[Letter from W. E. Dancy to Roy Klotz, July 19, 1975] Page: 3 of 12
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week to ten days. So that, according to the catalogues, LAST ROSE was not likely
to set any fruit if it depended on BEACON and EXTRA. Well, when the blooming
occured this spring, the catalogues, if not fully verified, were at least right
in the instance of LAST ROSE, which bloomed very much after the other two. But,
thanks to the special providence which takes care of drunkards and fools, a
wild, male grape decided to reach out for the trellis adjacent to LAST ROSE,
and this happened, almost by miracle, to bloom at the same time with it; so my
vine of LAST ROSE has three full clusters, despite the misleading information in
Munson's book, As the catalogues were printed over a very long period, and the
blooming dates were not materially altered with time, I am betting they are right.
The book, a one-time production, may have been parcelled out to helpful daught-
ers fof compilation of less important material, and my guess is that the dates
used came from the inflcwescence table by error. I can't help but believe in the
long period the catalogues were used widely, some irrate buyer would have complain-
ed if they were materially wrong on the dates. What little change there is, may
be the result of averaging.
On the other hand, XLNTA, which set several tight clus-ters last
year (I only permitted three or four berries to remain), without benefit of a
closely situated mate blooming along with it, this year set rather scant clusters.
This may have been due to the almost continuous rains, which washes all pollen
from the air currents and makes even self-fertile varieties set string y clusters,
when the rains are hard or persist.
Due to a recent development, which may necessitate my removal to
Texas a couple of years hence, my plans are changing. Thus, I am permitting the
Munson varieties which set grapes, to hold them this year. Ordinarily, I would
not permit any fruit to ripen until the third year of growth after transplanting,
because subsequent production usually suffers; but under the altered circumatanc-
es my main interest is to establish ripening dates and confirm the varieties. So
there will be a limited amount of fruit. I have made almost no attempt to train
the Munson varieties, preferring that they produce as many canes as possible, for
dispersal to interested associates. Thus, they are a rather disorderly sight.
But I was able to send a very large number out to interested parties this spring.
In fact, I was so successful in thisvey that I quite overlooked the fact I was
sending out the OLITA vine I planned to keep for myself; fortunately, one of my
cuttings of this variety is putting on good growth. I shall add this one, plus
CAPTAIN, the two very early ones, HEADLIGHT and PRESLY, and MANSON, which are
growing wdll, I also will probably dig up the WINE KING I transplanted this
spring, and replace it with the much more vigorous one I have just rooted: al-
ready the newly rooted cutting is larger than the transplant. But generally, my
rooting of cuttings has been a failure this spring, due to the fact that my little
dog, Frazzle, has been going ahead of me and jumping up onto my cuttings bed and
running down it, because it is smooth and easier on her feet than the stony path.
I finally discovered what had been knocking new growth ofi the cuttings, but not
in time to save either. XENIA, NEVA MUNSON or ATOKA; I may wait until I move to
acquire these.
As poor as my soil is, here, I can make grapes grow, if only on
a survival basis; so it is with trepidation that I contemplate a move to Central
Texas, where my daughter has bought fourteen acres between WIMBERLY and DRIPPING
SPRINGS, and is planning to build a house. But both she and her mother are becom-
ing impatient of the separation - over six hundred miles - and I can not insist
on staying here, though in some respects this is an ideal climate and environ-
ment for me. I am not much encouraged by what I know of her soil, and everything
will have to be irrigated - by pumped water - for a couple of years; but I suppose
I can make it go, While far enough south to appear to be in the Pierce's Disease
section, the land is above the Balcones Escarpment, so I am hoping there will be
no trouble on that score. But I am certain that many of Munson's grapes, all of
which would do well at this elevation (in Arkansas, I mean), will not thrive
there, perhaps not even on his D0G RIDGE rootstock. I am not even sure I would
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Dancy, W. E. [Letter from W. E. Dancy to Roy Klotz, July 19, 1975], letter, July 19, 1975; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1353464/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Grayson College Foundation.