In the Horticulturist for January, 1 presented some remarks on the "value of native grapes," in which I asserted that common, ill-ripened native grapes are highly indigestible, and that violent deaths had been caused, in the vineyards near Cincinnati, by eating rather freely of the Catawba. These positions have both been very emphatically denied by several writers, and surprise has been expressed that I should state as facts things which to some persons seem so incredible. I therefore, in self-defence, propose to say a few words more on these points.

The question of the digestibility or indigestibility of native grapes might be settled by reasoning upon physiological principles alone. We know that substances are more readily digested in the stomach when finely divided by mastication, and reduced to a pulp-like mass, which can be freely saturated or permeated by the gastric juice; and that food is more difficult of digestion when passed into the stomach in the form of solid masses, of close texture, which can not be penetrated by the digestive fluid, but must be dissolved slowly from the outside. Hence a cube of pork, or a piece of hard-boiled white of egg, as large as a nutmeg, will remain in the stomach undigested for six or eight hours, while particles of animal food, divided by chewing, will be dissolved in three and a half to four hours. Substances of a porous character, like bread, or fibrous, like beef, mutton, and fowl, are also easily digested, even in pieces of considerable size, because they can be penetrated by the gastric juice.

The pulp of our common (often not well-ripened) native grapes is a very dense, close, tenacious substance, not porous like bread, nor fibrous like beef, but firm in texture, almost if not quite water-proof; cold, slippery, solid, and evidently quite as indigestible as a cube of cold, fat, boiled pork. There is nothing in these grapes pungent, or stimulating to the stomach, to excite digestive action; but down they go, without chewing, and there they lie, as bad as so many hard apple cores, waiting the slow process of digestion from the outside of the various pulps, and wearying if not torturing the stomach by the unnatural effort.

So much for the philosophy of digesting native grapes. Practically, we all know that persons of feeble digestion are very shy of eating freely of native grapes, and those who do indulge in them occasionally, like to have a little good brandy at hand, to use as a medicine afterwards, to put the stomach into vigorous action, in order to get rid of the dangerous dose as speedily as possible. Mothers who are careful of their children's health are always cautious about giving them common native grapes, and hence their sale for use as a table fruit, is very limited as compared with strawberries, blackberries, etc.

If it were desirable, I could furnish a volume of testimony from physicians, as to the injurious effect of these grapes upon the stomach and bowels; but it is unnecessary, as nearly every person of any judgment in the matter of diet, is aware that there is no fruit so dangerous as native grapes when eaten freely, especially in the ill-ripened state in which they are usually sold in our markets.

Well ripened, tender native grapes, if eaten in moderation, especially with bread or other food, and divested of their seeds, are, beyond all question, highly refreshing and beneficial, as an article of diet, even to the sick.

Have deaths been produced in the vineyards at Cincinnati, from eating rather freely of the Catawba grape 1 This is a question of fact, not of opinion or theory. My assertion was based upon a good deal of minor testimony which I will not here detail, although I consider it reliable, but chiefly upon the following in the "Vine Dresser's Manual," by Chas. Reemelin, of Ohio, published by C. M. Saxton & Co., 1856, a work well known to all the leading grape-growers in the country. When I first made the statement in question, at the meeting in Brooklyn, I gave my authority. On page 85 of Reemelin's Manual will be found the following remarks:

" I would here warn against that voracious eating of grapes, while gathering them, which is characteristic of raw hands. Our [native] grapes have very large kernels, and very tough skins, and there is inside also a rather indigestible pulp. All these things are different in Europe. There the kernels are small, the skin very light, and the inside is almost without pulp. Persons in this country read of the grape-cure of Europe, and from this conclude that grapes are always healthy. So they no doubt are, if eaten in small quantities, and when perfectly ripe; but I know of five deaths, within my own experience, which, from unmistakable signs, arose from eating too freely of grapes. One of these five was a most hearty and very intelligent young German, who laughed at all warnings, and would insist that grapes were surely healthy at all times of the day, and in any amount".

These are the facts and the testimony. I believe the witness is a credible one, and the record has never been disproved. I earnestly advise our friends in New York, who sometimes eat five pounds "a-day of native grapes, to heed the solemn "warning" above given, lest they should meet the untimely fate of the "voracious" eaters of native grapes "out West".

In respect to the profit of native grape culture, the most exaggerated statements have been published by parties interested in the sale of plants. The truth is, that the losses from attempts at vineyard culture in this country have been enormous, and the profits are never very great. We are constantly told, that it will pay to invest $4,000 in the preparation of an acre of vineyard, and that such an acre will produce from $500 to $1,500 per annum; one writer says he can plant 1,000 Concord vines on an acre, which will produce 25,000 pounds of grapes per annum, which, at 10 cents per pound, amounts, as will readily be perceived, to $2,500.