We have received from Mr. Bailey, of Plattsburgh, a bunch of this new grape, which is said to ripen two weeks before the Isabella. We regret to say that the specimen was too imperfect to enable us to form a just opinion of it, the berries having shriveled and lost their flavor. We shall endeavor to learn more about it.

The Adirondack Grape #1

We have been furnished with a drawing of the Adirondack grape, an engraving from which we present as a frontispiece. A specimen of the fruit was sent to us last fall, but it was not in a condition to be tested. We have been promised some fruit next fall, when we shall be able to give an opinion. In the mean time we give a history of the grape furnished by a gentleman conversant with it. It is as follows:

ADIRONDAC GRAPE.

"The want of a grape that would mature in the short northern summer in the open air, has long been experienced by the horticulturists of that section. Many experiments have been made, and years of careful attention devoted to the subject without adequate results, the known varieties suffering from the shortness of the season, and notwithstanding every mode of treatment, failing, in most cases, to mature.

"Among others who had devoted much patient labor to experiments attended with considerable expense, was John W. Bailey, Esq., of Plattsburgh, N. Y., who is well known in the northern section of this State as an ardent follower of the pursuit of horticulture, and the exhibitor of several novelties in the way of fruits, at the northern exhibitions. Mr. Bailey's investigations have at last led to the discovery of a new variety of grape which he feels satisfied is destined to fill the deficiency and have an extended usefulness. The original discovery was wholly accidental. J. G. Witherbee, Esq., of Port Henry, Essex County, N. Y., who in connection with his large iron mining interest in that section, is one of the most successful amateur fruit growers in the Cham plain Valley, in adding a piece of new land to his garden, noticed a vine growing wild. The vine was quite large, and Mr. Witherbee, considering it one of the common species, directed that it should be grubbed up to make place for a root crop. A year or two after, a small vine made its appearance near the spot, and as it grew vigorously he gave it a trellis, and trained it in the same manner as he did his Isabellas and other varieties, since which time it has received equal care in pruning, laying down, and winter covering.

It commenced to bear four years ago, ripening previous to the 10th of September, and before the Isabella had commenced coloring, or had even attained its size, and two weeks before the ripening of the Northern Muscadine, and about three weeks before the Delaware. "The fruit is larger than the Isabella; in cluster and berry of about equal size, the same color, very compact bunch with prominent shoulders; the berries are perfectly round and adhere firmly to the receptacle when fully ripe; it is very sweet and juicy, with a flavor peculiar to itself, with scarcely any perceptible pulp, and with less seeds than most other varieties. Mr. Witherbee brought this grape to the notice of Mr. Bailey as experienced in such matters while he was attending the Essex County Agricultural Fair, at Elizabethtown, in the autumn of 1860. Samples were sent to him for examination. The fair occurred on or about the 26th of September, at which time Hartford Prolific, Northern Muscadine, and Delaware were not ripe, while the season of the Adirondack was passed and the fruit gone, excepting the samples sent. Mr. B. visited the garden of Mr. Witherbee to examine the vine and form a more correct judgment of its character and value.

The result of the visit satisfied him that it was a rare acquisition to northern collections. He immediately arranged for the entire control of the variety and the privilege of its introduction. He exhibited the fruit at the Montreal Horticultural and Agricultural Society fair in the autumn of 1861, and was awarded the special silver medal of the society in appreciation of its introduction as the grape best adapted to the latitude of Canada. The original vine was discovered at the eastern slope of an Adirondack peak, perhaps fifty rods from the shore of Lake Champlain. It is a prolific bearer, and undoubtedly the earliest to mature of any variety known. The result of its cultivation in a warmer region is one as yet to be tested, and is looked forward to with interest by those familiar with its advantages. It is supposed that in a more southerly latitude it will supply the great desideratum of a very early grape, maturing at a season when the other out-door varieties are not yet available".

The Adirondack Grape #1

In our number for March last we gave a drawing of this new grape, with a description by a correspondent We lately received a sample from Mr. Bailey, of Plattsburgh, N. Y. Our frontispiece in the March number is a very good representation of the size and form of both bunch and berry. In general appearance it resembles the Isabella, but the bunch is more pointed, and the berries not quite so oval. The skin is thin. The flesh is juicy and crisp rather than melting, with a little hardness in the center. It is quite sweet, with a flavor that reminds one of the Black Hamburgh; yet it is not high or very decided. This Hamburgh flavor has caused some to doubt whether it is a native; but we have the vine growing, and its native character is unmistakable. It is said to ripen two or three weeks before the Northern Muscadine and Delaware, which would place its season, in many localities, early in the month of August. If this should prove to be so, its earliness and good quality will give it much value for northern latitudes. Another year may add something more to our knowledge on this point. It is not always safe, however, to predicate the earliness of a grape upon the locality where it originated, for local causes are sometimes concerned in its maturity which do not operate generally.

We hope the Adirondac, however, may prove to be quite as early as it is thought to be, for it will give us a starting point for something else, independently of this. We believe the Fruit Committee of the American Pomological Society reported it as "promising well".

The Adirondack Grape #1

I OBSERVED your remarks in the January number of The Horticulturist in regard to the Adirondack. I am fully aware that it has proved variable in different localities. With mc it takes the lead, and my vineyards of this fine grape have been much admired by all who have visited my grounds when the fruit was ripe. It is early, prolific and delicious ; as free from disease as any variety I cultivate, and the most profitable grape I grow, selling always for the highest price. Last fall I had a visit from Charles Downing, Esq., who saw the fruit ripe on my vines, and he freely expressed his approval of its merits for this section.

Messrs. Eilwanger & Barry, who grow this variety in their vineyards, are well known as among the leading pomologists of this country ; they say of Adirondack - "One of the best of the newer grapes; bunch, large ; berry, large, tender and sweet; quite as early as Hartford Prolific; vine similar in wood and foliage to Isabella, but less vigorous".

Last fall we were invited to exhibit our fruit at the grape fair of Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Son. I sent samples of Adirondack; they arrived there one day too late. Messrs. B., in acknowledging the receipt of them, said, "we consider it one of the three best on the table." This is no small recommendation when we consider that there were over 120 varieties on exhibition.

In a late number of the Boston Journal of Chemistry, I find the following: " Among the new varieties of grapes, the Adirondack is worthy of praise. We have fruited it three consecutive seasons, and it is the earliest and sweetest of all the varieties. It has also proved to be a good bearer, hardy, and the fruit holds well on to the stem. It is a magnificent grape for wine, affording a variety resembling true Malaga. It is so exceeding saccharine that it needs to be closely watched and intel-ligently handled in manipulating for wine".

Dr. James B. Bell, of Augusta, Me., writes me under date of February 27,1870, as follows; "I believe the Adirondack to be a great success here. * * * I have never tasted so fine a fruit grown in the open air, either here or in Middle or Northern Europe. I have sent cuttings to Vienna (Austria) this winter".

It is needless to accumulate evidence; I could furnish it abundantly from this locality, Vermont, Canada and elsewhere.

The "Union Village" is a grape of splendid appearance, and could I grow it successfully, I would give it room; but it is too late. The Isabella is too late ; it seldom fully colors with us, and is never sweet.

If The Horticulturist were designed to circulate only in the immediate vicinity of New York, its opinion would do very well in regard to Scuppernong and Adirondack, for I do not suppose that the former would ripen its fruit or stand the climate of New York; it certainly will not here. Having spent some years at the South, I well know the value of this variety in Southern Virginia and North Carolina, and I believe that judicious experiments in hybridizing with this for the parent vine, will produce the most valuable varieties for those States. At present it stands their hot summers and drouth without the slightest injury; never exhibits the least sign of mildew, and bears most abundantly without much trouble, and is used extensively in the manufacture of wine. I think that the fruit growers of North Carolina will hardly care to throw by the Scuppernong grape. I know that thousands of the vines are annually planted all over the South, and will continue to be, until some new and improved variety of this species is introduced, and fortunate will be the man who finds it.