The Dunkirk shale loams are found upon the hill or escarpment. These form the grape lands farthest removed from the lake. This soil is comparatively thin, not averaging more than a half-foot in depth and is hardly ever found a foot deep. It is brown in color with much coarse fragmentary shale on the surface and underlaid with a considerable body of heavy clay. Part of the shale loam land lies on slopes too steep and rough for cultivation but the hillside table lands of this soil are especially well adapted to grape-growing. The grapes grown here contain much sugar, therefore keep and ship well, have a high flavor, and are especially sought for in wine-making; grapes on these soils mature early, have tough skins, but are only medium-sized berries. The yields are much more variable on this soil than on the others because of the great variation in the depth of soil. On deep soils of this loam the yield is all that could be desired. Because of the lay of the land, and the nature of the soil, there is much washing and cultivation must be done judiciously. The climate is exceptionally favorable for the grape-grower in the Chautauqua district. It is, if anything, of more importance than the land; for grape soils are not uncommon, but a grape climate as near perfection as that of this region is indeed rare. The influence of the lake in modifying the temperature of the region is the chief climatic factor. This influence need not be dwelt upon here for it is common knowledge that large bodies of water temper cold winter weather, hold back vegetation in spring, equalize night and day temperatures of summer, lengthen the growing season and ward off autumn frosts. Each of these influences is highly favorable to the growth of the grape. The escarpment on the southeastern boundary of the belt has a most decided influence on the climate chiefly because it confines the influence of the lake to a narrow belt. When the escarpment becomes low, as at the two extremities of the belt, grape-growing ceases to be profitable. When the distance between the lake and the escarpment is great, the climatic conditions are not so favorable.