At a recent meeting of the American Wine Growers Association at Cincinnati, the following was read from N. W. ThatCher, of Chillicothe:

• * • * "The great desideratum in wine growing is, doubtless, to procure a Grape possessing at once sugar in abundance, and an agreeable aroma - probably the Catawba (there are some spurious varieties of this Grape) possesses these qualities to a more profitable degree than any Grape we now cultivate, inasmuch as it is perfectly hardy; but this Grape should not be regarded as the type of American Grapes, for we shall yet surpass it, and to those whose palates do not accord too much with the foxy aroma of the Catawba, the Herbemont is the most acceptable Grape; but the latter is not sufficiently hardy for extensive and profitable cultivation; but as we have several varieties of that class of Grapes, we may look for the production of seedlings from them that will surpass any of the fox family. Doubtless a cross of the Herbemont and Catawba would produce a valuable Grape as to flavor and juiciness.

"It is doubtless a desideratum to obtain a Grape possessing all the requisites for good wine; that is, it should be productive, hardy, juicy, sweet and well favored. Until we can get one Grape possessing in a sufficient degree all these, we can cultivate several varieties and attain our object by mixing the berries in the mash tub. This is desirable, at least, to afford variety in our wines, as well as to give flavor to strong-bodied wines which are without it.

"The wine I sent you was made of 75 per cent of the Herbemont Grape, 20 per cent of the Catawba, and 5 per cent of the Conttantia, (Schuylkill) The Herbemont was not fully ripe when gathered, but were picked ten days before pressing. The Catawba were quite ripe, and gathered some days before pressing. The Conttantia were fully ripe, and gathered just before mashing. By fully ripe I mean 'dead ripe,' the stems brown and dry; and that is the grand point in wine making. The Grapes were picked, stood twelve hours before pressing, and no extraneous substance of any kind was added, nor has any addition since been made of any substance whatever. The wine, after coming from the press, was fermented in glass.

"The taste of the juice of the Grape, as well as for various kinds of food, becomes fixed to some particular sorts by custom, and finally to the exclusion of anything new; and hence I infer it will be difficult after a few years, to eradicate the predilection of Ohio wine - even for the foxy aroma of their Catawba wines. If we look forward to the exportation of wines to foreign countries, we must look for their production in Grapes of the Herbemont type. I am a wine grower to a very limited extent, and only as an amateur; but still my experiments are, so Car as they are successful, as valuable in their results as if I crushed the Grapes of a township. I shall make no wine this season. I am satisfied that we can make as good wines in this country as in any other, and at equal price. I would prefer the best Cincinnati wine to any foreign 1 have ever seen; except, perhaps, the pure Xeres, Sherry, and Mangannelta, which we rarely see".