At our last interview you urged me to describe a grape which has come under my observation the past year, in the neighborhood of my residence. My unwillingness to do so heretofore has been from a desire to make further examination of its habits, so as to preclude any error or mistake in its description.

The vine is a native seedling, Vitis labrusca. The wood casts its bark in long strips; it has enormous tendrils of sufficient strength to bear the weight of a man; is of a dark mahogany color; compact, hard, close grained, medium jointed, ripening to the topmost shoot before frost in 1860; propagates readily. Leaves large, three to five lobed, heart shaped, strong nerved, yellowish green above, tomentose or wooly beneath. Bunches large, very compact, and shouldered, (resembling in form the engraving of the Delaware published by Dr. Grant,) weighing from half a pound to one and a quarter pounds. One bunch measured by me was in length six and six-tenth inches, in breadth four and seven-tenth inches, and contained about one hundred berries. I did not count them. Berries dark blue or purple, large, round, holding firmly to the bunch; sweet, juicy, with an aromatic flavor. Skin thin, with fine bloom, dotted with lighter spots, easily removed by the touch. Flesh free from woody fibre or toughness. No mildew or rot visible.

Ripening from third to tenth September, 1860, a wet season, when cultivated varieties generally did not ripen.

This vine grows in a swale on the north side of a stone wall, elevated say four hundred to five hundred feet above the Hudson River; is protected on the west by very high land, the sun rising on the twenty-second of November twenty-seven minutes later and setting one hour and fifteen minutes earlier than on level land, reducing the day from nine hours and thirty-four minutes, to seven hours and fifty-three minutes at that point, a difference of one hour and forty-two minutes. The situation is exposed to cold north winds. The thermometer indicated twenty nine and a half below zero on the thirteenth of January, 1861. The latitude is about forty one to thirty North.

The age of this vine is about seventeen years. It has borne regular crops of fruit for fourteen years without fail, and has never been manured, cultivated, or protected.

In 1859 the crop was one hundred and fifty pounds. During the fall and winter following, the water found its way along the old wall, and washed the earth from this vine so as to lay the roots bare. The product of 1860 was about one hundred pounds.

The soil is strong loam, about four or five inches, with a sub-soil of clay intermixed with gravel (broken stone) and friable sandstone five or six inches. Under this is rock and hard pan.

The wood is now in the hands of a propagator, and as soon as I am permitted to do so I shall be pleased to place one of the roots in your possession, that you may compare it yourself with the varieties which you are cultivating.

My comparison of temperature on the thirteenth of January, between the situation of this vine and at my house, shows a difference of eight and a half degrees colder, which may be accounted for in the fact that there is about one and three quarter hours less sunshine during the day. Yours most truly, Mortonville, Orange Co., N. Y. W. A. Woodward.

April 10,1861.

[Thank you for your description. In some respects it reminds us of the Union "Village. Its hardiness seems to be undoubted. We shall be obliged to you for the vine; but, in its season, be so good as to send us a bunch of the fruit. With the above came a request that we would give the grape a name. It having originated on the Woodward farm, we accordingly exercise our prerogative, and name it the Woodward Grape; a name on which we hope it will cast no discredit. Our readers shall have our opinion of it when we receive the fruit. - ED].

Mr. Editor:- I sent you an article some time ago in reply to Mr. Veitch, and since then I see in the Horticulturist for April, an article from Mr. Henderson, of Jersey City. The article in question covers the whole ground of both their remarks; for they both unknowingly admit that I am in the right; and had they understood the article in question, they could not have found any fault with it. There is one remark of Mr. Henderson's that I must reply to by your permission. With regard to my catalogue and the " European " varieties therein mentioned, I did not condemn all the foreign varieties, by no means.

Again: I am not so green as to throw away the names and varieties while the public taste panders to them, and until we can change this " opinion/' shall still keep them; but I would say that, when my customers send for Verbenas, (unless they select them,) I send very few of the foreign ones, unless superior to others of American growth; for I grow very many not upon the catalogue, and many now there I have but a limited number of Then, I assure you, I perhaps import as many as Mr. H., but find so few worth retaining, I shall not import many more.

With regard to the Verbena degenerating by growing from cuttings, it is simply absurd for Mr. H. to state such a thing. If such is the case, why are not those very old varieties mentioned by him, totally lost sight of? for they have been propagated ad infinitum to the present time. So he might say of any other plant, it degenerates by being grown from cuttings. That won't do, Mr. H. It may be the case with those " European varieties," but not so with the American.

Mr. Editor, the whole secret is this, there is money made out of those imported varieties, and John Bull gets the blame when they are not good, because the responsibility is thrown upon him; for he describes them, and not us; but when we send out one of our own, we have to take the responsibility.

[The Verbena question will come right yet. We have no words but those of commendation for a meritorious plant, no matter where raised; but we think that, as a general tiling, no adequate encouragement has been given to the production of American seedlings. We may differ as to the cause of this, but the fact is patent enough. - Ed].