For many years I have been interested in the success of grape culture in Florida, and deem the subject worthy of being noticed through the colums of the Horticulturlst. Many flattered themselves that our middle and western States would become wine-pro-ducing regions, and supply the wants of our population with the pure juice of the grape. Taking advantage of the opportunity, unprincipled wine growers wrote, talked, lectured and published bombastic descriptions of useless varieties, and thousands were induced to purchase straws at from (3 to (5 each, to reap disappointment. The next enemy of the viticulturist was the oidium (mildew) which destroyed the foliage of foreign and nearly ail our native varieties - in some localities the Concord and Hartford Prolific alone escaping the ravages of this pest. There appeared another enemy, the grape vine louse (Phylloxera) attacking the leaves and roots and completing what the former left unfinished. Still they come: for the past summer has fully developed in Borne localities another pest-the Thrip (Thrips Ocracous). In some localities the insect existed in such quantities as to destroy the epidermis of the leaves, thereby limiting growth, and preventing the ripening of the wood and fruit.

In my garden, the leaves of many varieties, more especially the Senasqua, appeared as though they had been seared with a hot iron.

On the shores of our lakes, and in a few favored localities east of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the 36th parallel, the grape is successfully cultivated; but the areas are so limited that we must look farther. During our visits we have carefully examined the capabilities of portions of the Southern States regarding vine culture; and we shall communicate such information as we have derived from observation and inquiry. Several years since we made a summer tour through Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina and Georgia, and in no instance did we find any variety of grape, except the Scuppernong and Concord unaffected by mildew. In July '69 we visited Florida, and at St. Augustine found the Isabella, Delaware, Concord, Black Hamburgh and other varieties growing luxuriantly and unaffected by any disease.

During the course of last winter we made an extended tour through Florida and endeavored to obtain all the information possible regarding the vine, native or foreign; and to our great surprise could not find one of either variety in some of the older towns. I visited Tallahassee, and found that a gentleman named Bradford owned a small vineyard a few miles from town; and in company with my friend, Col. J. J. Williams, visited it. Mr. B. informed me, that he had tested a large number of varieties, native and foreign, and that the majority had been' unsuccessful - but that the Concord and Scuppernong had succeeded admirably. He attributed the injury sustained by some of the varieties tested to the ravages of the phylloxera. We questioned htm closely regarding the condition of the foliage during the summer months, and carefully examined the roots of a number of varieties; and arrived at the conclusion that the true cause of failure was the oidium and not the phylloxera. Mr. B. submitted for my inspection a sample of his Concord wine, and for bo-quet, absence of acid, and color it excelled any sample of Concord wine we ever tested - reminding us of the Burgundy wine made in Australia. Owing to the length of the season, the fruit of the Concord attains greater perfection, and contains less acid and more saccharine matter than in our Northern States.

Since our return to our northern home, we communicated with Col. J. J. Williams, of Tallahassee, and requested him to hand our communication to some reliable grape grower, and solicit replies to my queries. My letter was handed to Mr. John A. Craig, who kindly replied as follows:

Tallahasssee, Fla., Sept. 6th, 1873. Dear Sir:

Your letter of July 30th to Col. J. J. Williams was handed to me by him to answer. Mr. Bradford and myself being the only persons at present in the county who are growing grapes, I will give you statements of what B. and I have done. Our plantations join each other, and I believe you visited his place with Col. Williams. Six years ago, Mr. B. and self's attention was turned towards grape growing from some statements we had read in some agricultural papers, and believing we had the climate, and could select soils well adapted to its culture, we planted each eight acres of scuppernong vines. The next year we planted several acres of the Clinton grape, being led thereto by the success of J. P. Berckmans, of Augusta, Ga., and the low price of the vines compared with other varieties. Mr.Bradford planted, at the same time, 100 Concord vines. The Clinton grew rampant, and the third year, from its number of bunches, bid fair to yield us a fair crop. In the month or June the gall louse [oidium?] attacked the leaves, together with a dull yellow beetle, and destroyed all the leaves, in consequence of which the fruit dried up and fell off. The next year was accompanied with the same results, when we destroyed the vines.

Three years since, I planted fifty-three varieties of grapes, some of them vitis vinifera. To make a long story short, I have reduced my varieties down to Concord, Ives, Hartford, Diana, Martha, Rodgers Nos. 1, 2,4 and 53, Greveling, Herbemont, Black Hamburgh and Malaga. Of the above, Concord, Ives and Delaware I have succeeded best with.

These are hardy, and yield finer bunches and larger berries than the same kinds north. The Black Hamburgh and Malaga grow well in open ground, but would do better if planted between such varieties as Ives and Concord on the trellis, training them to the lower wire, while the latter are trained to the upper wires, protecting them with their dense foliage from heavy dews and rains. By adopting this plan, I believe that most of the varieties of vitis vinifera can be grown in this State, on land with a porous subsoil, or soil artificially drained.

[to be continued.]