to two bushels each. At this
time you can still cultivate one-haif
the land At seven years old you
should be getting from four hundred to
eight hundred bushels per acre. TAX
ing the lowest estimate, say four hun
cred bushels at IS cents per bushel,
which we propose to pay for choice
grapes, you have an income of $500 per
acre, as low estimate for ach year.
Vines live to be over a hundred years
cid. The Old Mother Vine Is still living
on Roanoke Island, and is ever three
hundred years old, and bore fruit last
year though utterly neglected, and its
roots are bare. No crop you can grow
will give such sure returns Ten acres
in grape viii insure any man a steady
income after seven years; which beats
any life insurance policy. While it pro-
duces some times larger crops thai.
others, it neve fails utterly.
To land owners who will set out vines
we propose to give contracts guarantee
ing a market at a regular and fair scale
of prices, for five years or longer, they
to guarantee to sell us the crop each
year., we to take ali the crop hat is
gathered and offered properly at the
nearest railroad station, or at our
winery.
North Carolina has, in the Eastern
part of the state, more han a million
acres Of land adapted to the growth OF
this grape. Granting that only one
acre in each one hundred were planted
and that the minimum crop OF 400 BUSH
els per acre were produced, and that
each bushel produced three gallons Of
wine, we have twelve million gallons
Of the finest wine in the world when
properly made. This is nearly half as
much a. California makes. France
which is not SO very mush larger than
our state, produces over a billion gall
Ions of wine. North Carolina COULD,
if her people only WOULD, be in this
respect the SOUTHERN FRANCE OF
AMERICA, and could make as much
wine as France, the greatest wine pro-
ducing country in the world. We hope
to see the work started. If the farmers
will make the grapes, we will try to
make the wine and sell it.
There is no publisher treaties on
grape growing hat is worth a cent as
applied to Scuppernong. Plant it prop
erly, give it hal~f-a-chance, n it will
make you rich in spite Of yourself-in-
dependent, at least. It takes a little
time. Do not prune it ever, except
when necessary to keep it in shape while
young. If cut it bleeds and dies, or
does not thrive. Give it arborage, and
nice rich soil protected from the sun
n rains by rich loan, or woods-mould.
and it will grow so fast you forget you
planted it five years before. Don't be
deferred by the five years-you have
the use of nearly all your and while it
is growing, and ace in full bearing,
you don't want, at most over fifty acres
to take care Of a large family in, COM
fort-even a%ff1uence. Even if it netted
you only 800 per acre, n you had only
twenty-five acres, it beats cotton or
tobacco as a money crop. Don't go in
too big at first; plant five to ten acres
each year,; then the posting n wiring
don't come all at once and break you,
and you begin to get some income by the
time expenses of wiring becomes heavy.
We advise if you purpose to have a
vineyard Of twenty-five acres, to set
out five acres each year. If you want
fifty acres set out ten acres each year.
In five years you will be on easy street.
in ten years you will be perfectly in
dependent. To any mar who will set
out vineyard we will give a contract
to take his entire product. Get near a
shipping point soS you won't have SO far
to haul you grapes. They are heavy
and must be shipped promptly after
being gathered. We AVE and will have
facilities to handle them as fast as the
farmers can ship them.
Yours very truly,
SOL BEAR & CO.