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Title: Manual of American Grape-Growing
Author: Hedrick, U. P., 1870-1951
Language: English
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Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
The Rural Manuals
EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY
MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING
The Rural Manuals
EDITED BY L. H. BAILEY
MANUAL OF GARDENING--_Bailey_
MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS--_Harper_
FARM AND GARDEN RULE-BOOK--_Bailey_
MANUAL OF FRUIT INSECTS--_Slingerland and Crosby_
MANUAL OF WEEDS--_Georgia_
THE PRUNING-MANUAL--_Bailey_
MANUAL OF FRUIT DISEASES--_Hesler and Whetzel_
MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS--_Stocking_
MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS--_Crosby
and Leonard_
MANUAL OF TREE DISEASES--_Rankin_
MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING--_Van Rensselaer, Rose,
and Canon_
MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING--_Hedrick_
MANUAL OF
AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING
BY
U. P. HEDRICK
HORTICULTURIST OF THE NEW YORK AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENT STATION
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1919
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1919,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Setup and electrotyped. Published June, 1919.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
PREFACE
Seventy-nine books on grapes enrich the pomology of North America, not
counting numerous state and national publications. Pomological writers
in America have been partial to the grape, for other fruits do not
fare nearly so well. Twenty-two books are devoted to the strawberry,
fourteen to the apple, to the peach nine, cranberry eight, plum five,
pear nine, quince two, loganberry one, while the cherry, raspberry,
and blackberry are not once separated from other fruits in special
books. Thus, though a comparative newcomer among the fruits of the
country, the grape has been singled out for a treatise more times than
all other fruits of temperate climates combined--seventy-nine books on
the grape, seventy on all other fruits.
This statement of partiality does not lead to an apology for a new
book on the grape. There is urgent need for a new book. But three of
the seventy-nine treatises on this fruit are contemporary, and all but
one, a handbook on training, are records from vanished minds. Methods
change so rapidly and varieties multiply so fast, that to keep pace
there must be new books on fruits every few years. Besides, the types
of grapes are so diverse, and different soils, climates, and
treatments produce such widely dissimilar results, that many books are
required to do justice to this fruit--the vineyard should be seen
through many eyes.
Commercial grape-growing is now a great industry in America, and
deserves a treatise or its own. But there are also many demands for
information on grape-growing by those who grow fruits for pleasure,
especially by those who are escaping from cities to suburban homes,
for the grape is a favorite fruit of the amateur. And so, though
Pleasure and Profit are a hard team to drive together, this manual is
written for both commercial and amateur grape-growers.
In particular, the needs of the amateur are recognized in the chapter
on varieties, where many sorts are described which have little or no
commercial value. No other fruit offers the enchantment of novelty to
be found in the grape. Alluring flavors, sizes, and colors abound, of
which the amateur wants samples. The commercial grower who plants but
one variety often finds himself dissatisfied with the humdrum of the
business. He should emulate the amateur and plant more kinds, if only
for pleasure, remembering the adage, "No profit grows where is no
pleasure ta'en." Greater pleasure in grape-growing, then, is offered
as the justification of the long chapter on varieties.
At the risk of too broad spreading, the author discusses, in a book
mainly devoted to native grapes, the culture of European grapes in the
far West. The chief aim is, of course, to set forth information that
will be helpful to growers of these grapes in the western states,
there being no treatises to which western growers can refer, other
than bulletins from state and national agricultural institutions.
There is, however, another reason for attempting to cover the whole
field of grape-growing in America. It is certain that eastern
grape-growers will sometime grow European grapes. Western vineyards
might well be enlarged with plantings of native grapes. On the
supposition, then, that the culture of both European and native grapes
is to become less and less restricted in America, the author has
ventured to discuss the culture of all grapes for all parts of North
America.
In the preparation of this manual, the author's "The Grapes of New
York," a book long out of print and never widely distributed, has been
laid under heavy contribution, especially in the description of
varieties. Acknowledgments are due to F. Z. Hartzell for reading the
chapter on Grape Pests and their Control and for furnishing most of
the photographs used in making illustrations of insects and fungi; to
F. E. Gladwin for similar help in preparing the two chapters on
pruning and training the grape in eastern America; to Frederic T.
Bioletti for permission to republish from a bulletin written by him
from the Agricultural Experiment Station of California almost the
whole chapter on Grape Pruning on the Pacific Slope; and to O. M.
Taylor and to R. D. Anthony for very material assistance in reading
the manuscript and proofs.
U. P. HEDRICK.
GENEVA, N. Y.,
Jan. 1, 1919.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE DOMESTICATION OF THE GRAPE 1
II GRAPE REGIONS AND THEIR DETERMINANTS 16
III PROPAGATION 36
IV STOCKS AND RESISTANT VINES 61
V THE VINEYARD AND ITS MANAGEMENT 73
VI FERTILIZERS FOR GRAPES 97
VII PRUNING THE GRAPE IN EASTERN AMERICA 108
VIII TRAINING THE GRAPE IN EASTERN AMERICA 123
IX GRAPE-PRUNING ON THE PACIFIC COAST 150
X EUROPEAN GRAPES IN EASTERN AMERICA 184
XI GRAPES UNDER GLASS 192
XII GRAPE PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL 204
XIII MARKETING GRAPES 230
XIV GRAPE PRODUCTS 250
XV GRAPE BREEDING 273
XVI MISCELLANIES 284
XVII GRAPE BOTANY 300
XVIII VARIETIES OF GRAPES 330
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
PLATE PAGE
I. Two views of vineyards in California; a vineyard
in the orchard region of central California, and
a vineyard in southern California 14
II. Fitting the land for planting 34
III. Cover-crop; cow-horn turnips, and rye 48
IV. A well-tilled vineyard of Concords 60
V. Vinifera grapes grown out of doors in New York;
Malvasia and Chasselas Golden 72
VI. Black Hamburg 82
VII. Barry. Delaware 96
VIII. Brighton 106
IX. Campbell Early 114
X. Clinton 122
XI. Concord 138
XII. Diana 148
XIII. Dutchess 164
XIV. Eaton 182
XV. Eclipse 190
XVI. Elvira 202
XVII. Empire State 218
XVIII. Herbert 228
XIX. Iona 248
XX. Isabella 272
XXI. Jefferson 282
XXII. Lindley. Lucile 298
XXIII. Lutie. Pocklington 328
XXIV. Moore Early 340
XXV. Muscat Hamburg 350
XXVI. Niagara 360
XXVII. Salem 370
XXVIII. Triumph 380
XXIX. Vergennes 390
XXX. Winchell 400
XXXI. Worden 416
XXXII. Wyoming 432
FIGURES IN THE TEXT
FIGURE
1. A shoot of _Vitis vinifera_ 3
2. A shoot of _Vitis Labrusca_ 6
3. A shoot of _Vitis rotundifolia_ 10
4. A shoot of _Vitis æstivalis_ 12
5. A shoot of _Vitis vulpina_ 14
6. Planting cuttings 40
7. A cutting beginning growth 40
8. Cutting off the trunk 46
9. Cutting the cleft 47
10. Inserting the cion 47
11. The completed graft 47
12. Bench-grafted cuttings of grape, showing the
cleft-graft and the whip-graft. (Adapted from
Husmann) 51
13. Vine ready for pruning 113
14. A "go-devil" for collecting prunings 119
15. A trellis and a common method of bracing end posts 120
16. Chautauqua training; vine ready to prune 127
17. Keuka method of training 130
18. Single-stem four-cane Kniffin training 133
19. Umbrella method of training 134
20. Two-trunk Kniffin training 135
21. Rotundifolia vines trained by the overhead method 144
22. A Rotundifolia vine trained by the 6-arm renewal
method 145
23. Forms of head pruning 154
24. Forms of head pruning 155
25. Head pruning: fan-shaped head; fruit canes tied
to horizontal trellis 156
26. Single vertical cordon with fruit-spurs 157
27. Unilateral horizontal cordon with fruit-spurs 158
28. Three-year-old vine ready for pruning 169
29. Vine of Fig. 28 after pruning for vase-formed head 169
30. Three-year-old vines: A, pruned for a vase-formed,
and B, for a fan-shaped head 170
31. Four-year-old vine pruned for vase-formed head 171
32. Four-year-old vine pruned for high vase-formed head 172
33. Fan-shaped vines: A, before pruning; B, after
pruning 173
34. Vertical cordon, young vine pruned 176
35. Unilateral horizontal cordon with half-long pruning 177
36. Leaf-galls of the phylloxera 205
37. The grape root-worm 207
38. Root-worm beetle 207
39. Injuries caused by beetles of the grape root-worm 207
40. Eggs of grape-vine flea-beetle 209
41. First four stages of the grape leaf-hopper 212
42. The fifth and the mature stages of the grape
leaf-hopper 212
43. A bunch of grapes despoiled by the grape-berry moth 214
44. Work of black-rot of the grape 219
45. Grapes attacked by downy-mildew 221
46. Packing grapes on a packing-table 234
47. Climax baskets in two sizes 236
48. William Robert Prince 274
49. E. S. Rogers 275
50. T. V. Munson 277
51. Staminate and perfect flower clusters on one vine 285
52. Ringing grape-vines; showing tools for ringing and
ringed vines 292
53. A grape flower; showing the opening cap and stamens 305
54. Grape flowers; showing upright and depressed stamens 306
MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING
CHAPTER I
THE DOMESTICATION OF THE GRAPE
The domestication of an animal or a plant is a milestone in the
advance of agriculture and so becomes of interest to every human
being. But, more particularly, the materials, the events and the men
who direct the work of domestication are of interest to those who
breed and care for animals and plants; the grape-grower should find
much profit in the story of the domestication of the grape. What was
the raw material of a fruit known since the beginning of agriculture
and wherever temperate fruits are grown? How has this material been
fashioned into use? Who were the originative and who the directive
agents? These are fundamental questions in the improvement of the
grape, answers to which will also throw much light on the culture of
it.
Botanists number from forty to sixty species of grapes in the world.
These are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, all but a few
being found in temperate countries. Thus, more than half of the named
species come from the United States and Canada, while nearly all of
the others are from China and Japan, with but one species certainly
growing wild in southwestern Asia and bordering parts of Europe. All
true grapes have more or less edible fruits, and of the twenty or more
species grown in the New World more than half have been or are being
domesticated. Of the Old World grapes, only one species is cultivated
for fruit, but this, of all grapes, is of greatest economic importance
and, therefore, deserves first consideration.
THE EUROPEAN GRAPE
The European grape, _Vitis vinifera_ (Fig. 1), is the grape of ancient
and modern agriculture. It is the vine which Noah planted after the
Deluge; the vine of Israel and of the Promised Land; the vine of the
parables in the New Testament. It is the grape and the vine of the
myths, fables, poetry and prose of all peoples. It is the grape from
which the wines of the world are made. From it come the raisins of the
world. It is the chief agricultural crop of southern Europe and
northern Africa and of vast regions in other parts of the world,
having followed civilized man from place to place in all temperate
climates. The European grape has so impressed itself on the human mind
that when one thinks or speaks of the grape, or of the vine, it is
this Old World species, the vine of antiquity, that presents itself.
The written records of the cultivation of the European grape go back
five or six thousand years. The ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks
and Romans grew the vine and made wine from its fruit. Grape seeds
have been found in the remains of European peoples of prehistoric
times, showing that primitive men enlivened their scanty fare with
wild grapes. Cultivation of the grape in the Old World probably began
in the region about the Caspian Sea where the vine has always run
wild. We have proof of the great antiquity of the grape in Egypt, for
its seeds are found entombed with the oldest mummies. Probably the
Phoenicians, the earliest navigators on the Mediterranean, carried the
grape from Egypt and Syria to Greece, Rome and other countries
bordering on this sea. The domestication of the grape was far advanced
in Christ's time, for Pliny, writing then, describes ninety-one kinds
of grapes and fifty kinds of wine.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. A shoot of _Vitis vinifera_.]
It can never be known exactly when the European grape came under
cultivation. There is no word as to what were the methods and
processes of domestication, and whose the minds and hands that
remodeled the wild grape of Europe into the grape of the vineyards.
The Old World grape was domesticated long before the faint traditions
which have been transmitted to our day could possibly have arisen. For
knowledge of how wild species of this fruit have been and may be
brought under cultivation, we must turn to New World records.
AMERICAN GRAPES
Few other plants in the New World grow wild under such varied
conditions and over such extended areas as the grape. Wild grapes are
found in the warmer parts of New Brunswick; on the shores of the Great
Lakes; everywhere in the woodlands of the North and Middle Atlantic
states; on the limestone soils of Kentucky, Tennessee and the
Virginias; and they thrive in the sandy woods, sea plains and
reef-keys of the South Atlantic and Gulf states. While not so common
west of the Mississippi, yet some kind of wild grape is found from
North Dakota to Texas; grapes grow on the mountains and in the cañons
of all the Rocky Mountain states; and several species thrive on the
Mexican borders and in the far Southwest.
While it is possible that all American grapes have descended from an
original species, the types are now as diverse as the regions they
inhabit. The wild grapes of the forests have long slender trunks and
branches, whereby their leaves are better exposed to the sunlight. Two
shrubby species do not attain a greater height than four or five feet;
these grow in sandy soils, or among rocks exposed to sun and air.
Another runs on the ground and bears foliage almost evergreen. The
stem of one species attains a diameter of a foot, bearing its foliage
in a great canopy. From this giant form the species vary to slender,
graceful, climbing vines. Wild grapes are as varied in climatic
adaptations as in structure of vine and grow luxuriantly in every
condition of heat or cold, wetness or dryness, capable of supporting
fruit-culture in America. So many of the kinds have horticultural
possibilities that it seems certain that some grape can be
domesticated in all of the agricultural regions of the country, their
natural plasticity indicating, even if it were not known from
experience, that all can be domesticated.
Leif the Lucky, the first European to visit America, if the Icelandic
records are true, christened the new land Wineland. It has been
supposed that this designation was given for the grapes, but recent
investigations show that the fruits were probably mountain
cranberries. Captain John Hawkins, who visited the Spanish settlements
in Florida in 1565, mentions wild grapes among the resources of the
New World. Amadas and Barlowe, sent out by Raleigh in 1584, describe
the coasts of the Carolinas as, "so full of grapes that in all the
world like abundance cannot be found." Captain John Smith, writing in
1606, describes the grapes of Virginia and recommends the culture of
the vine as an industry for the newly founded colony. Few, indeed, are
the explorers of the Atlantic seaboard who do not mention grapes among
the plants of the country. Yet none saw intrinsic value in these wild
vines. To the Europeans, the grapes of the Old World alone were worth
cultivating, and the vines growing everywhere in America only
suggested that the grape they had known across the sea might be grown
in the new home.
That American viticulture must depend on the native species for its
varieties began to be recognized at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, when several large companies engaged in growing foreign
grapes failed, and a meritorious native grape made its appearance. The
vine of promise was a variety known as the Alexander. Thomas
Jefferson, ever alert for the agricultural welfare of the nation,
writing in 1809 to John Adlum, one of the first experimenters with an
American species, voiced the sentiment of grape experimenters in
speaking of the Alexander: "I think it will be well to push the
culture of this grape without losing time and efforts in the search
of foreign vines, which it will take centuries to adapt to our soil
and climate."
[Illustration: FIG. 2. A shoot of _Vitis Labrusca_.]
Alexander is an offshoot of the common fox-grape, _Vitis Labrusca_
(Fig. 2), found in the woods on the Atlantic coast from Maine to
Georgia and occasionally in the Mississippi Valley. The history of the
variety dates back to before the Revolutionary War, when, according
to William Bartram, the Quaker botanist, it was found growing in the
vicinity of Philadelphia, by John Alexander, gardener to Governor Penn
of Pennsylvania. Curiously enough, it came into general cultivation
through the deception of a nurseryman. Peter Legaux, a French-American
grape-grower, in 1801 sold the Kentucky Vineyard Society fifteen
hundred grape cuttings which he said had been taken from an European
grape introduced from the Cape of Good Hope, therefore called the
"Cape" grape. Legaux's grape turned out to be the Alexander. In the
new home the spurious Cape grew wonderfully well and as the knowledge
of its fruitfulness in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana spread, demand for
it increased, and with remarkable rapidity, considering the time, it
came into general cultivation in the parts of the United States then
settled.
_The Labrusca or fox-grapes._
Of the several species of American grapes now under cultivation, the
Labrusca, first represented by the Alexander, has furnished more
cultivated varieties than all the other American species together, no
less than five hundred of its varieties having been grown in the
vineyards of the country. There are several reasons why it is the most
generally cultivated species. It is native to the parts of the United
States in which agriculture soonest advanced to a state where fruits
were desired. In the wild, the Labruscas are the most attractive,
being largest and handsomest in color; among all grapes it alone shows
black-, white- and red-fruited forms on wild vines. There is a
northern and a southern form of the species, and its varieties are,
therefore, widely adapted to climates and to soils. The flavor of the
fruits of this species, all things considered, is rather better than
that of any other of our wild grapes, though the skins in most of its
varieties have a peculiar aroma, somewhat pronounced in the well-known
Concord, Niagara and Worden, which is disagreeable to tastes
accustomed to the pure flavors of the European grapes. All Labruscas
submit well to vineyard operations and are vigorous, hardy and
productive, though they are more subject to the dreaded phylloxera
than are most of the other cultivated native species. Of the many
grapes of this type, at least two deserve brief historical mention.
Catawba, probably a pure-bred Labrusca, the first American grape of
commercial importance, is the most interesting variety of its species.
The origin of the variety is not certainly known, but all evidence
points to its having been found about the year 1800 on the banks of
the Catawba River, North Carolina. It was introduced into general
cultivation by Major John Adlum, soldier of the Revolution, judge,
surveyor and author of the first American book on grapes. Adlum
maintained an experimental vineyard in the District of Columbia,
whence in 1823 he began the distribution of the Catawba. At that time
the center of American grape culture was about Cincinnati, and an
early shipment of Adlum's Catawbas went to Nicholas Longworth of that
city and was by him distributed throughout the grape-growing centers
of the country. As one of the first to test new varieties of American
grapes, to grow them largely and to make wine commercially from them,
Nicholas Longworth is known as the "father of American grape culture."
Catawba is still one of the four leading varieties in the vineyards of
eastern America. The characters whereby its high place is maintained
among grapes are: Great elasticity of constitution, by reason of which
the vine is adapted to many environments; rich flavor, long-keeping
quality, and handsome appearance of fruit, qualities which make it a
very good dessert grape; high sugar-content and a rich flavor of
juice, so that from its fruit is made a very good wine and a very good
grape-juice; and vigor, hardiness and productiveness of vine. The
characters of Catawba are readily transmissible, and it has many
pure-bred or hybrid offspring which more or less resemble it.
The second commercial grape of importance in American viticulture is
Concord, which came from the seed of a wild grape planted in the fall
of 1843 by Ephraim W. Bull, Concord, Massachusetts. The new variety
was disseminated in the spring of 1854, and from the time of its
introduction the spread of its culture was phenomenal. By 1860 it was
the leading grape in America and it so remains. Concord furnishes,
with the varieties that have sprung from it, seventy-five per cent of
the grapes grown in eastern America. The characters which distinguish
the vine are: Adaptability to various soils, fruitfulness, hardiness
and resistance to diseases and insects. The fruits are distinguished
by certainty of maturity, attractive appearance, good but not high
flavor, and by the fact that they may be produced so cheaply that no
other grape can compete with this variety in the markets. Concord is,
as Horace Greeley well denominated it in awarding the Greeley prize
for the best American grape, "the grape for the millions."
The histories of these two grapes are typical of those of five hundred
or more other Labruscas. Out of a prodigious number of native
seedlings, an occasional one is found greatly to excel its fellows and
is brought under cultivation.
_The Rotundifolia or Muscadine grapes._
Long before the northern Labruscas had attained prominence in the
vineyards of the North, a grape had been domesticated partially in the
South. It is _Vitis rotundifolia_ (Fig. 3), a species which runs riot
from the Potomac to the Gulf, thriving in many diverse soils, but
growing only in the southern climate and preferring the seacoast.
Rotundifolia grapes have been cultivated somewhat for fruit or
ornament from the earliest colonial times. It is certain that wine was
made from this species by the English settlers at Jamestown. Vines of
it are now to be found on arbors, in gardens or half wild on fences
in nearly every farm in the South Atlantic states. That the
Rotundifolias have not been more generally brought under cultivation
is due to the bountifulness of the wild vines, which has obviated the
necessity of domesticating them. The fruit of its varieties, to a
palate unaccustomed to them, is not very acceptable, having a musky
flavor and odor and a sweet, juicy pulp, which is lacking in
sprightliness. Many, however, acquire a taste for these grapes and
find them pleasant eating. The great defect of this grape is that the
berries part from the pedicels as they ripen and perfect bunches
cannot be secured. In fact, the crop is often harvested by shaking the
vines so that the berries drop on sheets beneath. Despite these
defects, a score or more varieties of this species are now under
general cultivation in the cotton-belt, and interest in their
domestication is now greater than in any other species, with great
promise for the future.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. A shoot of _Vitis rotundifolia_.]
_The Æstivalis or summer-grapes._
The South has another grape of remarkable horticultural possibilities.
This is _Vitis æstivalis_ (Fig. 4), the summer-grape or, to
distinguish it from the Rotundifolias, the bunch-grape of southern
forests. There are now a score or more well-known varieties of this
species, the best known being Norton, which probably originated with
Dr. D. N. Norton, Richmond, Virginia, in the early part of the
nineteenth century. The berries of the true Æstivalis grapes are too
small, too destitute of pulp and too tart to make good dessert fruits,
but from them are made our best native red wines. Domestication of
this species has been greatly retarded by a peculiarity of the species
which hinders its propagation. Grapes are best propagated from
cuttings, but this species is not easily reproduced by this means and
the difficulty of securing good young vines has been a serious
handicap in its culture.
There are two subspecies of _Vitis æstivalis_ which promise much for
American viticulture. _Vitis æstivalis Bourquiniana_, known only under
cultivation and of very doubtful botanical standing, furnishes
American viticulture several valuable varieties. Chief of these is the
Delaware, the introduction of which sixty years ago from the town of
Delaware, Ohio, raised the standard in quality of New World grapes to
that of Old World. No European grape has a richer or more delicate
flavor, or a more pleasing aroma, than Delaware. While a northern
grape, it can be grown in the South, and thrives under so many
different climatic and soil conditions and under all is so fruitful,
that, next to the Concord, it is the most popular American grape for
garden and vineyard. Without question, however, Delaware contains a
trace of European blood.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. A shoot of _Vitis æstivalis_.]
Another offshoot of this subspecies is Herbemont, which, in the South,
holds the same rank that Concord holds in the North. The variety is
grown only south of the Ohio, and in this great region it is esteemed
by all for a dessert grape and for its light red wine. It is one of
the few American varieties which finds favor in France, being
cultivated in southwest France as a wine-grape. Its history goes back
to a colony of French Huguenots in Georgia before the Revolutionary
War. Very similar to Herbemont is Lenoir, also with a history tracing
back to the French in the Carolinas or Georgia in the eighteenth
century.
The other subspecies of _Vitis æstivalis_ is _Vitis æstivalis
Lincecumii_, the post-oak grape of Texas and of the southern part of
the Mississippi Valley. Recently this wild grape has been brought
under domestication, and from it has been bred a number of most
promising varieties for hot and dry regions.
_The Vulpina or river-bank grapes._
The North, too, has a wine-grape from which wines nearly equaling
those of the southern Æstivalis are made. This is _Vitis vulpina_ (_V.
riparia_), the river-bank grape, a shoot of which is shown in Fig. 5,
the most widely distributed of any of the native species. It grows as
far north as Quebec, south to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic
to the Rocky Mountains. Fully a century ago, a wine-grape of this
species was cultivated under the name Worthington, but the attention
of vineyardists was not turned to the Vulpinas until after the middle
of the last century, when the qualities of its vines attracted the
attention of French viticulturists. Phylloxera had been introduced
from America into France and threatened the existence of French
vineyards. After trying all possible remedies for the scourge, it was
discovered that the insect could be overcome by grafting European
grapes on American vines resistant to phylloxera. A trial of the
promising species of New World grapes showed that vines of this
species were best suited for the reconstruction of French vineyards,
the vines being not only resistant to the phylloxera but also vigorous
and hardy. At present, a large proportion of the vines of Europe,
California and other grape-growing regions are grafted on the roots of
this or of other American species, and the viticulture of the world
is thus largely dependent on these grapes.
[Illustration: FIG. 5. A shoot of _Vitis vulpina_.]
The French found that a number of the Vulpina (Riparia) grapes
introduced for their roots were valuable as direct producers for
wines. The fruits of this species are too small and too sour for
dessert, but they are free from the disagreeable tastes and aromas of
some of our native grapes and, therefore, make very good wines. The
best known of the varieties of this species is the Clinton, which is
generally thought to have originated in the yard of Dr. Noyes, of
Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, about 1820. It is, however,
probably the Worthington, of which the origin is unknown, renamed.
There are possibly a hundred or more grapes now under cultivation
wholly or in part from Vulpina, most of them hybrids with the American
Labrusca and the European Vinifera, with both of which it hybridizes
freely.
_Domesticated species of minor importance._
In the preceding paragraphs we have seen that four species of grapes
constitute the foundation of American viticulture. Nine other species
furnish pure-bred varieties and many hybrids with the four chief
species or among themselves. These are _V. rupestris_, _V. Longii_,
_V. Champinii_, _V. Munsoniana_, _V. cordifolia_, _V. candicans_, _V.
bicolor_, _V. monticola_ and _V. Berlandieri_. Several of these nine
species are of value in the vineyard or for stocks upon which to graft
other grapes. The domestication of all of these is just begun, and
each year sees them more and more in use in the vineyards of the
country.
[Illustration: PLATE I.--Two views of vineyards in California. _Top_,
a vineyard in the orchard region of central California; _bottom_, a
vineyard in southern California.]
CHAPTER II
GRAPE REGIONS AND THEIR DETERMINANTS
Happily, the grape in its great diversity of forms accommodates itself
to many conditions, so that some variety of the several cultivated
species will produce fruit for home use, if not as a market commodity,
in every part of America adapted to general agriculture. But
commercial grape-growing on this continent is confined to a few
regions, in each of which it is profitable only in ideal situations.
In fact, few other agricultural industries are more definitely
determined by environment than the grape-industry. Where are the grape
regions of America? What determines the suitability of a region for
grape-growing? Answers to these questions furnish clews to the culture
of this fruit and help in estimating the potentialities of a new
region or of a location for grape-growing.
THE GRAPE REGIONS OF AMERICA
There are four chief grape-growing regions in North America, with
possibly twice as many more subsidiary ones. These several regions,
each of which has its distinct varieties and to less extent distinct
species, and in each of which grapes are grown for somewhat widely
different purposes, give a great variety of industrial conditions to
the grape-growing of the continent. Nevertheless, the regions have
much in common in their environment. It is from their differences and
similarities that most can be learned in the brief discussions of the
regions that follow.
_The Pacific slope._
The Pacific slope takes precedence among the grape regions of the
continent, exceeding all others combined in the production of grapes
and grape products. California is the viticultural center of this
great region, grapes being grown within her bounds from the foot of
Mount Shasta on the north to Mexico on the south and from the
foothills of the Sierras on the east to the forest that borders the
coast on the west. So outlined, California might appear to be one vast
vineyard, but it is only in favored valleys, plains and low hills in
the territory bounded that the vine is sufficiently well suited to be
productive. Outliers of this main region of the Pacific slope run
north into Oregon, Washington, Idaho and even into British Columbia,
forced more and more eastward the farther north to escape humidity
from the ocean which northward passes farther and farther inland.
Other outliers of the main region are found eastward in Nevada,
Arizona, New Mexico and even Utah and Colorado, though for the most
part in these states grape-growing is still insignificant. Plate I
shows typical vineyards in California.
The grapes grown on the Pacific slope are almost exclusively Vinifera
varieties, though a few American grapes are planted in the Pacific
Northwest. This is not because American varieties cannot be grown,
although they succeed rather less well here than on the eastern
seaboard, but because the Viniferas are liked better, and climate and
soil seem exactly to suit them. Viticulture on the Pacific slope is
divided into three interdependent industries which are almost never
quite independent of each other--the wine industry, raisin industry
and table-grape industry. Each of these industries depends on grapes
more or less specially adapted to the product, the special
characteristics being secured chiefly through somewhat distinct types
of grapes but depending partly on soil and climatic conditions. The
manufacture of unfermented grape-juice is not yet a success in this
region for the reasons that Vinifera grapes do not make a good
unfermented juice, and American grapes are not grown in sufficient
quantities to warrant the establishment of grape-juice plants.
Bioletti gives the extent of the grape-growing industry in California
as follows:[1]
"The vineyards of California covered in 1912 about 385,000 acres. Of
this total, about 180,000 acres were producing wine-grapes. Roughly,
50 per cent of the wine was produced in the great interior valleys,
including most of the sweet wines; 35 per cent was produced by the
valleys and hillsides of the Coast ranges, including most of the dry
wines; the remaining 15 per cent was produced in Southern California
and included both sweet and dry.
"The raisin-grape vineyards covered about 130,000 acres, of which
about 90 per cent were in the San Joaquin Valley, 7 per cent in the
Sacramento, and 3 per cent in Southern California.
"The shipping-grape vineyards are reckoned at 75,000 acres,
distributed about as follows: 50 per cent in the Sacramento Valley, 40
per cent in San Joaquin, 6 per cent in Southern California, and 4 per
cent in the Coast ranges."
_The Chautauqua grape-belt._
The Chautauqua grape-belt, lying along the northeastern shore of Lake
Erie in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, is the second most important
grape region in America. The "belt" is a narrow strip of lowland
averaging about three miles in width, lying between Lake Erie and a
high escarpment which bounds the belt on the south throughout its
entire length of a hundred or more miles. Here climate and soil seem
to be exceptionally favorable for grape-growing. Climate is the chief
determinant of the boundaries of this belt, since there are several
types of soil upon which grapes do equally well in the region, and
when the climate changes at the two extremities of the belt where the
escarpment becomes low, or when the distance between the lake and the
escarpment is great, grape-growing ceases to be profitable.
The growers of this region are organized into selling associations so
that estimates of acreage and yields are obtainable. At present
writing, 1918, there are in this belt in New York about 35,000 acres
of grapes; in Pennsylvania and Ohio, about 15,000 acres, much the
greater part of which is in Pennsylvania. The average yield of grapes
to the acre for the region is about two tons. The average total
production for the past five years has been about 100,000 tons, of
which 65,000 tons are shipped as table-grapes, and 35,000 tons are
used in the manufacture of wine and grape-juice. Among varieties,
Concord reigns supreme in the Chautauqua belt. The writer, in 1906,
made a canvass of the region, vineyard by vineyard, and found that 90
per cent of the acreage of the belt was set to Concord, 3 per cent to
Niagara, 2 per cent to Worden and the remaining 5 per cent to a dozen
or more varieties of which Moore Early and Delaware led.
The manufacture of grape-juice on a commercial scale began in the
Chautauqua belt and most of this product is still produced in the
region. Here, only Concord grapes of the best quality are used for
grape-juice. The growth of this industry is most significant for the
future of grape-growing in the region. Twenty years ago grape-juice
was a negligible factor in the grape industry of this region; at
present, the annual output is in the neighborhood of 4,000,000
gallons. Grape-juice-makers now determine the price of grapes for the
region, and while the quantity used is less than that for
table-grapes, the time is not distant when it will be greater.
_The Niagara region._
Fifty miles due north of the Chautauqua belt, across the end of Lake
Erie and the narrow isthmus of Niagara, is a smaller belt on the
southern shore of Lake Ontario so similar in soil, climate and
topography that in these respects the two regions might be considered
as identical. This is the Niagara region, Canada's chief
grape-producing area. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario; on
the south, at a distance of one to three miles by the high Niagara
escarpment; to the east it crosses the Niagara River into New York;
and in the west tapers to a point at Hamilton on the westward
extremity of Lake Ontario. Here, again, is the influence of climate
distinctly manifested. As this belt passes into New York, it widens
and the influence of Lake Ontario is less and less felt to the
eastward, and in consequence grape-growing becomes less and less
profitable.
There were, according to the Ontario Bureau of Industries, in 1914,
about 10,850 acres of grapes in the Niagara region in Canada, and
possibly 4,000 acres more near the Niagara River and along the shore
of Lake Ontario in New York. The Niagara grape originated on the
American side of the Niagara region and is here planted more
extensively than elsewhere. Grape-growing in this region is similar in
all respects to that of the Chautauqua belt, the same varieties and
nearly identical methods of pruning, cultivation, spraying and
harvesting being employed. The crop is chiefly used as table-grapes
but the grape-juice industry is growing.
_The Central Lakes region of New York._
In the central part of western New York are several remarkable bodies
of water known as the Central Lakes. Three of these are large and deep
enough to give ideal climatic conditions for grapes, and about these
lakes are grouped several important areas of vineyards, making this
the third most important grape region in America. The region assumes
further importance because most of the champagne made in America is
produced here, and it is the chief center of still wines in eastern
America as well. It is further distinguished by its distinctive types
of grapes, Catawba and Delaware taking the place of Concord and
Niagara, the sorts that usually predominate in eastern grape regions.
The main body of this region lies on the steep slopes of the high
lands surrounding Keuka Lake. On the shores of this lake there are,
approximately, 15,000 acres of grapes. Adjacent to this main body are
several smaller bodies about the neighboring lakes. Thus, at the head
of Canandaigua Lake and on its shores are about 2500 acres; near
Seneca and between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there are probably 1500
acres more. In a few specially favored places on other of these
Central Lakes, there are possibly 1000 acres, making all told for this
region, about 20,000 acres. Again it is climate that sets the seal of
approval on the region for viticulture. In addition to the benefits of
deep bodies of water, high and sloping lands cause the frosts to cease
early in the spring and hold them in abeyance in the autumn, giving an
exceptionally long season.
Champagne-making began here about 1860; at present there are a score
or more manufacturers of champagne, wine and brandy, the output being
annually about 3,000,000 gallons of wine and 2,000,000 bottles of
champagne. Recently the manufacture of grape-juice has begun and the
industry is now flourishing.
_Minor grape regions._
Viticulture is commercially important in several other regions than
those outlined. Thus, in the valley of the Hudson River, grapes have
been grown commercially for nearly a hundred years, the industry
reaching its height between 1880 and 1890, when there were 13,000
acres under cultivation. For some years, however, grape-growing along
the Hudson has been on the decline. Another region in which
viticulture reaches considerable magnitude is in several islands in
Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio, the product going largely for the
manufacture of wine. At one time grapes were grown commercially on the
banks of the Ohio River about Cincinnati and westward into Indiana.
The industry here, however, is a thing of the past. Another region in
which grape-growing was once of prime importance but now lags has its
center at Hermann, Missouri. The newest grape-producing area worthy of
note is in southwestern Michigan about the towns of Lawton and Paw
Paw. A small but very prosperous grape-growing region has its center
at Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Ives is the mainstay among varieties in
this region. In the southern states, Muscadine grapes are grown in a
small way in every part of the cotton-belt and varieties of other
native species are to be found in home vineyards in the upland
regions, but nowhere in the South can it be said that grape-growing is
a commercial industry.
THE DETERMINANTS OF GRAPE REGIONS
Climate, soil, site, the surface features of the land, insects, fungi
and commercial geography are the chief factors that determine regions
for money-making in grape-growing. This has been made plain in the
foregoing discussion of grape regions, but the several factors must be
taken up in greater detail. To bound the regions is of less importance
than to understand why they exist--less needful to remember, more
needful to understand. From what has been said, the reader has no
doubt already concluded that successful grape-growing is in largest
measure due to kindliness in climate.
_Climate_
Under the assumption, then, that climate, of all factors, is chief in
playing providence to the grape, let us examine somewhat critically
the relations of climate to grape-growing. When analyzed, the
essentials of climate, as it governs grape-growing, are found to be
six: first, length of season; second, seasonal sum of heat; third,
amount of humidity in summer weather; fourth, dates of spring and
autumn frosts; fifth, winter temperature; sixth, air currents.
_Length of season._
To reach true perfection, each grape variety has a length of season of
its own. With each, if it is grown in too low a latitude, the vine is
uninterrupted in growth; its leaves tend to become evergreen; and not
infrequently it produces at the same time blossoms, green fruits and
ripe fruits. This is, of course, the extreme to which grapes pass in
the far South. Again, many northern varieties fail where southern
grapes succeed because the fruits pass too rapidly from maturity to
decay. On the other hand, very often southern grapes are hardy in vine
in the North, but the season is not sufficiently long for the fruit to
mature and to acquire sufficient sugar to give them good keeping
quality, properly to pass through vinous fermentation, or even to make
a good unfermented grape-juice. In the uneven topography of this
continent, it is not possible to state the range in latitude in which
grapes can be cultivated to advantage, for latitude is often set aside
by altitude. Thus, isothermal lines, or lines of equal temperature,
are much curved in America and do not at all coincide with the
parallels of latitude.
Other factors, of course, than length of season enter into the
ripening of grapes. The daily range in temperature, not always
dependent on latitude, affects ripening. Cool nights may offset warm
days and delay ripening. Certainly rains, fogs and humid air delay
maturity. The bottom heat of loose, warm, dry gravelly or stony soils
hastens maturity. Sunshine secured by a sunny aspect or shelter
hastens maturity.
_The seasonal sum of heat._
Successful cultivation of the grape depends on a sufficient amount of
heat during the summer season. The theory is that buds of the grape
commence to start when the mean daily temperature reaches a certain
height, and that the sum of the mean daily temperature must reach a
certain amount before grapes ripen. Manifestly, this sum must vary
much with different varieties, low for the earliest sorts, high for
the latest. There have been many observations as to the temperatures
at which buds of the grape start growth, so that it is now known that
the temperature varies in accordance with locality and degree of
maturity. Roughly speaking, grape buds start at temperatures from 50°
to 60° F. The seasonal sum of heat for ripening is probably 1600 to
2400 units. A variety ought not to be planted, therefore, in a region
in which the average seasonal sum of heat is not sufficiently high.
The seasonal sum of heat can be determined for a locality from data
published by the United States Weather Bureau; and by comparing with
the sum of heat units in localities where a variety is known to
thrive, the grape-grower can determine whether there is sufficient
heat for any particular variety.
The grape seldom suffers from hot weather in a grape region. The fruit
is sometimes scalded in the full blaze of a hot sun, but the ample
foliage of the vine usually furnishes protection against a burning
sun. At maturing time, the heat of an unclouded sun, if the air
circulates freely, insures a finely finished product. Deep planting
helps to offset the harmful influences of warm climates.
_Humidity of summer weather._
The grape is very sensitive to moisture conditions, and grows best in
regions where the summer rainfall is comparatively light. A damp and
cloudy summer brings disaster to the vineyard in several ways; as
small growth of vine, small set of fruit, a crop of poor quality, and
the development of the several fungous diseases. Although the grape
stands drought, a superfluity of moisture in the soil may do little
harm, as is shown in irrigated vineyards, but a humid air is fatal to
success especially if the air is both warm and wet. Moist weather
during the time of maturity is particularly disastrous to the grape,
as are frequent fogs. Cold wet weather in blooming time is the
grape-grower's vernal bane, since it most effectually prevents the
setting of fruit. It may be laid down as a rule that the grape lives
by sunlight, warmth and air--it often thrives on the desert's edge.
These considerations make it manifest that the monthly and seasonal
means of precipitation must be considered in selecting a locality to
grow grapes.
_Spring and autumn frosts._
The average date at which the last killing frost occurs in the spring
often determines the limit in latitude at which the grape can be
grown. Even in the most favored grape region of the continent, killing
frosts occasionally destroy the grape crop, and there are few seasons
in which frost does not take some toll. Thus on May 7, 1916, frost all
but ruined the crop of wine- and table-grapes in the great grape
region of northern California where frosts are seldom expected in May.
Little or nothing can be done to protect grapes from frost. Windbreaks
as often favor the frost as the vine, and smudging or heating the
vineyards is too expensive to be practical. In growing grapes,
therefore, the commonly recognized precaution of selecting a site
near water, on slopes or in a warm thermal belt must be exercised.
The limits of grape culture are also determined by early autumn
frosts. The grape stands two or three degrees of frost, but anything
lower usually destroys the crop. Here, again, the only precaution is
to take pains in selecting the site.
_The use of weather data and dates of life events of the grape._
These considerations of length of season, humidity and spring and fall
frosts make it plain that the grape-grower must synchronize these
phases of climate with the life events of the grape. In particular, he
must study weather data in relation to the blooming and ripening of
grapes. Usually, the necessary weather data may be secured from the
nearest local weather bureau, while the date of blooming and ripening
may be obtained from the state experiment stations in the states where
the grape is an important crop.
_Winter temperature._
Varieties of native grapes are seldom injured in America by
winter-killing, since they are usually planted in climates in which
wild grapes withstand winter conditions. Native varieties follow the
rule that plant and climate are truly congenial in regions in which
the plant thrives without the aid of man. A few varieties of native
grapes fare badly in the winter's cold of northern grape regions, and
the tender Vinifera vine is at the mercy of the winter wherever the
mercury goes below zero. In cold climates, therefore, care must be
exercised in selecting hardy varieties and in following careful
cultural methods with the tender sorts. If other climatic conditions
are favorable, however, winter-killing is not an unsurmountable
difficulty, since the grape is easily protected from cold, so easily
that the tender Viniferas may be grown in the cold North with winter
protection.
_Air currents._
Currents of air are of but local importance in growing tree-fruits,
but are of general and vital importance in growing the grape. The
direction, force and frequency of prevailing winds are often
controlling factors in the suppression of fungous diseases of the
grape, and the presence of fungi often means success or failure in
regions in which the grape is planted. Winds are beneficial, too, when
they bring warm air or dry air, and when they keep frosty air in
motion. The air must move in all grape regions, whether from cañon,
mountain, lake or sea. Sunlight, warmth, and air in motion are life to
the grape. Sometimes winds may be detrimental; as when too cold, too
blustering, or when they bring hail, the latter being about the most
disastrous of all natural calamities. Windbreaks are of small value
and are often worse than useless. Having planted his vineyard, the
grape-grower must take the winds as they blow.
_Soils for grapes_
A prime requisite for a vineyard being earth in which vines will grow,
successful grape-growing is eminently dependent on the selection of
soil. Many mistakes are made in the great grape regions in planting on
unsuitable soils, the planter going on the assumption that any soil in
a grape region should be good enough for the grape. But the crust of
the earth in grape regions is not all grape soil. In New York, for
example, much of the land in the three grape regions is better fitted
for producing crops for the mason or road-mender than for the
grape-grower. Other soils in these regions are fit for vineyards only
when tiled, and tiling does not make all wet land fit for tilling.
Heavy, clammy clays, light sands, soils parched with thirst, thin or
hungry soils--on all of these the grower may plant but will seldom
harvest.
_The ideal soil._
Grapes may be well grown in a wide range of soils if the land is well
drained, open to air and if it holds heat. But without these
essentials, whatever the soil, all subsequent treatment fails to
produce a good vineyard. Generally speaking, the grape grows best in a
light, free-working, gravelly loam, but there are many good vineyards
in gravelly or stony clays, gravel or stone to furnish drainage, let
in the air and to hold heat. Contrary to general belief, the grape
seldom thrives in very sandy soils unless there is a fair admixture of
clay, considerable decomposing vegetable matter and a clay subsoil.
The latter, however, must not come too close to the surface. Some of
the best vineyard lands in the country are very stony, the stones
hindering only in making the land difficult to till. Nearly all grapes
require a friable soil, compactness being a serious defect. Virgil,
writing in Christ's time, gave good advice as to soil for the vine:
"A free loose earth is what the vines demand,
Where wind and frost have help'd the lab'rer's hand,
And sturdy peasants deep have stirr'd the land."
Cold, churlish, sticky or clammy clays are never to the liking of the
grape.
Great fertility is not necessary in grape lands. Indeed, the grape is
conspicuous among cultivated plants for ability to nourish itself
where the food supply is scant. Soils naturally too rich produce an
overgrowth of vine, the season's wood does not mature, the crop does
not set, and the grapes lack sugar, size, color and flavor. Good
physical condition and warmth in a well-watered, well-aired soil
enable the grape to search far and wide for its food.
_Drainage._
No cultivated grape endures a wet soil; all demand drainage. A few
sorts may thrive for a time in moist, heavy land, but more often they
do not live though they may linger. The water-table should be at least
two feet from the surface. If by chance this comes naturally, so much
the better, but otherwise the land must be tile-drained. Sloping land
is by no means always well drained, many hillsides having a subsoil so
impervious or so retentive of moisture that under-drainage is a
necessity. The texture of the land is usually improved so greatly by
good drainage that the grower has little need to rely on the clemency
of the season in carrying on vineyard cultivation in well-drained
land.
_Soil adaptations._
In the refinement of viticulture, grape-growers find that particular
varieties grow best in a particular soil, the likes and dislikes being
determined only by trial, for the peculiarities which adapt a soil to
a variety are not analyzable. Some varieties, on the other hand, the
Concord being a good example, grow fruitfully in a great variety of
soils. Each of the several species with their varieties has quite
distinct adaptations to soils. This is taken advantage of in planting
varieties on uncongenial soils after they have been grafted on a vine
which finds itself at home in the particular soil. Much has been
accomplished in growing varieties on uncongenial soils by consorting
them with other stocks, an operation which has brought forth volumes
of discussion as to the adaptabilities of cions to stocks and stocks
to soils, subjects to receive attention on a later page.
_Insects and fungi_
The profitable grape regions of the country have all been established
in regions comparatively free from grape insects and fungi. If pests
came later in considerable numbers, the industry, in the old days,
perished. Here and there in the agricultural regions of the country
may be found a sorry company of halt and maimed vines, remnants of
once flourishing vineyards, brought to their miserable condition by
some scourge of insects or fungi. The advent of spraying and of better
knowledge of the habits of the pests has greatly lessened the
importance of parasites as a factor in determining the value of a
region for grape-growing; but even in the light of the new knowledge,
it is not wise to go against Nature in regions where pests are
strongly intrenched.
_Commercial factors_
The dominant factors that lead to the planting of large areas to any
one fruit are often economic ones; as transportation, markets, labor,
facilities for making by-products, and opportunity to join in buying
and selling organizations. All of these factors play an important part
in determining the bounds of grape regions, but a lesser part than in
the establishment of large areas of other fruits, for the reason that
the grape is so largely grown for raisins, wine, champagne and
grape-juice, products condensed in form, made with little labor,
easily transported, which keep long and find ready market at any time.
Again, where natural conditions are favorable for grape-growing, the
crop comes almost as a gift from Nature; whereas, if the grower must
breast the blows of unfavorable natural circumstances, no matter how
favorable the economic factors may be, the vineyard is seldom
profitable. Natural factors, therefore, outweigh economic ones in
grape-growing, but the latter must be considered in seeking a site for
a vineyard, a task discussed under several heads to follow.
_Accessibility to markets._
Markets ought to be accessible in commercial grape-growing. A location
in which there is a good local market, and at the same time ample
facilities for shipping to distant markets, is desirable. If there
are also opportunities to dispose of any surplus to makers of raisins,
wine or grape-juice, the grower has well-nigh attained the ideal.
Further to be desired are good roads, short hauls, quick
transportation, reasonable freight rates, refrigerator service and
coöperative agencies. The more of these advantages a grower has at his
disposal, the less likely he is to fail in commercial competition.
_General_ versus _local markets._
The grower must be reminded rather than informed that he must decide
in locating his vineyard whether he will grow for distant markets, for
manufacturing into grape products, or for local markets. Determination
to grow grapes once made, subsequent procedure at every step depends
on the disposition to be made of the product. Summarized, the
differences in growing grapes for the two markets are: For the general
market: the acreage should be large; the market may be distant; the
varieties few; the cost of production low; sales large and prices low;
the dealings are with middlemen; and extensive culture is practiced.
For the local market: the acreage may be small; the market must be
near and prices must be high; the sales are direct to the consumer;
there must be succession in ripening; and intensive culture is
practiced. For the general market, the vineyard is the unit; for the
local market, the variety should be the unit. In this discussion,
however, "large acreage" and "extensive culture" set against "small
acreage" and "intensive culture" may mislead. This is a case in which
a large endeavor may be a small endeavor, and a small endeavor a large
one; or, in which it may be well to take the advice of Virgil, who
advised Roman vineyardists, "Praise great estates; farm a small one."
The grape-growing of the times tends more and more to growing for
general markets. The grower plants to skim a comparatively small
return from a large area. This division of grape-growing is now well
developed in America. Intensive grape-growing for local markets is not
well developed. There are, however, many opportunities in America for
easy triumphs in fruit-growing in the planting of vineyards for local
markets. No other fruit responds to fine art in culture so well as the
grape. Given choicely good varieties and a finely finished product,
and the grower may have almost what he desires for the produce of his
skill. With the grape, too, palm of merit goes with skill in culture;
among all who grow plants, only the florist can rival the
viticulturist in guiding the development of a plant to a special end.
In cultivating, fertilizing, training, grafting, pruning, spraying, in
every cultural operation, the grape-grower has opportunities to sell
his skill not given in so high degree to the grower of other fruits.
_Labor._
A great advantage in the congregation of vineyardists in grape regions
is found when labor must be obtained. Skilled labor is required to
cultivate the vine, and such labor can be freely secured only in
centers of viticulture. Grape-growing is a specialists' business, and
it takes more than a day or a season to make a vine-dresser out of a
farmer, gardener or an orchardist. Expert labor is most easily
obtained and is of best quality where grapes abound. Common labor must
be somewhat abundant, also, in good vineyard locations, for such rush
tasks as tying and picking. In these two operations, women, children
or other unskilled labor may be employed to advantage. The grape
harvest must often be hurried, and to keep it in full swing a near-by
city from which to draw pickers is a great asset.
_Vineyard sites._
Within a grape region, the site is important in determining where to
plant. The site is the local position of the vineyard. Sites cannot
be standardized, and therefore no two are alike. The cardinal natural
factors to be secured in a site are warmth, sun, air and freedom from
frost. These factors have been discussed in a general way under the
climate of grape regions, but one needs to particularize a little more
closely to ascertain how they affect individual vineyards. Warmth,
sun, air and frostlessness are best secured by proximity to water,
high land and proper exposure.
_Proximity to water._
The favorable influences of water are well illustrated in the grape
regions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Canada. All of the grape
districts in these regions are bounded on one or more sides by water.
The equalizing effects of large bodies of water on temperature, warmer
winter and cooler summer, are so well known as scarcely to need
comment. Hardly less important than the effects of water on
temperature are the off-shore breezes of night and the in-shore
breezes of day which blow on large bodies of water. These keep the air
of the vineyard in constant motion and so prevent frosts in spring and
autumn, and also dry foliage and fruit so that spores of fungi have
difficulty in finding foothold. But if water brings fogs, dews and
humidity, as does the Pacific, grapes must be planted inland;
otherwise leaf, bloom and fruit are born in the blight of fungi. The
benign influences of water are felt in the eastern grape regions at
distances of one to four miles, seldom farther. These narrow belts
about the eastern waters are bounded on the landward side by high
bluffs over which many showers fail to pass and which protect the
belts below from heavy dews. Where the background of bluffs in these
regions sinks to level land, vineyards cease.
Vineyards are usually some distance above the water, the range in
altitude running from fifty to five hundred feet. Where the altitude
is much higher, immunity to frosts and winter freezing ceases, for
the reason that the atmosphere is rarer and drier so that heat
radiates rapidly from the land. As the height increases, also, the
revels of the wind play havoc with the vines. Yet, one is often
surprised to find good vineyards at the level of the lakes or, on the
other hand, crowning high hills. Altitude in grape-growing must,
therefore, be determined by experiment. We know very little of the
formation of the thermal belts on high land so favorable to the grape.
_The lay of the land._
We associate the grape with rugged land; as the vines on the banks of
the Rhine, the rolling lands of Burgundy, the slopes of Vesuvius and
Olympus, the high hills of Madeira, the cloud-capped mountains of
Teneriffe, mountain slopes in California and the escarpments of grape
regions in eastern America. These examples prove how well adapted
rolling lands, inclined plains and even steep and rocky hillsides are
to the culture of the vine. Virgil long ago wrote, "Bacchus is partial
to broad, sunny hills." Yet rolling lands are not essential to the
culture of the grape, for in Europe and America very good grapes are
grown on unsheltered plains, provided the land has an elevation on one
or more boundaries above the surrounding country. If the conditions of
soil and climate which the grape requires can be found on level land
or moderate slopes, such situations are much better than steep
declivities, since on these the cost of all vineyard operations is
greater and heavy rains erode the soil. The soil on hills, too, is
often scant and niggardly. Level land, however, must not be shut in on
all sides by higher land as untimely frost will often lay waste vines
in such a situation.
_Exposures._
The exposure, or the slope of the land toward a point of the compass,
is important in choosing a site for the vineyard, although the value
of particular exposures is often exaggerated. Let it be remembered
that good grapes may be grown in vineyards exposed to any point of the
compass, but that slight advantages may sometimes come, depending on
the particular environment of the plantation, and then solve the
problem according to conditions. The following are theories as to
exposure: A southern exposure is warmer and hence earlier than a
northern, and is, therefore, the best slope for early grapes as well
as for very late ones liable to be caught by frost. Northward and
westward slopes retard the leafing and blooming period, thus often
enabling the grape to escape untimely spring frosts; though to plant
on such slopes may be robbing Peter to pay Paul, as what is gained in
retardation in spring may be lost in the fall with the result that the
vines may be caught by frost and may fail to ripen their crop. Frost
damage is usually greatest on a bold eastern slope, and vines suffer
most in winter freezes on this exposure, since the direct rays of the
rising sun strike the frozen plants so that they are more injured than
otherwise by rapid thawing. In locations near bodies of water, the
best slope is toward the water, regardless of direction. The exposure
may sometimes be selected to advantage with reference to the
prevailing winds.
[Illustration: PLATE II.--Fitting the land for planting.]
CHAPTER III
PROPAGATION
The grape commends itself to commercial and amateur growers alike by
its ease of propagation. The vines of all species may be propagated
from seed, and all but one of the several cultivated species may be
grown readily from cuttings or layers. All yield to grafting of one
kind or another. Seeds are planted only to produce new varieties. At
one time stocks were grown from seed, but this practice has fallen
into disrepute because of the great variations in the seedlings.
Varieties on their own roots and stocks are for most part propagated
from cuttings. In the production of stocks, the viticulturist sets the
orchardist a good example, for there can be no question that all
tree-fruits suffer from being grown on seedling stocks. The grape is a
vigorous, self-assertive plant and once it is started, whether from
seeds, cuttings or layers, seldom fails to grow.
SEEDLINGS
Growing seedling grapes is the simplest of operations. The seeds are
taken from the grapes at harvest time, after which they must pass
through a resting period of a few months. At once or in a month or
two, the seeds should be stratified in moist sand and stored in a cold
place until spring, when they may be sown in flats or in the open
ground; or seed may be sown in a well-prepared piece of garden land in
the autumn. When planted in the open, autumn or spring, the seeds are
put in at the depth of an inch, an inch or two apart and in rows
convenient for cultivation. Subsequent care consists of cultivation
if the seed are sown in garden rows, and in pricking out when true
leaves appear if planted in flats. In ground that crusts, an expedient
is to mix grape seed with apple seed; the apple seedlings, being more
vigorous, break the crust and act as nurse plants to the more tender
grapes. Sometimes it is helpful to the young plants to mulch the
ground lightly with lawn clippings or moss. Grape seedlings grow
rapidly, often making from two to three feet of wood in a season.
The young plants are thinned or set to stand four or five inches apart
in the nursery row. At the end of the first season, all plants are cut
back severely and almost entirely covered with earth by plowing up to
the row on both sides. This earth, of course, is leveled the following
spring. If the seasons are propitious and all goes well, the seedlings
are ready for the vineyard at the end of the second season, but if for
any reason they have fared badly during their first two years, it is
much better to give them a third season in the nursery. Seedling vines
are seldom as vigorous as those from cuttings, and unusual care must
be taken in setting in the vineyard, though the operation is
essentially the same as that to be described for vines from cuttings.
The third season the vines are kept to a single shoot and are pinched
back when the canes reach a length of five or six feet. In the autumn,
they are pruned back to two or three feet. In the spring of the fourth
season, the trellis is put up and a few fruits may be allowed to
ripen.
The vines of promise may now be selected. The plants, however, must
fruit twice or oftener before it can be told whether hopes are
consummated or must be deferred. Growing seedlings for new varieties
is a game full of chances in which, while there may be little
immediate or individual gain, there is much pleasure. It is hardly too
much to say that the grape industry of eastern America, with its
300,000 acres and 1500 varieties, betokens the good that has come from
growing seedling grapes.
DORMANT CUTTINGS
Vines for vineyards, with the exception of varieties of Rotundifolia,
are propagated from cuttings of hard wood taken from the season's
canes when the vines are pruned. The inactive buds in these cuttings
may be brought into active growth, and roots induced to grow from the
cut surfaces by various means. By this miracle of Nature, an infinite
number of plants, in an endless procession, may be propagated from the
product of a single seed, each plant complete in its heredity and
differing from its fellows only in accordance with environment.
_Time to make cuttings._
A good cutting should have a protective callus over the cut and this
requires time, so that the sooner cuttings are made after the wood
becomes thoroughly dormant the better. Besides, the cutting should use
its stored food material for the formation of adventitious roots
rather than have it pass into buds, as it quickly does late in the
dormant season when buds are about to open. If cuttings must be made
late in the season, transplanting must be delayed as long as possible,
and the cuttings be set in a northerly aspect to prevent the premature
development of the buds. However, the grape responds surprisingly well
to the call of Nature in forming roots, and great importance need not
be attached to the time at which the cuttings are made.
_Selecting cutting wood._
Cuttings are made from one-year-old wood; that is, canes produced
during the summer are taken for cuttings in the fall. Immature canes
and those with soft, spongy wood ought not to be used. Strong vigorous
canes should be given preference over weak growth, but most nurserymen
maintain that very large canes do not make as good cuttings as do
those of medium size, the objection to large size being that the
cuttings do not root as well. Short-jointed wood is better than
long-jointed. Cuttings from vines weakened by insects and fungi are
liable to be weak, soft, immature and poorly stored with food. The
wood should be smooth and straight.
_Making the cutting._
Grape cuttings vary in length from four inches to two feet, the length
depending on the climate and the soil of the nursery and the species
and variety. The hotter and drier the climate and the lighter the
soil, the longer the cutting needs to be. Six to nine inches, however,
is the usual length in the climate of eastern America, while on the
Pacific slope the length varies from eight to fifteen inches. For
convenience in handling, all cuttings should be approximately of the
same length, to insure which some kind of simple gauge is needed.
Various gauges are used, as marks cut in the working table, a stick of
the required length, or a cutting-box.
In making the cuttings, a slanting cut is made close below the lowest
bud, while about an inch of wood is left above the upper bud. When
possible, a heel of old wood is left at the lower end; or, still
better, a whorl of buds, as roots usually start from each bud. The
finished cuttings are tied in bundles, all butts one way, and are then
ready to be heeled-in. This is done by burying in trenches, butts up,
and covering with a few inches of soil. It is important to invert the
cuttings in trenching, since otherwise the tops often start to grow
before the butts are properly calloused, and it is very essential that
the tops remain dormant until roots appear to support the new growth.
_Planting the cuttings._
Cuttings are planted in the nursery in rows wide enough apart for
cultivation and two or three inches apart in the row. Trenches are
made with a plow; perpendicular if the cuttings are shorter, and a
little slanting if longer than six inches. The cuttings are set at a
depth which permits the upper buds to project above the ground, as
shown in Fig. 6. When the cuttings in a row are placed, two inches of
soil are put in and pressed firmly about the base of the cuttings.
Then the trench is evenly filled with earth and the cultivator
follows. Doing duty by the young plants consists in cultivating often
during the summer to keep the soil moist and mellow.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. Planting cuttings.]
The cuttings are planted as soon as the ground is warm and dry enough
to work. To delay planting too long invites injury from drought, which
almost annually parches the land in eastern America. Irrigation gives
more leeway to planting time in the West. When warm sunny weather,
accompanied by an occasional shower, predominates, the cuttings start
growth almost at once, as shown in Fig. 7, and by fall, all things
being propitious, make a growth from four to six feet. With the
cuttings three inches and the rows three feet apart, 58,080 vines may
be grown to the acre.
[Illustration: FIG. 7. A cutting beginning growth.]
_Single-eye cuttings._
New and rare varieties are propagated from single-eye cuttings,
thereby doubling the number of plants from the propagating wood. This
method gives an opportunity, also, to start the work of propagating
early in the season, since single-eye cuttings are nearly always
rooted by artificial heat. But the greatest value of the method is
that some varieties which cannot be propagated in any other way
readily grow under artificial heat from single-eyes. Well-grown vines
so propagated are as good as those grown by any other method, but the
great disadvantage is that unless much care and skill are used, vines
from these cuttings are poor and quite worthless. It is also a more
expensive method than growing from long cuttings out of doors.
There are several ways of making single-eye cuttings. The most common
form of the cutting is the single bud with an inch of wood above and
below, the ends being cut with a slant. Some modify this form by
cutting away the wood on the side opposite the bud, exposing the pith
the whole length of the cutting. In another form, a square cut is made
directly under the bud, leaving an inch and a half of wood above. Or
this last form is modified by making a long sloping cut from the bud
to the upper end, thereby exposing the maximum amount of cambium.
Advantages are claimed for each form, but these are mostly imaginary,
and the cutting may be made to suit the fancy of the propagator if a
few essentials are observed.
Single-eye cuttings are made in the fall and are stored in sand until
late winter, about February in New York. At this time the cuttings are
planted horizontally an inch deep in a sand propagating bench in a
cool greenhouse. If the cuttings are not well calloused, they remain
one or two weeks in a temperature of 40° to 50° without bottom heat,
but well-made cuttings are calloused and ready to strike root so that
brisk bottom heat can be applied at once. After six weeks or two
months, the young plants are ready to pot off or to transplant in a
cold-frame or cool greenhouse. If but a few plants are to be grown,
they may be started in two- or three-inch pots, shifting into larger
pots once or twice as growth progresses. In early summer, the young
plants are set in nursery rows out of doors and by fall the young
vines should be strong and vigorous.
Single-eyes are also started in hot-beds, cold-frames and even in the
open air without the aid of artificial heat. In hot-beds and
cold-frames, the method is only a modification of that described for
greenhouses. Out of doors the cuttings are given the same conditions
under which long cuttings are rooted, except that the whole of the
short cutting is buried an inch deep in the nursery row.
HERBACEOUS CUTTINGS
Grapes are easily propagated from herbaceous cuttings, although since
the vines are weak and the method expensive, they are seldom used.
Green cuttings are usually taken from plants forced in greenhouses,
but may be taken in summer from vineyard vines. A green cutting is
usually cut with two buds with the leaf at the upper one left on. The
cuttings are set in propagating beds of sand, or pots of sand, in
close frames under which there is brisk bottom heat. To prevent
excessive evaporation, the frames are kept closed and the atmosphere
warm and moist. As growth progresses, or if mildew appears, the frames
are more and more ventilated. In two to four weeks, the cuttings
should have rooted sufficiently well to be transplanted to pots.
Herbaceous cuttings made in the summer must be kept under glass until
the following spring.
LAYERING
The grape is readily propagated from layers of either green or mature
wood, the method being certain, convenient and producing extra
vigorous plants. The drawback is that fewer plants can be obtained by
layering than from cuttings with a given amount of wood. Varieties of
some species, however, cannot be propagated by cuttings, and with
these layering becomes of supreme importance to the propagator. Nearly
all varieties of Rotundifolia and some of Æstivalis are best grown
from layers. So far as is known, all varieties of cultivated species
may be grown by layering, and since the method is simple and certain
and the vines vigorous and easily handled, this method is commended to
small growers of grapes.
_Dormant wood layering._
The work of layering mature wood usually begins in the spring, but the
vines from which the layers are to be taken should have received
preliminary treatment the preceding season. The vines to be layered
are severely cut back a year or more before the layering is to be done
to induce a vigorous growth of canes. Strong vigorous canes are laid
in a shallow trench, two to five inches deep, in which they are
fastened with wood or wire pegs or staples. The trench is then partly
filled with fine, moist, mellow earth which is firmly packed about the
cane. Roots strike and shoots spring from each joint. When the young
plants are well above ground, the trench is completely filled, and
then, or a little later, the young plants are staked to keep them out
of the way of the cultivator. The following fall the young vines are
ready to transplant.
The essentials of layering have been given, but a number of
non-essentials may be helpful under some conditions. Thus, dormant
wood may be layered in the fall, in which case the cane is usually
notched or ringed at the joint to induce the formation of roots. The
less the number of joints covered, the stronger the young vines, so
that while the number is usually five, six or more extra vigorous
plants may be obtained by covering only one or two joints. In
propagating Rotundifolia grapes, it is expected that lateral branches
will make the tops of the new plants. These, at the time of layering,
are cut back to eight or ten inches, all on the same side of the
vine, and are not left closer together than twelve inches. In nursery
practice, Rotundifolia vines are trained along the ground for
layering. Vines on arbors, in greenhouses, or on sides of buildings
are easily layered in boxes or pots of soil. Plants grown from layers
are not as conveniently handled as those from cuttings.
_Green wood layering._
Layered plants from green wood are sometimes grown to multiply quickly
new or rare varieties. The work is accomplished in midsummer by
bending down and covering shoots of the present season's growth.
Strong plants are seldom obtained from summer-layering and it is never
safe to attempt to grow more than one or two plants from a shoot. The
most forceful culture possible must be given summer-layered plants
after the separation from the parent vine. It is very generally agreed
that plants from summer-layers not only do not give good plants, but
that the parent vine is injured in taking an offspring from it in this
way.
_Layering to fill vacancies in the vineyard._
There is sure to be an occasional gap even in the best vineyard. Young
plants set in vacancies must compete with neighboring full-grown
vines, and often in a bit of land so unfavorable that it may have been
the cause of the demise of the original occupant. Under these
circumstances, the newcomer stands a poor chance for life. A plant
introduced by layering a strong cane from a near-by vine has little
difficulty in establishing itself on its own roots, after which it can
be separated from the parent. Such layering is best done by taking in
early spring a strong, unpruned cane from an adjoining plant in the
same row and covering an end joint six inches deep in the vacant
place, but leaving sufficient wood on the end of the cane to turn up
perpendicularly out of the soil. This free end becomes the new plant
and by the following fall or spring may be separated from its parent.
Not infrequently the young plant bears fruit the second season on its
own roots. This method is of especial value in small plantations,
whereby the trouble of ordering one or two plants is avoided and the
advantage of early fruiting is obtained.
GRAFTING
Since grafting grapes is intimately connected with stocks, the growing
of which is a modern practice, grafting is thought of as a new process
in growing this fruit. Quite to the contrary, it is an old practice.
Cato, the sturdy old Roman grape-grower who lived nearly two hundred
years before Christ, speaks of grafting grapes, although Theophrastus,
the Greek philosopher, wrote a hundred years before "the vine cannot
be grafted upon itself." However, until it became necessary to grow
Vinifera grapes on resistant stocks to avoid the ravages of
phylloxera, grafting the grape was not at all common among
vineyardists and is not now except where vines susceptible to
phylloxera must be grown in consort with roots resistant to this
insect, or to modify the vigor of the top by a stock more vigorous or
less vigorous. For these two purposes, grafting is now in some grape
regions one of the most important vineyard operations.
In grafting the grape, there is a time and a way, not so particular as
many believe, but rather more particular than in grafting most other
fruits. If the essentials of grafting are kept in mind, one has
considerable choice of details. Grafting consists in detaching and
inserting one or several buds of a mother plant on another plant of
the same or a similar kind; the bud stock is the cion, the rooted
plant is the stock. The essentials may be set forth in three
statements: First, the prime essential is that the cambium layers, the
healing tissue lying between the bark and wood, meet in the cion and
stock; second, that method of grafting is best in which the cut
tissues heal most rapidly and most completely; third, the greater the
amount of cambium contact, as compared with the whole cut surface, the
more rapidly and completely the wounds will heal. Out of a great many,
the following are a few of the simplest methods in use in grafting the
grape, any one of which may be modified more or less as occasion
calls.
_Vineyard grafting in eastern America._
[Illustration: FIG. 8. Cutting off the trunk.]
In eastern America, the growing vine is usually grafted. At the New
York Agricultural Experiment Station, the operation is very
successfully performed on old vines as follows: Preparatory to
grafting, the earth is removed from around the stock to a depth of two
or three inches. The vines are then decapitated at the surface of the
ground and at right angles with the axis of the stock. If the grain is
straight, the cleft can be made by splitting with a chisel, but more
often it will have to be done with a thin-bladed saw through the
center of the stock for at least two inches. The cion is cut with two
buds, the wedge being started at the lower bud. The cleft in the stock
is then opened, and the cion inserted so that the cambium of stock and
cion are in intimate contact. If the stock is large, two cions are
used. The several operations in grafting are shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10
and 11. Grafting wax is unnecessary, in fact is often worse than
useless, and if the stock is large the graft is not even tied. Raffia
is used to tie the graft in young vines. It suffices to mound the
graft to the top of the cion with earth, for the purposes of
protection and to keep the graft moist. Two or three times during the
summer, sprouts coming from the stock or roots from the cion should be
removed.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. Cutting the cleft.]
A method used with fair success at the New York Agricultural
Experiment Station with young vines is to plant one-year-old stocks in
the nursery row as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring.
Just as the vines start in growth, these are cut off at the surface of
the ground and whip- or cleft-grafted with a two-eye cion. The graft
is tied with raffia, after which it is all but covered with a mound of
soil. This is a case in which the work must be done at the accepted
time, as it is fatal to delay.
[Illustration: FIG. 10. Inserting the cion.]
[Illustration: FIG. 11. The completed graft.]
R. D. Anthony describes another method as follows:[2] "A method which
a Pennsylvania grower of Viniferas has found very satisfactory is to
root the Vinifera cuttings, and grow them one year on their own roots;
then the vine which is to be used as a stock is planted in the
vineyard and the rooted cutting planted beside it so that the shoots
from the two may be brought in contact with each other. In June when
the plants are in full growth, two vigorous shoots (one from each
vine) are brought together and a cut two or three inches long made in
each parallel to the length of the cane removing from one-third to
one-half of the thickness of the shoot. These flat surfaces exposed
by the cuts are then brought into contact with the cambium tissues
touching and are tied in place. The tops are checked somewhat by
breaking off some of the growth. The following spring the Vinifera
roots are cut off below the graft and the top of the stock above the
graft is removed."
In the subsequent care of these young vines, the grower must take time
by the forelock and tie the grafts to suitable stakes; otherwise they
are liable to be broken off at the union by wind or careless workmen.
Grafted vineyards must have extra good care in all cultural
operations, and even with the best of care from 5 to 50 per cent of
the grafts will fail or grow so poorly as to make regrafting
necessary, this being the most unfavorable circumstance of field
grafting. Regrafting is done one joint lower than the first operation
to avoid dead wood; this brings the union below the surface of the
ground, and the vineyardist must expect many cion roots to try his
patience.
_Vineyard grafting on the Pacific slope._
Vineyard grafting, according to Bioletti,[3] was formerly the
commonest method of starting resistant vineyards in California. After
stating that it is best whenever possible to plant good cuttings
rather than roots, and that the grafting should usually be done the
year after planting, Bioletti gives the following directions for
grafting:[4]
"Wherever possible the vines should be grafted at or above the surface
of the ground. In many cases, however, it will be necessary to go
below the surface to find a smooth, suitable part of the stock where
grafting is possible.
"The kind of graft to use will depend on the size of the stock. For
stocks up to 2/3 inch in diameter the methods of tongue and wire
grafting already described are the best. For larger vines up to 3/4
inch a modification of the ordinary tongue graft is the best. If the
tongue graft were made in the usual way with stocks of this size, it
would be necessary to use excessively large scions, which is
undesirable, or to have the barks unite only on one side. By cutting
the bevel of the stock only part way through the vines, it is possible
to make a smaller scion unite on both sides. For still larger vines,
those over 3/4 inch in diameter, the best graft is the ordinary cleft.
"No wax or clay should be used on the graft. Anything which completely
excludes the air prevents the knitting of the tissues. A little clay,
cloth, or a leaf may be placed over the split in the stock when the
cleft graft is used, simply to keep out the soil. Otherwise there is
nothing more suitable or more favorable to the formation of a good
union that can be put around the graft than loose, moist soil. If the
soil is clayey, stiff or lumpy, it is necessary to surround the union
with loose soil or sand brought from outside the vineyard.
"It will usually be necessary to tie the grafts. A well-made cleft
graft often holds the scion with sufficient force to prevent its
displacement and no tying is necessary. Wherever there is any danger
of the graft moving, however, it should be tied. There is nothing
better for this purpose than ordinary raffia. The raffia should not be
bluestoned, as it will last long enough without and will be sure to
rot in a few weeks, and the trouble of cutting it will be avoided.
Cotton string or anything which will keep the graft in place for a few
weeks may also be used.
"As soon as the graft is made and tied, a stake should be driven and
the union covered with a little earth. The hilling up of the graft may
be left for a few hours, except in very hot, dry weather. Finally, the
whole graft should be covered with a broad hill of loose soil 2 inches
above the top of the scion.
"Field grafting should not be commenced as a rule, except in the
hottest and driest localities, before the middle of March. Before
that there is too much danger that heavy rains may keep the soil
soaked for several weeks--a condition very unfavorable to the
formation of good unions. In any case the grafting should not be done
while the soil is wet. Grafting may continue as long as the cuttings
can be kept dormant. It is difficult to graft successfully, however,
when the bark of the stock becomes loose, as it does soon after the
middle of April in most localities."
As in the East, it is necessary in California to remove suckers from
the roots and roots from the cions once or twice during the summer.
Suckers should not be allowed to overshade the graft, though it is
best not to remove them until danger of disturbing the graft is past.
The grafts should be staked and the vines looked after as recommended
for eastern conditions.
[Illustration: PLATE III.--Cover-crops. _Top_, cow-horn turnips;
_bottom_, rye.]
_Bench grafting._
The resistant vineyards of France and California are now started
almost entirely with bench-grafted vines. It has been learned in these
regions that a grafted vine, to be a permanent success, must have the
consorting parts perfectly united, and that the sooner the grafting is
done in the life of stock and cion the better the union. Cions of the
variety wanted are, therefore, grafted on resistant roots or resistant
cuttings in the workshop and then planted in the nursery. Bench
grafting has the advantage over field grafting in time gained and in
securing a fuller stand of vines.
Bench grafting really begins with the selection of cuttings, since
success largely depends on good cuttings of both stock and cion.
Cuttings are taken from strong healthy vines and are of medium size,
with short to medium joints. The best size is one-third of an inch in
diameter, that of stock and cion being the same since the two must
match exactly. The cutting-wood may be taken from the mother vines at
any time during the dormant season up to two weeks before buds swell
in the spring, and the cuttings can then be made as convenience
dictates, though meanwhile the wood must be kept cool and moist, which
is best done by covering them with moist but not wet soil or sand in a
cellar or cool shed. In California, the best results are obtained when
the grafting is done in February or March, though it may be begun
earlier and continued a month later.
_Preparation of cuttings._
The stocks are cut into lengths of about ten inches, a gauge being
used to secure uniform length. The cut at the bottom is made through a
bud in such a way as to leave the diaphragm. The top cut is made as
near ten inches from the bottom as possible, leaving about one and
one-half inches above the top bud for convenience in grafting. The
stock is then disbudded, taking both visible and adventitious buds,
the latter indicated by woody enlargements, to keep down the number of
suckers.
[Illustration: FIG. 12. Bench-grafted cuttings of grape, showing both
the cleft-graft and the whip-graft.]
The cion should be made with but one bud, thereby gaining the
advantage of having every cion the same length so that all unions are
at the same distance below the surface of the ground in the nursery.
The cion is made with about two and one-half inches of internode below
the bud and one-half inch above, a sharp knife being the best tool for
making the cuts.
Stock and cion cuttings are now graded to exactly the same diameters,
this being necessary to secure perfection in the unions. Three
methods of uniting stock and cion are illustrated in Fig. 12. It
suffices to grade by the eye into three lots--large, small and
medium--but some nurserymen prefer to secure even greater accuracy by
the use of any one of several mechanical gauges. The methods of
uniting stock and cion may be described best by quoting Bioletti, from
whom most of the details already given have been summarized:[5]
_Tongue grafting._
"When the stocks and scions are prepared and graded the grafter takes
a box of stocks and a box of the corresponding size of scions and
unites them. Each is cut at the same angle in such a way that when
placed together the cut surface of one exactly fits and covers the
whole of the cut surface of the other. The length of cut surface
should be from three to four times the diameter of the cutting, the
shorter cut for the larger sizes and the longer for the thinner. This
will correspond to an angle of from 14.5 to 19.5 degrees. The cut
should be made with a sliding movement of the knife. This will make
the cut more easily and more smoothly.
"The cut should be made with a single quick motion of the knife. If
the first cut is not satisfactory, a completely new one should be
made. There should be no paring of the cut, as this will make an
irregular or wavy surface and prevent the cuttings coming together
closely in all parts.
"The tongues are made with a slow, sliding motion of the knife. They
are commenced slightly above one-third of the distance from the sharp
end of the bevel and cut down until the tongue is just a trifle more
than one-third the length of the cut surface. The tongue should be
_cut_, not _split_. The knife should not follow the grain of the wood,
but should be slanted in such a way that the tongue will be about
one-half as thick as it would be if made by splitting. Before
withdrawing the knife it is bent over in order to open out the
tongue. This very much facilitates the placing together of stock and
scion.
"The stock and scion are now placed together and, if everything has
been done properly, there will be no cut surface visible and the
extremity of neither stock nor scion will project over the cut surface
of the other. It is much better that the points should not quite reach
the bottom of the cut surface than that they should overlap, as the
union will be more complete and the scions will be less liable to
throw out roots. If the points do overlap, the overlapping portion
should be cut off, as in the Champin grafts.
"A skillful grafter, by following the above-described method, will
make grafts most of which will hold together very firmly. Many of them
would be displaced, however, in subsequent operations, so that it is
necessary to tie them. This is done with raffia or waxed string. The
only object of the tying is to keep the stock and scion together until
they unite by the growth of their own tissues, so that the less
material used the better, provided this object is attained. For the
formation of healing tissue air is necessary, so that clay, wax,
tinfoil or anything that would exclude the air should not be used. The
tying material is passed twice around the point of the scion to hold
it down firmly, and then with one or two wide spirals it is carried to
the point of the stock, which is fastened firmly with two more turns
and the end of the string passed under the last turn. The less string
is used the more easily it is removed later in the nursery.
"Untreated raffia should be used for late grafts which are to be
planted directly out in the nursery, but if the grafts are to be
placed first in a callusing bed it is best to bluestone the raffia in
order to prevent rotting before the grafts are planted. This is done
by steeping the bundles of raffia in a three per cent solution of
bluestone for a few hours and then hanging them up to dry. Before
using, the raffia should be washed quickly in a stream of water in
order to remove the bluestone which has crystallized on the outside
and which might corrode the graft.
"Some grafters prefer waxed string for grafting. The string should be
strong enough to hold the graft, but thin enough to be broken by hand.
No. 18 knitting cotton is a good size. It is waxed by soaking the
balls in melted grafting wax for several hours. The string will absorb
the wax, and may then be placed on one side until needed. A good wax
for this purpose is made by melting together one part of tallow, two
parts of beeswax, and three parts of rosin."
_Wire grafting._
"The merits claimed for this method are that it is more rapid,
requires less skill, and does away with the troublesome tying and
still more troublesome removal of the tying material. Practiced
grafters can obtain as large a percentage of No. 1 unions by this
method as by any other, and unpracticed grafters can do almost as well
as practiced. Another advantage of the method is that the scions have
less tendency to make roots than with the tongue graft.
"It consists essentially of the use of a short piece of galvanized
iron wire inserted in the pith of stock and scion for the purpose of
holding them together, thus replacing both tongues and raffia. It has
been objected that the iron would have a deleterious effect on the
tissues of the graft, corroding them, or causing them to decay. There
seems, however, no reason to expect any such result, and vines grafted
in this way have been bearing for years without showing any such
effect.
"The preparation and grading of stocks and scions are exactly the same
for this method as for the tongue graft.
"Stock and scion are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. A piece of
galvanized iron wire two inches long is then pushed one inch into the
firmest pith. This will usually be the pith of the stock, but it will
depend on the varieties being grafted. The scion is then pushed on to
the wire and pressed down until it is in contact with the stock. If
the cuttings have large pith it is better to use two pieces of wire,
one placed in the stock first and the other in the scion.
"The length of wire to use will vary with the size and firmness of the
cuttings, but 2 inches will usually be found most satisfactory. Wire
of No. 17 gauge is the most useful size."
_Making bundles._
"If the grafts are to be planted out directly in the nursery, they may
be simply laid in boxes or trays, covered with damp sacks, and carried
out to be planted as soon as made. It is usually better, however, to
place them for several weeks in a callusing bed before planting. In
this case it is necessary for convenience of handling to tie them up
into bundles. No more than twenty grafts should be placed in a bundle,
and ten is better. If the bundles are too large there is danger of the
grafts in the middle becoming moldy or dry.
"A stand is very convenient. It consists of a piece of board 12
inches, on one end of which is nailed a cleat 6 inches by 4 inches and
under the other end a support of the same size. Two 4-inch wire nails
are driven through the board from below, 4 inches apart and 5 inches
from the cleat. Two other 4-inch nails are driven similarly at 1-1/2
inches from the other end. The grafts are laid on this stand with the
scions resting against the cleat, and are then tied with the two
pieces of bluestoned raffia that have previously been placed above
each pair of nails. This arrangement insures all the scions, and
therefore the unions, being at the same level, and puts both ties
below the union where they will not strain the graft. The tying is
more expeditious and less liable to disturb the unions than if the
bundles are made without a guide.
"A skillful grafter will make about one hundred tongue grafts on
cuttings per hour, or from sixty-five to seventy-five per hour if he
does the tying as well. Wire grafts can be made at the rate of two
hundred and fifty or more per hour, and by proper division of labor
where several grafters are employed this number can be easily
exceeded. These estimates do not include the preparation and grading
of the cuttings."
_Grafting rooted cuttings._
The cion may be grafted on a stock rooted in the nursery the previous
season, much the same methods being used as with cuttings. This method
is employed to utilize cuttings too small to graft, the added sizes
attained in the nursery making them large enough, and in grafting on
stocks which root with difficulty, thus saving the making of grafts
which never grow. The stocks, in this method, are cut so that the
cions may be inserted as the original cutting and not as the new
growth. The roots, for convenience in handling, are cut back to an
inch or thereabouts in length.
_The callusing bed._
If bench grafts are planted at once in the nursery, most of them fail.
They are, therefore, stratified in a callusing bed where moisture and
temperature can be controlled. Bioletti describes a callusing bed and
its use as follows:[6]
"This callusing bed is usually a pile of clean sand placed on the
south side of a wall or building and surrounded by a board partition
where there is no possibility of its becoming too wet by the flow of
water from a higher level or from an overhanging roof. It should be
protected, if necessary, by a surrounding ditch. It should be
furnished with a removable cover of canvas or boards to protect it
from rain and to enable the temperature to be controlled by the
admission or exclusion of the sun's rays. A water-proof wagon-cover,
black on one side and white on the other, is excellent for this
purpose.
"The bottom of the callusing bed is first covered with 2 or 3 inches
of sand. The bundles of grafts are then placed in a row along one end
of the bed, and sand well filled in around them. The bundles should be
placed in a slightly inclined position with the scions uppermost, and
the sand should be dry enough so that it sifts in between the grafts
in the bundle. The bundles of grafts are then covered up completely
with sand, leaving it at least 2 inches deep above the top of the
scion. Another row is then placed in the same manner until the bed is
full. Finally a layer of 2 or 3 inches of moss or straw is placed over
all.
"In the callusing bed we should endeavor to hasten and perfect the
union of stock and scion as much as possible while delaying the
starting of the buds and the emission of the roots. The latter
processes require more moisture than the formation of healing tissue,
therefore the sand should be kept comparatively dry. Between 5 and 10
per cent of water in the sand is sufficient. The purer the sand the
less water is necessary. There should be a little more moisture
present than in the sand used for keeping the cuttings over winter.
Too much moisture will stimulate the emission of roots and starting of
buds without aiding the callus formation.
"All the vital processes progress more rapidly when the cuttings are
kept warm. To delay them, therefore, we keep the sand cool, and to
hasten them we make it warm. In the beginning of the season and up to
the middle of March we keep the sand cool. This is done by keeping the
bed covered during the day when the sun is shining, and uncovering
occasionally at night when there is no fear of rain. If the
black-and-white wagon-cover is used, the white side should be placed
outward to reflect the heat. The temperature should be kept about 60°
F. or lower.
"About the middle of March the temperature of the bed should be
raised. This is done by removing the cover during warm days and
carefully covering at night. If necessary the layer of moss or straw
should be removed on sunny days and then replaced. The temperature of
the sand at the level of the unions should be about 75° F. during this
period. If the temperature rises higher than this, there will be a
more abundant production of callus, but it will be soft, easily
injured, and liable to decay.
"At the end of four weeks after warming the bed, the union should be
well cemented. The callus should not only have formed copiously around
the whole circumference of the wound, but it should have acquired a
certain amount of toughness due to the formation of fibrous tissue. It
should require a pull of several pounds to break the callus and
separate stock and scion. When the callus has acquired this quality
the grafts are in condition to be planted in the nursery, and may be
handled without danger. If taken from the bed while the callus is
still soft, many unions will be injured and the grafts will fail, or
unite only on one side.
"If left as long as this in the callusing bed most of the scion buds
will have started and formed white shoots. These shoots, however,
should not be more than 1/2 to 1 inch long. If they are longer the bed
has been kept too wet or too warm. Roots will also have started from
the stock, but these also should not be over 1/2 inch long. The grafts
should be handled as carefully as is practicable, but there is no
objection to breaking off any scion shoots or stock roots which have
grown too long. It is almost impossible to save them, and new ones
will start after the grafts are planted, and make a perfectly
satisfactory growth."
_Care in the nursery._
The grafts are planted in the nursery, and are given much the same
care recommended for cuttings. They may be set in trenches made with
plow or spade; or they may be planted in very shallow trenches with a
dibble. After planting, the grafts are covered with an inch or two of
soil, thus forming a wide ridge in the nursery row with the union of
the grafts at the original level of the soil. Cultivation should begin
at once and be frequent enough to prevent the formation of a crust, in
order that the young shoots may not have difficulty in forcing their
way through the soil. Roots start on the cions sooner than on the
stock, the soil being warmer at the surface, and help sustain the
cions until the stocks are well rooted, at which time all roots
started on the cion are removed, and at the same time the tying
material is cut if it has not rotted. Suckers are removed as soon as
they show above ground. The grafts are dug as soon as the leaves fall
and the young vines become dormant, after which they are sorted in
three lots, according to size of top and root, and heeled-in in a cool
moist place until they are to be planted.
_Nursery_ versus _home-grown vines._
The verdict of all vineyardists is that it is better to buy
nursery-grown vines than to attempt to grow them. The high quality of
the vines which can be purchased and the reasonable purchase price
make it hardly worth while to try home-grown vines, especially since
considerable investment, experience and skill are required to grow
good vines.
"PEDIGREED" GRAPE VINES
Many viticulturists, in common with orchardists, believe that their
plants should be propagated only from parents which have good
characters, that is, are vigorous, healthy, productive, and bear fruit
of large size, perfect form, good color and good quality. They
believe, in short, that varieties can be improved by bud selection.
There is, however, but little in either theory or fact to
substantiate the belief of those who say that varieties once
established can be improved; or, on the other hand, that they
degenerate. Present knowledge and experience indicate that heredity is
all but complete in varieties propagated from parts of plants. The
multitude of grapes in any variety, all from one seed, are
morphologically one individual. A few kinds of grapes go back to
Christ's time, and these seem to agree almost perfectly with the
descriptions of them made by Roman writers 2000 years ago. How, then,
can the differences between vines of a variety in every vineyard in
the land be explained?
Ample explanation is found in "nurture" to account for the variation
in vines without involving a change in "Nature." Soil, sunlight,
moisture, insects, disease, plant-food, and the stock in the case of
grafted vines, give every vine a distinct environment and hence a
distinct individuality of its own. Peculiarities in a vine appear and
disappear with the individual. A variety can be changed temporarily by
its environment, but remove the incidental forces and it snaps back
into its same old self.
Heredity is not quite complete in the grape, however; for, now and
then, sports or mutations appear which are permanent and, if
sufficiently different, become a strain of the parent variety or
possibly a new variety. There are several such sports of the Concord
under cultivation. The grape-grower can tell these sports from the
modifications brought about by environment only by propagation. If a
variation is transmitted unchanged through successive generations of
the grape, as occasionally happens, it may be looked on as a new form.
"Pedigreed" vines, then, should be subject to a test of several
generations in an experimental vineyard before the grape-grower pays
the price demanded for the supposed improvement.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.--A well-tilled vineyard of Concords.]
CHAPTER IV
STOCKS AND RESISTANT VINES
Phylloxera, a tiny root-louse, made its appearance in France in 1861
and began multiplying with a fury unparalleled in the insect world. By
1874, the pest had become so widespread in Europe that it threatened
the very existence of the great vineyard industry of that continent.
All attempts to bring the pest under control failed, although the
French government offered a reward of 300,000 francs for a
satisfactory remedy. Numerous methods of treating the soil to check
the ravages of the insect were tried, also, but none was efficacious.
Finally, it dawned on European vineyardists that phylloxera is not a
scourge in America, its habitat, and that European vineyards might be
saved by grafting Vinifera vines on the roots of immune American
grapes. At once the reconstruction of vineyards in Europe was begun by
grafting the grapes on phylloxera-resistant roots. Meanwhile,
consternation spread to California when it was discovered that
phylloxera was running riot in some of the vineyards of the Pacific
slope; however, with the knowledge derived from viticulturists in
Europe, they too began reconstructing vineyards on immune roots,
without the same success as the Europeans, it is true, but with such
measure of success that it soon became the approved method of growing
grapes in this great region.
Through the use of resistant stocks, phylloxera is now defied in
Vinifera regions. Millions of American stocks are annually struck at
home, in Europe and wherever Vinifera grapes are grown, to be
top-worked with varieties susceptible to phylloxera. Seldom has
mastery over a pest been so complete; but, to triumph over the tiny
insect, the industry has had to be revolutionized. Resistant stocks,
in their turn, brought innumerable new problems, many of which are
still unsolved. Investigations and experiences in rehabilitating
vineyards have been carried on for forty years, the results set forth
in books and bulletins and yet there are many problems to be solved.
The grape-grower in regions infested with phylloxera is always under
the necessity of taking advantage of the latest demonstration of
practices in the use of resistant stocks. These practices are best
studied in the experiments of state experiment stations and the United
States Department of Agriculture, and in the vineyards of leading
grape-growers, since even those most needing elucidation can be but
briefly discussed in the following paragraphs.
The wild vines of a species are always seedlings and are hence
exceedingly variable. The first vineyards of resistant stocks were
vines grafted on stocks of wild vines, and the results were very
unsatisfactory; for, naturally, there was divergence in many
characters and especially in the vigor of the vines. Also, there was
difficulty in grafting, since some wild vines are stout and others
slender; some bear grafts well, while others do not. It soon became
apparent that to succeed, varieties must be selected from the
different species for vineyard work. The great task of the
experimenter and grape-grower, therefore, has been to select varieties
of the several species sufficiently resistant, vigorous and otherwise
possessed of characters fitting them to become good stocks. Out of
vast numbers tested, a few are now generally recognized as best for
the several groups of Vinifera grapes and the several distinct regions
in which these grapes are grown.
_Resistant species and varieties._
The reconstruction of phylloxera-ridden vineyards by the use of
resistant stocks is possible only because some species and varieties
are, as has been said, more resistant to the root-louse than others.
All degrees of resistance exist, as would be suspected, from immunity
to great susceptibility. It is obvious that the foundation of the art
of growing resistant vineyards is exact knowledge of the immunities
and susceptibilities of the many varieties and species of grapes. From
the first use of resistant vines, experimenters everywhere have set
themselves at work to determine not only what the most resistant vines
are, but what the causes and conditions of immunity. In spite of a
wealth of empirical discoveries as to what grapes can best resist the
root-louse, causes and most of the conditions of immunity are still
little understood. Definite, useful knowledge, so far, goes little
further than the establishment of lists of species and varieties, the
latter subject to change, that are most useful in setting resistant
vineyards.
Phylloxera does little damage to species of Vitis native to the same
general region in which the pest has its habitat, but nevertheless
there are some differences in resistance in American grapes. Munson,
one of the best American authorities on the resistance of species to
phylloxera, says:[7] "Rotundifolia is entirely immune, then Rupestris,
Vulpina, Cinerea, Berlandieri, Champini, Candicans, Doaniana,
Æstivalis and Lincecumii are so high in resistance as to be
practically uninjured, though they may be attacked, while Labrusca is
low in resistance and is much weakened in clay soils, if infested, and
Vinifera is entirely non-resistant." Some of these species are hard to
propagate and difficult to suit in soil and climate so that but two of
them are much used for resistant stocks. The two most used are
Rupestris and Vulpina (Riparia), of both of which there are varieties
which give satisfaction. Bioletti, a leading authority on resistant
stocks in California, says:[8]
"Varieties of resistant stocks which will in all probability be used
in California are Rupestris St. George (du Lot), Riparia × Rupestris
3306, Riparia × Rupestris 3309, Riparia Solonis 1616, Mourvèdre ×
Rupestris 1202, Aramon × Rupestris 2, Riparia gloire, and Riparia
grande glabre. These are all varieties which have given excellent
varieties for years in Europe, and have all been tested successfully
in California. Among them are varieties suitable for nearly all the
vineyard soils of California, with perhaps the exception of some of
the heavier clays.
"The only one of these varieties which has been planted extensively in
California is the Rupestris St. George. There can be little doubt,
however, that it will fail to give satisfaction in many soils, and
though we may not find something better for all our soils it is
probable that we will repeat the experience of Southern France and
find that in most soils there is some other variety that gives better
results. Without attempting to describe these varieties, but to give
some idea of their merits and defects and of the soils most suited to
each, the following indications are given, based principally on the
opinions of L. Ravaz and Prosper Gervais, and on a still limited
experience in California:
"The Rupestris St. George is remarkably vigorous and grows very large,
supporting the graft well even without stakes. It roots easily and
makes excellent unions with most vinifera varieties. It is well suited
to deep soils where its roots can penetrate. Its defects are that it
is very subject to root-rot, especially in moist soils; it suckers
badly and it suffers from drought in shallow soils. Its great vigor
produces coulure with some varieties and often necessitates long
pruning.
"In moist or wet soils 1616 or 3306 had given better results in France
and gives indications of doing equally well here. In drier soils 3309
will probably be found preferable.
"Aramon Rupestris No. 2 is suited to the same soils as Rupestris St.
George, and does particularly well in extremely gravelly soils. It
has some of the defects of the St. George and is moreover more
difficult to graft, and its only advantage in California is that it is
rather less susceptible to root-rot.
"There are no better resistant stocks than Riparia gloire and Riparia
grande glabre, wherever they are put in soils that suit them. They do
well, however, only in deep, rich, alluvial soils which are neither
too wet nor too dry. Their grafts are the most productive of all, and
ripen their grapes from one to two weeks earlier than the grafts on
St. George. Their principal defect is that they are very particular as
to the soil, and they never grow quite as large as the cion. The
gloire is the most vigorous, and the difference of diameter is less
with this variety than with any other Riparia.
"The Mourvèdre × Rupestris 1202 is extremely vigorous, roots and
grafts easily, and is well adapted to rich, sandy and moist soils. In
drier and poorer soils its resistance is perhaps not sufficient.
"The most promising varieties for general use at present seem to be
the two hybrids of Riparia and Rupestris, 3306 and 3309. They have
great resistance to the phylloxera, root and graft almost as easily as
St. George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety
of vinifera. The former is more suited to the moister soils and
wherever there is danger of root-rot, and the latter to the drier
soils. In general, they are suited to a larger variety of soils and
condition than perhaps any other varieties.
"Riparia gloire should be planted only on rich, deep alluvial soil
containing an abundance of plant food and humus, what would be called
good garden land, such as river bank soil not liable to overflow.
"In most other soils Riparia × Rupestris 3306 is to be recommended,
except those that are rather dry, where 3309 is to be preferred, or
those which are very wet, where Solonis × Riparia 1616 is surer to
give good results."
The value of a species or variety for a resistant stock may be judged
somewhat by the visible effect of the phylloxera on the roots of the
vines. On susceptible species, the punctures of the insects rapidly
produce swellings which vary in size and number in accordance with
resistance of the species. Technically, the first swelling on the
young tender rootlets of the vine is called a nodosity. The presence
of a few nodosities on the root system does not indicate that a vine
is not a valuable resistant stock. When the nodosity begins to decay
and becomes of a cancerous nature, it is called a tuberosity. These
tuberosities decay more or less rapidly and deeply, and when they rot
deeply cause enfeeblement or death to the vine. Thus, on Vinifera
varieties the tuberosities are several times larger and decay sets in
much more quickly than on American species which show these
tuberosities. Ratings as to resistance of species are usually made
from the size and number of the tuberosities, though when these are
found producing a scab-like wound which scales off, there may be high
resisting power.
In order to convey with some degree of definiteness the power of
resistance to phylloxera, an arbitrary scale has been agreed on by
viticulturists. In this scale, maximum resistance is indicated by 20
and minimum by 0. Thus, the resisting power of a good Vulpina is put
as 19.5 and that of a poor Vinifera variety as 0.
ADAPTATIONS OF RESISTANT STOCKS TO SOILS AND CLIMATES
Resistance, of course, counts for naught in a stock which comes from a
species unsuited to the soil and climate or other circumstances of the
locality in which the vineyard is to be planted. The several species
used for stocks differ widely in the requirements affecting growth so
that the grower must make certain that the resistant stock he selects
will find congenial surroundings. Stocks in congenial circumstances
are frequently more resistant than others inherently more resistant,
but which are not otherwise adapted to the particular conditions of
the vineyard. Species of grapes vary greatly in their root systems,
some having thick, others slender roots; the roots of some are soft,
of others hard; some have roots going down deeply, others are almost
at the surface of the ground. Manifestly these various root-forms are
but adaptations to loose and heavy, dry and moist, deep and shallow
soils, or to some circumstance of climate. A vine bruised by adversity
is in no condition to withstand phylloxera. Therefore, since the
adaptability of a variety to a soil or climate may be changed by the
stock, the adaptations of stocks to soils and climates must have
attention.
_Affinity of stock and cion._
Different varieties of grapes do not behave alike on the same stocks,
and different stocks may affect varieties differently. Even when the
kinship is close, some grapes resist all the appliances of art to make
a successful union; while, on the other hand, quite distinct species
often seem foreordained to be joined. For example, Rotundifolia, which
has the highest resistance to phylloxera of any species, is useless as
a stock because it is impossible to graft any other grape on it, while
Vulpina and Rupestris unite readily with varieties of Vinifera, the
slight decrease in the vigor of the grafted vines serving oftentimes
to increase fruitfulness. Something more is necessary, then, than
botanical kinship. Just what is necessary, no one knows, beyond: that
there must be conformity in habit between stock and cion; that the two
must start in growth at approximately the same time; and that the
tissues must be sufficiently alike that there be proper contact in the
union. Yet these facts do not sufficiently explain all of the
affinities and antipathies which species and varieties of grapes show
to each other. Unfortunately, the grape-grower has had but little to
guide him in selecting stocks and has had to learn by making repeated
trials.
PROPER PLANTING OF GRAFTED VINES
Europeans and Californians long ago learned that failures with grafted
vines often came from setting the vines too deep in the soil, the
result being that the cions struck root and became independent,
whereupon the stock dies or becomes so moribund that the beneficial
effects are lost. There are grape-growers who argue that it is
beneficial to the vine to have roots from both stock and cion, but
experience and experiments very generally teach the contrary, it being
found that in most grafts the cion roots grow more vigorously than
stock roots and eventually starve out the latter. The disastrous
effects of cion-rooting are often to be found, also, when grafting has
been done on old vines in the vineyard; and, again, when the graft is
too close to the root system.
Another cause of failure is that different stocks require that the
vineyard soil be treated differently, especially at planting time.
Vulpina stocks require that the soil be much more deeply plowed than
for Viniferas on their own roots, since Vulpinas are deep-rooted and
are exacting in the depth of root-run required. Those who have had
most experience with resistant stocks maintain that all American
grapes require rather deeper plowing than European grapes on their own
roots.
INFLUENCE OF THE STOCKS ON THE CION
Up to the present, the growing of grafted grapes has been carried on
with little thought of the mutual influence of stock and cion; grapes
have been grafted only to secure vines resistant to phylloxera. Yet
there can be no doubt that stock and cion react on one another, and
that any variety of grapes is influenced for better or worse in
characters of vine and fruit by the stock upon which it is grafted. A
plant is a delicate mechanism, easily thrown out of gear, and all
plants, the grape not the least, are more or less changed in the
adjustments of stock and cion. One could fill a large volume on the
supposed reciprocal influence of stock and cion in fruits. Space
suffices, here, however, to mention only those proved and those having
to do with the influence of the stock on the cion when the grape is
grafted.
_Influence of stocks on European grapes summarized._
Common experience in Europe and California indicates that varieties of
Vinifera grapes grafted on resistant stocks which are perfectly
adapted to soil and climate produce not only larger crops but sweeter
or sourer grapes; that the crop ripens earlier or later; that the vine
is often more vigorous; and that there are some minor differences
depending on the stock used. Wine-makers assert that the character of
their product may be affected for better or worse by the stock. Often
vines are so improved by grafting that the extra expense of the
operation and of the stock is paid for; although, to be sure, about as
often the effects are deleterious. The successes and failures of
vineyards on resistant stocks make plain that the vine-grower must
study the many problems which stocks present and exercise utmost
intelligence in the selection of the proper stock.
_Influence of stocks on American grapes._
No doubt American species of grapes may be as profoundly modified by
stocks as the European species, but there is but little evidence on
this phase of grape-growing to be drawn from the experience of
vineyardists. One rather conclusive experiment, however, shows that
American grapes may be improved by growing them on stocks which give
them better adaptations to their environment. The experiment was tried
in the Chautauqua grape-belt in western New York by the New York
Agricultural Experiment Station. The test was carried on for eleven
years, during which time many interesting possibilities in grafting
grapes in this region came to light. It was proved that the stock
materially affects the vigor and productiveness of the vine and the
quality of the grapes. The following brief account is taken from
Bulletin No. 355 of the New York Station:
In this experiment a number of varieties were grafted on St. George,
Riparia Gloire and Clevener stocks, and a fourth group on their own
roots. The varieties grafted were: Agawam, Barry, Brighton, Brilliant,
Campbell Early, Catawba, Concord, Delaware, Goff, Herbert, Iona,
Jefferson, Lindley, Mills, Niagara, Regal, Vergennes, Winchell and
Worden. The planting plan and all of the vineyard operations were
those common in commercial vineyards.
Yearly accounts of the vineyard show that the vines passed through
many vicissitudes. The experiment was started in 1902 when St. George
and Riparia Gloire stocks from California were set and grafted in the
field. Many of these died the first year. The winter of 1903-04 was
unusually severe, and many more vines were either killed or so
severely injured that they died during the next two years. The vines
on St. George, a very deep-rooting grape, withstood the cold best.
Fidia, the grape root-worm, was found in the vineyards early in the
life of the vines and did much damage in some years. In the years of
1907 and 1909 the crops were ruined by hail.
But despite these serious setbacks it was evident throughout the
experiment that the grafted grapes made better vines and were more
productive than those on their own roots. As an example of the
differences in yield, a summary of the data for 1911 may be given. In
this year, an average of all the varieties on own roots yielded at the
rate of 4.39 tons to the acre; on St. George, 5.36 tons; on Gloire,
5.32 tons; on Clevener, 5.62 tons. The crops on the grafted vines
were increased through the setting of more bunches and the development
of larger bunches and berries.
The grapes on the vines grafted on Gloire and Clevener ripened a few
days earlier than those on their own roots, while with St. George a
few varieties were retarded in ripening. Changing the time of maturity
may be very important in grape regions where there is danger of early
frost to late-ripening sorts, and where it is often desirable to
retard the harvest time of early grapes.
In the behavior of the vines, the results correspond closely with
those given for yields. In the growth ratings of varieties on
different stocks, the varieties on their own roots were rated in vigor
at 40; on St. George, at 63.2; on Gloire, at 65.2; on Clevener, at
67.9. There is no way of deciding how much the thrift of the vines
depends on adaptability to soil, and how much on other factors. Since
all of the varieties were more productive and vigorous on grafted
vines than on their own roots it may be said that a high degree of
congeniality exists between the stocks and varieties under test.
The experiment suggests that it would be profitable to grow fancy
grapes of American species on grafted vines, and that it is well
within the bounds of possibility that main-crop grapes can be grafted
profitably. In the general tuning-up of agriculture now in progress,
it may be expected that soon American as well as European varieties of
grapes will be grown under some conditions and for some purposes on
roots other than their own.
DIRECT PRODUCERS
Attempts innumerable have been and are still being made to secure, by
hybridizing _V. vinifera_ and American species of grapes, varieties
that will resist phylloxera, the mildew and black-rot. The grapes of
this continent are relatively immune to all of these troubles, and if
hybrids could be obtained to produce directly, without grafting,
grapes with the good qualities of the Viniferas--in short, European
grapes on American vines--the cultivated grape flora of the whole
world might be changed. So far, a "direct producer" that is wholly
satisfactory in either Europe or California has not been found for the
wine or raisin industries, although a number of varieties are rated as
very good table grapes, and a few are used in wine-making. The best of
the direct producers are Lenoir, Taylor, Noah, Norton's Virginia,
Autuchon, Othello, Catawba, and Delaware.
[Illustration: PLATE V.--Vinifera grapes grown out of doors in New
York. _Top_, Malvasia; _bottom_, Chasselas Golden.]
CHAPTER V
THE VINEYARD AND ITS MANAGEMENT
A vineyard is more artificial than other plantations of fruits, since
the vine requires greater discipline under cultivation than tree or
bush. Yet greater art is required only when the attempt is made to
grow the grape to perfection, for the vine bears fruit if left to
indulge in riotous growth wheresoever it can strike root. Vineyard
management, therefore, may represent the consummate art of three
thousand or more years of cultural subserviency; or it may be so
primeval in simplicity as to approach neglect. The grape is so
wonderfully responsive to good care, however, that no true lover of
fruit will profane it with neglect, but will seek, rather, to give it
a favorable situation, its choice of soils and such generous care as
will insure strong, vigorous, productive vineyards of choicely good
fruit.
Grape-growing is a specialists' business, for the culture of the grape
is unlike that of any other fruit. The essentials of vineyard
management, however, are easily learned. Indeed, care of the vine
comes almost instinctively; for the grape has been cultivated since
prehistoric times and the races of the world are so familiar with it
through sacred literatures, myths, fables, stories and poetry, that
its care is prompted by natural impulse. The grape has followed
civilized man so closely from place to place through the temperate
climates of the world, that rules and methods of culture have been
developed for almost every condition under which it will grow, so that
every grape-grower may profit by the successes and failures of the
generations that preceded him. Grape-growing is not, however, an art
wholly governed by rules of the past to be carried on by common
laborers who use hands only, but is one in which its followers may
make use of science and may put thought, skill and taste into their
work.
LAYING OUT THE VINEYARD
Vineyards are laid out for the most part after accepted patterns for
each of the great grape regions of America. The vines are always
planted in rectangles, usually at a less distance apart in the rows
than the rows are from each other, but sometimes in squares. Pride in
appearance and convenience in vineyard operations make perfect
alignment imperative. Many varieties of grapes, especially of American
species, are partially self-sterile, so that some varieties must have
others interplanted with them for cross-pollination. This is usually
done by setting alternate rows of the variety to be pollinated and the
cross-pollinator. All self-fertile varieties are set in solid blocks
because of convenience in harvesting.
_Direction of rows._
Some grape-growers attach considerable importance to the direction in
which rows run, holding either that the full blaze of the sun at
mid-day is desirable for vine, soil and fruit, or that it is
detrimental. Those who desire to provide fullest exposure to the sun
plant rows east and west when the distance between vines is less than
the distance between rows; north and south when vines are farther
apart in the row than the rows are from each other. When shade seems
more desirable, these directions are reversed. Most often, however,
the rows are laid out in accordance with the shape of the vineyard;
or, if the land is hilly, the rows follow the contour of the
declivities to prevent soil erosion by heavy rains.
_Alleys._
For convenience in vineyard operations, especially spraying and
harvesting, there should always be alleys through a vineyard. On hilly
lands, the alleys are located to secure ease in hauling; on level
lands they are usually arranged to cut the vineyards into blocks twice
as long as wide. An alley is usually made by leaving out a row of
vines. Many vineyards are laid out with rows far enough apart so that
alleys are not needed.
_Distances between rows and plants._
There are great variations in the distances between rows and plants in
different regions, and distances vary somewhat in any one region.
Distances are influenced by the following considerations: Rich soils
and large vigorous varieties require greater distances than poor soils
and less vigorous varieties; sometimes, however, it is necessary to
crowd a variety in the vineyard so that by reducing its vigor
fruitfulness may be promoted. Usually the warmer the climate, or the
exposure, the greater should be the distance between vines. Very often
the topography of the land dictates planting distances. But while
taking in account the preceding considerations, which rightly suggest
the distances between plants in the row, convenience in vineyard
operations is the factor that most often fixes the distance between
rows. The rows must be far enough apart in commercial vineyards to
permit the use of two horses in plowing, spraying and harvesting.
Planted in squares, the distance varies from seven feet in garden
culture to nine feet in commercial vineyards for eastern America. More
often, however, the rows are eight or nine feet apart, with the vines
six, seven or eight and in the South ten or twelve feet apart in the
rows. Planting distances are less, as a rule, on the Pacific slope
than in eastern regions; that is, the distances between the rows are
the same, to permit work with teams, but the distance between plants
in the rows is less, sometimes being no greater than three and a half
or four feet. The rank-growing Rotundifolias of the southern states
need much room, nine by sixteen feet being none too much. Sunshine
must govern the distance apart somewhat. Grapes picked in the pleached
alleys of closely set vineyards of the North and East are few, small
and poor; farther south, shade from the vines may be a requisite for a
good crop.
The number of vines to the acre must be determined before growing or
buying plants. This is done by multiplying the distance in feet
between the rows by the distance the plants are apart in the row, and
dividing 43,560, the number of square feet in an acre, by the product.
PREPARATION FOR PLANTING
It is impossible to put too much emphasis on the necessity of thorough
preparation of the land before planting the grape. Extra expenditure
to secure good tilth is amply repaid by increased growth in the grape,
and all subsequent care may fail to start the vines in vigorous growth
if the land is not in good tilth preparatory to planting. The vineyard
is to stand a generation or more, and its soil is virtually immortal,
two facts to suggest perfect preparation. The land should be
thoroughly well plowed, harrowed, mixed and smoothed. The better this
work is done, the greater the potentialities of the vineyard. Here,
indeed, is a time to be mindful of the adage which comes from Cato, a
sturdy old Roman grape-grower of 2000 years ago: "The face of the
master is good for the land."
Preparation is a series of operations in which it is wise to take
advantage of time and begin a year before the vines are to be set. The
land must be put in training to fit it for the long service it is to
render. The two great essentials of preparation are provision for
drainage and thorough cultivation. Both, to be performed as the
well-being of the grape require, take time, and a year is none too
short a period in which to do the work. Moreover, newly drained and
deeply plowed land requires time for frost, air, sunshine and rain to
sweeten and enliven the soil after the mixture by these operations of
live topsoil with inert subsoil.
_Drainage._
The ideal soil, as we are often told, resembles a sponge, and is
capable of retaining the greatest possible amount of plant-food
dissolved in water, and at the same time is permeable for air. This
ideal, sponge-like condition is particularly desirable for the grape,
especially native species, because the vines of all are exceedingly
deep-rooted. Moreover, grapes thrive best in a warm soil. While,
therefore, the roots may make good use of nutritious solutions, if not
too diluted, in an undrained soil, they suffocate and do not receive
sufficient bottom heat. It must be made emphatic that the grape will
not thrive in water-logged land.
Unless the land is naturally well drained, under-drainage must be
provided as the first step in the preparation of land for the
vineyard. Tile-draining is usually best done by those who make
land-draining their business, but information as to every requirement
of land and detail of work may be secured from many texts, so that
grape-growers may perform the work for themselves. In concluding the
topic, the reader must be reminded that high and hill lands are not
necessarily well drained, and low lands are not necessarily wet even
if the surface is level. Often hilltops and hillsides need artificial
draining; much less often valley lands and level lands may not need
it. To assume, too, that gravelly and shaley soils are always well
drained often leads directly contrary to the truth. Sandy and gravelly
soils need drainage nearly as often as loamy and clayey ones.
Following tiling, if the land has had to be under-drained, the
vineyard should be graded to fill depressions and to make the surface
uniform. Usually this can be done with cutaway, tooth or some other
harrow, but sometimes the grader or road-scraper must be put in use.
_Fitting the land._
Preparatory cultivation should begin the spring preceding planting by
deep plowing. If the land has been used long for general farming so
that a hard plow-sole has been formed by years of shallow plowing, a
subsoil-plow should follow in the furrow of the surface plow, although
it is seldom advisable to go deeply into the true hardpan. Fitting the
land must not stop here but should continue through the summer with
harrow and cultivator to pulverize the soil almost to its ultimate
particles. Such cultivation can be sufficiently thorough, and be made
at the same time profitable, by growing some hoed crop which requires
intensive culture. If the soil lacks humus, a cover-crop of clover or
other legume might well be sown in early summer to be plowed under in
late fall. Or, if stable manure is available, this generally should be
applied the fall before planting. Stable manure applied at this time
to a soil inclined to be niggardly puts an atmosphere in the
forthcoming vineyard wholly denied the grower who must rely on
commercial fertilizers.
The land should be plowed again, deeply and as early in the fall as
possible, harrowed thoroughly, or possibly cross-plowed and then
harrowed. The land must go into the winter ready for early spring
planting and the fall work must be done promptly and with a sturdy
team and sharp, bright tools. The grower must keep in mind that no
opportunity will offer during the life of the vineyard to even up for
slackness in the start and that a vineyard of dingy, unhappy vines may
be the result of neglect at this critical time. Good tilth should
proceed until the earth is fairly animated with growth when the vines
are planted. Plate II shows a piece of land well fitted for planting.
_Marking for planting._
Given level land, a well-made marker, a gentle team and a careful
driver with a surveyor's eye, and a vineyard may be marked for
planting with a sled-marker, a modified corn-marker or even a plow.
Some such marker method is commonest in use in laying out vineyard
rows, but it is patent to the eye of every passer-by in grape regions
that the commonest method is not the best to secure perfect alignment
of row and vine. The combination named for good work with any of the
marker methods is found too seldom. If the marker method is used, it
is put in practice as follows: The rows being marked at the distance
decided on, a deep furrow is plowed along the row by going both ways
with the plow; this done, small stakes are set in the furrow at the
proper distances for the vines, taking care to line them both ways.
Planting holes are thus dug in the furrow with the stakes as a center.
Marking by means of a measuring wire or chain is the best method of
locating vines accurately in a vineyard. The measuring wire varies
according to the wishes of the user from two to three hundred feet or
may be even longer. The best wires are made of annealed steel wire
about an eighth of an inch in diameter. At each end of the wire is a
strong iron ring to be slipped over stakes. The wire is marked
throughout its length by patches of solder at the distances desired
between rows of vines; to make these places more easily seen, pieces
of red cloth are fastened to them. Sometimes this measuring wire is
made of several strands of small wire, giving more flexibility and
making marking easier, since by separating the strands at the desired
points, pieces of cloth may be tied to mark distances.
In using the wire, the side of the vineyard which is to serve as the
base of the square is selected and the wire is stretched, leaving at
least one rod from road or fence for a headland. With the wire thus
stretched, a stake is placed at each of the distance tags to represent
the first row of vines. Beginning at the starting point, sixty feet
are measured off in the base line and a temporary stake is set; eighty
feet at a right angle with the first line are then measured off at the
corner stake, judging the angle with the eye; then run diagonally from
the eighty-foot stake to the sixty-foot stake. If the distance between
the two stakes is one hundred feet, the corner is a right angle. With
the base lines thus started at right angles to each other, one can
measure off with the measuring wire as large an area as he desires by
taking care to have the line each time drawn parallel with the last,
and the stakes accurately placed at the marking points on the wire.
Still another method which may be put to good use in laying out a
vineyard, especially if the vineyard is small, is to combine measure
and sight. The distances about the vineyard are measured and stakes
set to mark the ends of the rows around the area. Good stakes can be
made from laths pointed at one end and whitewashed at the other. A
line of stakes is then set across the field each way through the
center, in places, of course, which the two central rows of vines will
fill. When these are in place, if the area is not too large or too
hilly, all measurements can be dispensed with and the vines can be set
by sighting. A man at the end of the row has three laths to sight by
in each row and a second man should drive stakes as directed by the
sighter. Accurate work can be done by this method, but it requires
time, a good eye and much patience in the man who is sighting.
SELECTING AND PREPARING THE VINES
Young grape vines covet life, for they are usually vigorous and not
easily injured. Hence, the plants may be brought from a distance
without fear of loss. The local nurseryman is, however, a good adviser
as to varieties if he is honest and intelligent, and, other things
equal, he should be patronized. But if the grower's needs cannot be
met at home, he should not hesitate to seek a nurseryman at a
distance. This is more necessary with the grape than other fruits
because young grapes are well and cheaply grown in certain localities
only. With the grape, as with all fruit plants, it is much better to
buy from the grower than from tree peddlers.
_Selecting vines._
Unless the buyer knows what he wants, selecting vines is gambling pure
and simple. Fortunately, there are several marks of good vines very
helpful to those who know them. One should first make sure that the
roots and tops are alive to the remotest parts. The vines should have
a good clean, healthy look with trunk diameter large enough to
indicate vigorous growth, and an ample spread of roots. Large size is
not as desirable as firm, well-matured wood and an abundance of roots.
Vines with internodes of medium length for the variety are better than
those with great length or very short internodes. Such precautions as
are possible should be taken to insure varieties true to name,
although here the reputation of the nurseryman must be depended on
except for the few varieties which may be known at sight in the
nursery.
First-grade one-year-old vines are usually better than two-year-olds.
Stunted vines are not worth planting and two-year-old vines are often
stunted one-year-olds. A few weak-growing varieties gain in vigor if
allowed to remain in the nursery two years--three years, never.
_Handling and preparing the vines._
The better vines are packed, transported and cared for in the field,
the quicker will the roots take hold and the vines make the vigorous
start on which so much depends. The nurseryman should be requested not
to prune much before packing and to pack the vines well for shipping.
The vines should be heeled-in as soon as they reach their destination.
If the vines are dry on arrival, they should be drenched well before
heeling-in. It sometimes happens that the vines are shriveled and
shrunken from excessive drying, in which case the plants often may be
brought back to plumpness by burying them root and branch in damp
earth, to remain a week or possibly two. To heel-in, a trench should
be double furrowed in light, moist soil, the vines spread out in the
trench two or three deep, and then earth shoveled over the roots and
half the tops, sifting it in the roots, after which the soil is
firmed. The vines may thus be kept in good condition for several weeks
if need arises.
The vines are prepared for planting by cutting away all dead or
injured roots and shortening-in the healthy roots. Grape roots can be
cut severely if healthy stubs remain, the removal of small roots and
fibers doing no harm, since fibers are of value only as indicating
that the vine is strong and vigorous. Fresh fibers come quickly from
stout, healthy roots. Most of the fibers of a transplanted vine die,
and laying them out in the hole to preserve them, as is so often
recommended, is but a useless burial rite. On good healthy vines, the
stubs of the roots, when cut back, will be four to eight inches in
length. The root system having been considerably pruned, the
reciprocity between roots and tops must be taken into account and the
top pruned accordingly. To reduce the work of the leaves to harmonize
with the activities of the roots, the top should be pruned to a single
cane and two, never more than three, buds. The vine is now ready for
planting and, the soil being in readiness, planting should proceed
apace.
[Illustration: PLATE VI.--Black Hamburg (×1/2).]
PLANTING
The dangers and difficulties of planting hardwooded plants are greatly
exaggerated. The tyro, in particular, is impressed with his
responsibilities at this time, and often sends a hurry-up call to
experiment station or nurseryman to "send him a man to plant." If the
land is properly prepared and the plants in good condition, the
operation of planting is easily, quickly and safely accomplished.
There is no need, in planting the vine, of such puttering overniceties
as laying out the roots to preserve the fibers, watering each vine as
it is set, inserting the vine in a gingerly fashion to make sure that
it stands in its new abode as it stood in the old, or puddling the
roots in pail or tub of water. On the other hand, the slap-dash method
of a Stringfellow who cuts off all small roots and uses a crowbar in
place of a spade is not doing duty by the plant, and burying the roots
deep in the earth or covering them close to the surface is courting
failure.
_Digging the holes._
This is a simple task in land in good tilth. The holes need only be
large and deep enough to hold the roots without undue cramping. Herein
is again manifested the wisdom of thoroughly preparing the land; for,
in well-prepared land, the hole is really as large as the vineyard.
Even in the condition of poor tilth, deep holes are often a menace to
the life of the plant, especially if drainage is not provided, for the
deep hole becomes a tub into which water pours and stands to soak the
roots of dying vines. An extra spurt in digging holes cannot take the
place of perfect fitting of the land.
There is nothing to commend the practice of digging holes in a leisure
time that all may be ready when the time to plant arrives. The vines
will strike root best in the freshly turned, moist soil of newly dug
earth, which can be firmly set about the roots when the vine is
planted. Neither is time saved in digging beforehand, for the
sun-baked and rain-washed sides of holes long dug would surely have to
be pared afresh. It is, however, quite worth while to throw the
surface soil to one side and that lower to the other, that a spadeful
of moist, virile, surface soil may be put next to the roots.
There are, no doubt, some soils in which the holes might be blasted
out with dynamite, as, for instance, in a shallow soil with the
hardpan near the surface and good subsoil beneath. It is very
questionable, however, whether these defective soils should be used
for commercial plantings as long as there still remain unplanted many
acres in all grape regions of good deep land for the grape. To such as
are attracted by "dynamite farming," minute descriptions of methods of
use of dynamite and even demonstrations may be secured from
manufacturers of the explosive.
_Time to plant._
The best time to plant the vine in cold climates is early spring, when
sun and showers arouse the spirit of growth in plants, and nutritive
solutions proceed quickly and unerringly to their preappointed places.
At this time, the much mutilated vine can undertake best the double
task of making fresh roots and opening the dormant leaves. Fall
planting puts forward the work, thus diminishing the rush of early
spring when vineyard operations crowd, and, no doubt, when all is
favorable, enables the vines to start a little more quickly. However,
there are frequently serious losses from planting in the fall. In cold
winters the grip of frost is sufficient to wrench the young vine from
its place and sometimes all but heaves it out of the soil. There is,
also, great liability of winter-killing in vines transplanted in the
autumn, not because of greater tenderness of the plant, but because of
greater porosity of the loosened soil which enables the cold to strike
to a greater depth. These two objections to fall planting can be
overcome largely by mounding up the earth so as practically to cover
the vines, leveling the mound in early spring; but this extra work
more than offsets the labor saving in fall planting.
In climates in which the soil does not freeze in the winter, the vines
may be set in the autumn if all is favorable. Often, however,
conditions are not favorable to fall planting in warm climates, since
autumn rains frequently soak the soil so that it cannot be placed
properly about the roots; and, moreover, in a cold, water-logged soil
the inactive roots begin to decay; or the soil may be too dry for fall
planting. Under such conditions, it is often better to delay planting
in warm climates until spring when better soil conditions can be
secured. Fall or spring, the soil should be reasonably dry, warm and
mellow when the work is done. The best time to plant must necessarily
vary from year to year, and the vineyardist must decide exactly when
to undertake planting in accordance with the conditions of soil and
weather, mindful that the Psalmist's injunction that there is "a time
to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted" is subject to
several conditions requiring judgment. The grape puts out its leaves
late in the spring, making the temptation great to delay planting;
late-set plants, however, need special care lest they suffer from the
summer droughts which annually parch the lands of this continent.
_The operation of planting._
All being in readiness, planting proceeds rapidly. A gang of four men
work to advantage. Two dig holes, a third holds the vines and tramps
the earth as the remaining man shovels in earth. Except in large
vineyards, four men are seldom available, and gangs of two or three
must divide the work among its members as best suits conditions. A
tree-setting board is not needed in planting grapes, although some
growers use it. The man who holds the vines in the hole and tramps as
the shoveler fills, must align the plant after the stake is removed
and see that it stands perpendicularly in the hole. The stake, a lath,
is set in its old place in the hole to serve as a support for the
growing vine and to mark it so that the cultivator does not pull up
the young plant. The soil must be set firm about the roots of the
plant, but zeal in tramping should diminish as the hole is filled,
leaving the topsoil untramped, smooth, loose and pulverized, a dust
mulch--the best of all mulches--to prevent evaporation.
The depth to which vines should be set is a matter of controversy.
This should be governed by the soil more than by any other factor,
although some varieties need a deeper root-run than others. The rule
to plant to the depth the vine stood in the nursery row is safe under
most conditions, although in light, hungry or thirsty soils the roots
should go deeper; and, on the other hand, in heavy soils, not so deep.
Deep planting is a more common mistake than shallow planting, for
roots under most conditions stand exposure better than internment,
going down being more natural than coming up for a root seeking a
place to its liking.
Watering at planting is necessary only when the land is parched with
drought or in regions in which irrigation is practiced. When
necessary, water should be used liberally, at least a gallon or two to
a vine. After the earth has been firmed about the roots and the hole
is nearly filled, the water should be poured in and the hole filled
without more firming. Under dry weather conditions, some prefer to
puddle the roots; that is, to dip them in thin mud and plant with the
mud adhering. In making the puddle, loose loam and not sticky clay is
used, as clay may bake so hard as to injure the roots. With puddling,
as with watering, the surface soil should be left loose and soft
without traces of the puddling below.
Manure or fertilizer about the roots or even in the hole are not
necessary or even desirable. If the soil is to be enriched at all at
planting time, the fertilizer should be spread on the surface to be
cultivated in or to have its food elements leak down as rains fall. In
land in which the providential design for grapes is plainly
manifested, the vine at no time responds heartily to fertilizers, the
good of stable manure probably coming for the most part from its
effects on the texture and water-holding capacity of the soil. The
newly set plant is not in need of outside nourishment; to put rank
manure or strong commercial fertilizers about the roots of a young
newly set vine is plant infanticide.
CARE OF YOUNG VINES
Virgil calls the period in the life of the vine between the setting
and the first vintage, the "tender nonage," and tells us that at this
time the vines need careful rearing; so they do, now as then, American
grapes as well as the grapes of ancient Rome. Fortunately, any
departure from normal well-being is easily told in the grape, for the
color of the leaf is as accurate an index to the health and vigor of
the vine as the color of the tongue or the beat of the pulse in man. A
change of color from the luxuriant green of thrifty grape foliage,
especially the yellow hue indicating that the leaf-green is not
functioning properly, suggests that the vines are sick or need nursing
in some detail of care. When all goes well, however, the amazing
energy of Nature is nowhere better seen among plants than in the
growth of the grape, so that much of the care is in the use of the
knife; in fact, as we shall see, the grape almost lives by the knife
the first two years out.
_The first year._
The vines having been pruned and staked at planting, these operations
need no attention in the first summer. Many varieties send up several
shoots as growth starts, and, except in the case of grafted plants
and in the event of the suckers coming from the stock, these should be
left to feed the vine and help to establish a good root system. Vines
making a strong growth should be tied to the stake, at least the
strongest shoot, to keep the wind from whipping it about and to keep
the plants out of the way of the cultivator. The only knack in tying
is to keep the vine on the windward side of the stake, thus saving the
breaking of tying material.
The first year's pruning, though severe, is easily done. All but the
strongest cane are cut out and this is pruned back to two buds, nearly
to the ground, so that the vines are much as when set in the vineyard.
This pruning, and that of the next two years, has as the object the
establishment of a good root system and the production of a sturdy
trunk at the height at which the vine is to be headed. It is important
that the cane from which the trunk is to come be healthy and the wood
well ripened. Pruning may be done at any time after the leaves fall,
though most growers give preference to late winter. In cold climates
it is a good practice to plow up to the young vines for winter
protection, in which case the pruning should be done before plowing.
Every detail of vineyard management should be performed with care and
at the accepted time in this critical first year. Cultivation must be
intensive, insects and fungi must be warded off, mechanical injuries
avoided, vines that have refused to grow must be marked for discard,
and the vineyard be put down to a cover-crop in early August if it was
not earlier planted to some hoed catch-crop.
_The second year._
Work begins in the spring of the second year with the setting of
trellis posts on which one wire is put up. The vine is not yet ready
to train but the slender lath of the first season is not sufficient
support, and the one wire on the future trellis saves the expense of
staking. Tying requires some care and is usually done with string or
bast. As the summer proceeds, suckers from the roots are removed and
some growers thin the shoots on the young vine; some think it
necessary also to top the growth if it becomes too luxuriant and so
keep the cane within bounds. Suckers must be cut or broken off at the
points where they originate, otherwise several new ones may start from
the base of the old. If the vines are topped, it must be kept in mind
that summer pruning is weakening, and the tips of shoots should,
therefore, be taken when small, the object being to direct the growth
into those parts of the vine which are to become permanent.
Pruning, the second winter the vine is out, depends on the vigor of
the plant. If a strong, healthy, well-matured cane over-tops the lower
wire of the trellis, it should be cut back so that the cane may be
tied to the wire; otherwise the vine should again be cut almost to the
ground, leaving but three or four buds. If the cane be left, in
addition to sturdiness and maturity, it should be straight, for it is
to become the trunk of the mature vine. The training of the young vine
is now at an end, for the next season the vine must be started toward
its permanent form, instructions for which are given in the chapter on
pruning.
The summer care of the vineyard does not differ materially in the
second year from that of the first. Intensive cultivation continues,
the vines are treated for pests and the annual cover-crop follows
cultivation. Many varieties, if vigorous, will set some fruit in this
second summer, but the crop should not be allowed to mature, the
sooner removed the better, as fruiting at this stage of growth
seriously weakens the young vines.
CATCH-CROPS AND COVER-CROPS
A catch-crop is one grown between the rows of another crop for profit
from the produce. A cover-crop is a temporary crop grown, as the term
was first used, to protect the soil, but the word is now used to
include green-manuring crops as well. Catch-crops seldom have a place
in most vineyards, but cover-crops are often grown.
_Catch-crops._
Catch-crops are not, as a rule, profitable in commercial vineyards;
they may bring temporary profit but in the long run they are usually
detrimental to the vines. It may pay and the grape may not be injured
in some localities, if such truck crops as potatoes, beans, tomatoes
and cabbage are grown between the rows or even in the rows for the
first year and possibly the second. Land, to do duty by the two crops,
however, must be excellent and the care of both crops must be of the
best. Growing gooseberries, currants, any of the brambles, or even
strawberries, is a poor procedure unless the vineyard is small, the
land very valuable or other conditions prevail which make intensive
culture possible or necessary. The objections to catch-crops in the
vineyard are two: they rob the vines of food and moisture and endanger
them to injury from tools in caring for the catch-crop.
Sometimes the grape itself is planted as a catch-crop in the vineyard.
That is, twice the number of vines required in a row for the permanent
vineyard are set with the expectation of cutting out alternate vines
when two or three crops have been harvested and the vines begin to
crowd. This practice is preferable to inter-planting with bush-fruits,
yet there is not much to commend it if the experience of those who
have tried it is taken as a guide. Too often the filler vines are left
a year too long with the result that the permanent vines are checked
in growth for several years following. The profits from the fillers
are never large, scarcely pay for the extra work, and if the permanent
vines are stunted, the filler must be put down as a liability rather
than as an asset.
_Cover-crops._
In an experiment being conducted by the New York Agricultural
Experiment Station, grapes do not give a very appreciable response to
cover-crops in yield of fruit or growth of vine.[9] There seem to be
no other experiments to confirm the results at the New York Station,
and grape-growers nowhere have used cover-crops very generally for the
betterment of their vineyards. There is doubt, therefore, as to
whether grapes will respond profitably to the annual use of
cover-crops in yield of fruit, which, of course, is the ultimate test
of the value of cover-crops, but a test hard to apply unless the
experiment runs a great number of years.
Leaving out the doubtful value of cover-crops in increasing the supply
of plant-food and thereby producing an increase in yield, there are at
least three ways in which cover-crops are valuable in the vineyard.
Thus, it is patent to all who have tried cover-crops in the vineyard
that the land is in much better tilth and more easily worked when some
green crop is turned under in fall or spring; it is not unreasonable
to assume, though it is impossible to secure reliable experimental
data to confirm the belief, that cover-crops protect the roots of
grapes from winter-killing; certainly it may be expected that a
cover-crop sowed in midsummer will cause grapes to mature their wood
earlier and more thoroughly so that the vines go into the winter in
better condition. The only objection to be raised against cover-crops
in the vineyard is that pickers, mostly women, object to the
cover-crop when wet with rain or dew and usually choose to pick in
vineyards having no such crop. This seemingly insignificant factor
often gives the grape-grower who sows cover-crops much trouble in
harvest time.
Several cover-crops may be planted in vineyards as clover, vetch,
oats, barley, cow-horn turnip, rape, rye and buckwheat. Combinations
of these usually make the seed too costly or the trouble of sowing too
great. Yet some combinations of a leguminous and non-leguminous crop
would seem to make the best green crop for the grape. Thus, a bushel
of oats or barley plus ten pounds of clover or twenty pounds of winter
vetch, a combination often used in orchards, should prove satisfactory
in the vineyard. Or, doubling the amount of seed for each, these crops
could be alternated, with a change in the rotation every four or six
years, with cow-horn turnip or rape. Turnip and rape require at least
three pounds of seed to the acre.
The cover-crop is sown in midsummer, about the first of August in
northern latitudes, and should be plowed under in the fall or early
spring. Under no circumstances should the green crop be permitted to
stand in the vineyard late in the spring to rob the vines of food and
moisture. The weather map must be watched at sowing time to make sure
of a moist seed-bed. Plate III illustrates two vineyards with
well-grown cover-crops.
TILLAGE
Grape-growers are not in the fog that befuddles growers of tree-fruits
in regard to tillage. He is a sloven, indeed, who permits his vines to
stand a season in unbroken ground, and there are no growers who
recommend sod or any of the modified sod-mulches for the grape.
Tillage is difficult in hilly regions and the operation is often
neglected in hillside vineyards, as in the Central Lakes region of New
York, but even here some sort of tillage is universal. The skip of a
single season in tilling stunts the vines, and two or three skips in
successive seasons ruin a vineyard. No one complains that grapes
suffer from over-tilling as one frequently hears of tree-fruits. There
is no tonic for the grape that compares with cultivation when the
leaves lack color and hang limp and the vine has an indefinable air of
depression; and there is nothing better than cultivation to rouse
latent vigor in a scorching summer, or when drought lays heavy on the
land.
_Tillage tools._
The tools to be used in tilling grapes vary with the topography of the
vineyard, the kind of soil and the preferences of the vineyardist. The
best tool is the one with which the ground can be well fitted at least
expense. Good work in the vineyard requires at least two plows, a
single-horse and a two-horse plow. The latter, except on very hilly
land, should be a gang-plow. For commercial vineyards of any
considerable size, several cultivators are necessary for different
seasons and conditions of the soil. Thus, every vineyard should have a
spring-tooth and a disc harrow, one of the several types of weeders, a
one-horse and a sulky cultivator. If weeds abound, it is necessary to
have some cutting tool, or an attachment to one of the cultivators, to
slide over the ground and cut off large weeds. Another indispensable
tool in a large vineyard is a one-horse grape-hoe, to supplement the
work of which there must be heavy hand-hoes. Very often the surface
soil must be pulverized, and a clod-crusher, roller or a float becomes
a necessity. A full complement of bright, sharp tools at the command
of the grape-grower goes far toward success in his business.
_Tillage methods._
There are several reliable guides indicating when the vineyard needs
to be tilled. The vineyardist who is but a casual observer of the
relation of vineyard operations to the life events and the welfare of
his vines will take the crop of weeds as his guide. It is, of course,
necessary to keep down the weeds, but the man who waits until weeds
force him to till will make a poor showing in his vineyard. The
amount of moisture in the soil is a better guide. The chief function
of tillage is to save moisture by checking evaporation and to put the
soil in such condition that its water-holding capacity is increased.
The physical condition of the land is another guide. Tilling when the
soil needs pulverizing furnishes a greater feeding surface for the
roots.
Tillage begins with plowing in early spring. Whether provided with a
cover-crop to be turned under or hard and bare, the land must be
broken each spring with the plow. Plowing is best done by running a
single furrow with a one-horse plow up to or away from the vines as
occasion calls and then following with a two-horse or a gang-plow.
Some growers use a disc harrow instead of the plow to break the land
in the spring, but this is a doubtful procedure in most vineyards and
is impossible when a heavy green-crop covers the land. Tillage with
harrow, cultivator, weeder or roller then proceeds at such intervals
as conditions demand, seldom less than once a fortnight, until time to
sow the cover-crop in midsummer. About the time grapes blossom, the
grape-hoe should be used to level down the furrow turned up to the
vines in the spring plowing. Tillage should always follow a heavy rain
to prevent the formation of a soil crust, this being a time when he
who tills quickly tills twice. The number of times a vineyard should
be tilled depends on the soil and the season. Ten times over with the
cultivator in one vineyard or season may not be as effective as _five_
times in another vineyard or another season. In some regions, as in
New York, the grower is so often at the mercy of wet weather in early
spring that the plowing is best done in the fall, and spring
operations must then open with harrowing with some tool that will
break the land thoroughly.
The depth to till is governed by the nature of the soil and the
season. Heavy soils need deep tilling; light soils, shallow tilling;
in wet weather, till deeply; in dry weather, lightly. Grape roots are
well down in the soil and there is little danger of injuring them in
deep tillage. The depth of plowing and cultivating should be varied
somewhat from season to season to avoid the formation of a plow-sole.
In some regions plowing and cultivating may be made a means of
combating insects and fungi, and this regulates the depth of tillage.
Thus, in the Chautauqua grape-belt of western New York, the pupa of
the root-worm, a scourge of the grape in this region, is thrown out
and destroyed by the grape-hoe just as it is about ready to emerge as
an adult to lay its eggs on the vines. In all regions, leaves and
mummied grapes bearing countless myriads of spores of the mildews,
black-rot and other fungi are interned by the plow and cannot scatter
disease.
The time in the season to stop tillage depends on the locality, the
season and the variety. It is a good rule to cease cultivation a few
weeks before the grapes attain full size and begin to color, for by
this time they will have weighted down the vines so that fruit and
foliage will be in the way of the cultivator. In the North,
cultivation ceases in the ordinary season about the first of August,
earlier the farther south. Rank-growing sorts, as Concord or Clinton,
do not need to be cultivated as late as those of smaller growth and
scantier foliage, as Delaware or Diamond. The cover-crop seed is
covered the last time over with the cultivator. Plate IV shows a
well-tilled vineyard of Concords.
IRRIGATION
The grape, as a rule, withstands drought very well, several species
growing wild on the desert's edge. Even in the semi-arid regions of
the far West, where other fruits must always be irrigated, the grape
often grows well without artificial watering. Irrigation is practiced
in vineyards in the United States only on the Pacific slope and here
the practice is not as general as with other fruit crops. Whether the
grape shall be grown under irrigation or not is a local and often an
individual question answered with regard to several conditions; as the
local rainfall, the depth and character of the soil, the cost of water
and ease of irrigation. These conditions are all correlated and make
about the most complex and difficult problem the growers of grapes in
semi-arid regions have to solve. As long, however, as the grape-grower
can grow fairly vigorous vines and harvest a fairly bountiful crop by
natural rainfall, he should not irrigate; for, even though the crop
offsets the cost, there are several objections to growing grapes under
irrigation. The vines are subject to more diseases and physiological
troubles; the fruit is said to lack aroma and flavor; grapes grown on
irrigated land do not stand shipment well, the unduly inflated grapes
often bursting; wine-makers do not like irrigated grapes as well as
those from non-irrigated lands; and watery grapes from irrigated lands
make inferior raisins. It is maintained, however, with a show of
reason, that grapes suffer in irrigated vineyards in the ways set
forth only when the vines are over-or improperly irrigated.
[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Barry (×2/5). Delaware (×2/5).]
CHAPTER VI
FERTILIZERS FOR GRAPES
As regards fertilizers, the grape-grower has much to learn and in
learning he must approach the problem with humility of mind. For in
his experimenting, which is the best way to learn, he will no sooner
arrive at what seems to be a certain conclusion, than another season's
results or the yields in an adjoining vineyard will upset the findings
of past seasons and those obtained in other places. Unfortunately,
there is little real knowledge to be obtained on the subject, for
grape-growers have not yet broken away from time-worn dictums in
regard to fertilizers and still follow recommendations drawn from work
with truck and field crops. This is excused by the fact that there
have been almost no comprehensive experiments in the country with
fertilizers for grapes.
No fallacies die harder than the pronouncements of chemists a
generation ago that fertilizing consists in putting in the soil
approximately that which the plants take out; and that the chemical
composition of the crop affords the necessary guide to fertilizing.
These two theories are the basis of nearly every recommendation that
can be found for the use of fertilizers in growing crops. The facts
applied to the grape, however, are that the average tillable soil
contains a hundred or a thousand times more of the chemical
constituents of plants than the grape can possibly take from the soil;
and many experiments in supplying food to plants show that the
chemical composition of the plant is not a safe guide to their
fertilizer requirements. Later teachings in regard to the use of
fertilizers are: That the quantity of mineral food in a soil may be of
far less importance than the quantity of water, and that the
cultivator should make certain that there is sufficient moisture in
his land so that the mineral salts may be readily dissolved and so
become available as plant-food; that far too much importance has been
attached to putting chemicals in the soil and too little to the
physical condition of the soil, whereby the work of bacteria and the
solvent action of organic acids may make available plant-food that
without these agencies is unavailable.
These brief and simple statements introduce to grape-growers some of
the problems with which they must deal in fertilizing grapes, and show
what a complex problem of chemistry, physics and biology fertilizing
the soil is; how difficult experimental work in this field is; and how
cautious workers must be in interpreting results of either experiment
or experience. An account of an experiment in fertilizing a vineyard
may make even more plain the difficulties in carrying on experiments
in fertilizing fruits and the caution that must be observed in drawing
conclusions.
AN EXPERIMENT IN FERTILIZING GRAPES
The New York Agricultural Experiment Station is experimenting with
fertilizers for grapes at Fredonia, Chautauqua County, the chief grape
region in eastern America. The experiment should be of interest to
every grape-grower from several points of view. It not only shows that
there are many and difficult problems in fertilizing grapes, but also
the results of the use of manure, commercial fertilizers and
cover-crops in a particular vineyard; it suggests the fertilizers to
be used and the methods of use; and it furnishes a plan for an
experiment by grape-growers who want to try such an experiment and
draw their own conclusions. An account of the experiment and the
results for the first five years follows:[10]
_Tests at Fredonia._
"In the vineyard at Fredonia eleven plats were laid out in a section
of the vineyard where inequalities of soil and other conditions were
slight or were neutralized. Each plat included three rows (about
one-sixth of an acre) and was separated from the adjoining plats by a
'buffer' row not under test. One plat in the center of the section
served as a check, and five different fertilizer combinations were
used on duplicate plats at either side of the check. Plats 1 and 7
received lime and a complete fertilizer with quick-acting and
slow-acting nitrogen; Plats 2 and 8 received the complete fertilizer
but no lime; on Plats 3 and 9 potash was omitted from the complete
fertilizer combination; Plats 4 and 10 received no phosphorus; Plats 5
and 11, no nitrogen; and Plat 6 was the check. The materials were
applied at such rates that they provided for the first year 72 pounds
of nitrogen per acre, 25 pounds of phosphorus and 59 pounds of
potassium; and for each of the last four years two-thirds as much
nitrogen and phosphorus and eight-ninths as much potassium. The lime
was applied the first and fourth years in quantity to make a ton to
the acre annually. Cover-crops were sown on all plats alike and were
plowed under in late April or early May of each year. These differed
in successive years, but included no legumes. The crops used were rye,
wheat, barley and cow-horn turnips separately and the last two in
combination.
"The cultivation differed only in thoroughness from that generally
used in the Belt, the aim being to maintain a good dust mulch during
the whole growing season. Pruning by the Chautauqua System was done
throughout by one man, who pruned solely according to the vigor of the
individual vines and left four, two or three, or no fruiting canes as
appeared best. The vineyard was thoroughly sprayed, all plats alike.
"Low winter temperatures, affecting immature wood and buds caused by
unfavorable weather of the previous season, reduced yields materially
during two of the five years, and practically neutralized any
anticipated benefit from fertilizers. Following the first of these
low-crop years, came a season, 1911, in which favorable conditions,
acting upon vines left undiminished in vigor by the light crop of the
previous year resulted in heavy and quite uniform yields on all the
plats.
"The yields for the five years are shown in Table I; and a summary
showing the average gains from each treatment is given in Table II,
with the average financial balance after deducting the cost of
fertilizer application from the increased returns from the plats
receiving them.
TABLE I.--YIELD OF GRAPES (TONS PER ACRE) IN FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS
=========================================================================
Plat.| | | | | | |5-year
No. | | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |avg.
-----+-------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------
| |_Tons_|_Tons_|_Tons_|_Tons_|_Tons_|_Tons_
1 |Complete fertilizer; lime| 4.48 | 2.10 | 5.37 | 3.46 | 2.14 | 3.51
2 |Complete fertilizer | 4.76 | 2.21 | 5.71 | 4.30 | 2.83 | 3.96
3 |Nitrogen and phosphorus | 5.17 | 2.14 | 5.61 | 4.00 | 2.25 | 3.83
4 |Nitrogen and potash | 4.25 | 2.55 | 5.64 | 4.10 | 2.85 | 3.87
5 |Phosphorus and potash | 3.41 | 2.00 | 5.44 | 4.35 | 1.78 | 3.39
6 |Check | 3.38 | 2.10 | 5.32 | 3.60 | 1.24 | 3.12
7 |Complete fertilizer; lime| 4.69 | 2.38 | 5.62 | 4.80 | 3.04 | 4.10
8 |Complete fertilizer | 4.66 | 2.07 | 5.71 | 4.98 | 2.72 | 4.02
9 |Nitrogen and phosphorus | 4.99 | 2.04 | 5.35 | 4.89 | 2.61 | 3.97
10 |Nitrogen and potash | 4.79 | 2.26 | 5.91 | 4.89 | 3.07 | 4.18
11 |Phosphorus and potash | 4.99 | 1.87 | 5.03 | 4.21 | 1.97 | 3.61
=========================================================================
TABLE II.--AVERAGE INCREASE IN GRAPE YIELDS AND AVERAGE FINANCIAL GAIN
FROM FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS
N = nitrogen, P = phosphorus, K = potassium, Ca = lime.
Gains in tons per acre.
========================================================================
| N, P, | N, P, | N, P. | N, K. | P, K.
| K, Ca. | K. | | |
----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
| _Tons_ | _Tons_ | _Tons_ | _Tons_ | _Tons_
First plat of pair | 3.51 | 3.96 | 3.83 | 3.87 | 3.39
Second plat of pair | 4.10 | 4.02 | 3.97 | 4.18 | 3.61
|---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Average | 3.80 | 3.97 | 3.90 | 4.02 | 3.50
Check plat | 3.12 | 3.12 | 3.12 | 3.12 | 3.12
|---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Average gain | .68 | .85 | .78 | .90 | .38
Average financial gain| $5.82 | $13.84 | $14.05 | $18.54 | $6.99
========================================================================
From this last table the benefit from nitrogen appears quite evident
since every combination in which it appears gives a substantial gain
over the one from which it is absent. Phosphorus and potassium without
the nitrogen, lead to only a slight increase over the check; and lime
appears to be of no benefit. Financially, the complete fertilizer and
lime combination, the nitrogen and phosphorus combination and the
phosphorus and potassium combination failed to pay their cost in five
of the ten comparisons; the complete fertilizer was used at a loss
four times out of ten; and the nitrogen and potassium combination
three times out of ten. Lime had no appreciable effect on either vines
or fruit.
"No effect of the fertilizers on the fruit itself, aside from yield,
was shown for the first three years; but in 1912, and even more
markedly in 1913, the fruit from the plats on which nitrogen had been
used was superior in compactness of cluster, size of cluster and size
of berry. In 1912 also, when early ripening was a decided advantage,
the fruit on the nitrogen plats matured earlier than that on the
check plats. In 1913 the favorable ripening season and the smaller
crop tended to equalize the time of ripening on all plats. The grapes
on the phosphorus-potassium plats were better in quality than those in
the check plats but not as good as those on the plats where nitrogen
was used.
"Other indexes also show plainly the benefit from nitrogen in this
vineyard; for size and weight of leaf, weight of wood produced and
number of fruiting canes left on the vines were all greater where
fertilizers, and particularly nitrogen, had been used. The three-year
averages (1911-1913) of the measurements for these characteristics are
shown in Table III:
TABLE III.--COMPARATIVE PRODUCTION OF LEAVES, WOOD AND FRUITING CANES
ON GRAPE VINES DIFFERENTLY FERTILIZED
(Averages for three years.)
=======================================================================
FERTILIZER APPLICATION | LEAF | WOOD | FRUITING
| WEIGHT[11] | PRUNED[12] | CANES LEFT[13]
----------------------------+------------+------------+----------------
| _Grams._ | _Lbs._ |
Complete fertilizer; lime | 1,033 | 1,295 | 2,468
Complete fertilizer | 1,010 | 1,367 | 2,609
Nitrogen and phosphorus | 1,047 | 1,272 | 2,585
Nitrogen and potassium | 1,069 | 1,401 | 2,646
Phosphorus and potassium | 964 | 1,086 | 2,326
Check | 930 | 915 | 2,110
=======================================================================
_Coöperative experiments._
"In order to secure information as to the behavior of fertilizers on
the different soils of the Grape Belt, coöperative tests were carried
on in six vineyards owned, respectively, by S. S. Grandin, Westfield;
Hon. C. M. Hamilton, State Line; James Lee, Brocton; H. S. Miner,
Dunkirk; Miss Frances Jennings, Silver Creek; and J. T. Barnes,
Prospect Station. The soil in these vineyards included gravelly loam,
shale loam and clay loam, all in the Dunkirk series, and the
experiments covered from two to two and a half acres in three cases
and about five acres in each of the other vineyards. The work
continued four years in all but one of the experiments, which it was
necessary to end after the second year.
"The general plan of the tests was much like that at Fredonia in most
of the vineyards, with the additions of plats for stable manure and
for leguminous and non-leguminous cover crops with and without lime.
From two to six check plats were left for comparison in each vineyard.
As already stated the results were often inconsistent in duplicate
plats in the same vineyard, and if one test appeared to point
definitely in a certain direction, the indication would be negatived
by results in other vineyards. In these experiments the yield of fruit
was the only index to the effect of treatments as it was not possible
to weigh leaves or pruned wood, or to count the canes left.
"Nitrogen and potassium in combination, which gave the largest gains
and greatest profit in the Station vineyard at Fredonia, showed a 13
per ct. increase in yield on one plat in the Jennings vineyard and a 9
per ct. decrease on the other; in the Miner vineyard this combination
apparently resulted in a 25 per ct. increase; in the Lee vineyard in a
2-1/2 per ct. loss; in the Hamilton vineyard a 17 per ct. gain; and in
the Grandin vineyard neither gain nor loss. In only two of the five
vineyards in which this combination was tested was the gain great
enough to pay the cost of the fertilizer applied. Similar
discrepancies, or absence of profitable gain, mark the use of the
other fertilizer combinations.
"Even stable manure, the standby of the farmer and fruit-grower, when
applied at the rate of five tons per acre each spring, and plowed in,
did not, on the average, pay for itself. Indeed, there were few
instances among the 60 comparisons possible, in which more than a
very moderate profit could be credited to manure. The average increase
in yield following the application of manure alone was less than a
quarter of a ton of grapes to the acre; while the use of lime with the
manure increased the gain to one-third of a ton per acre. The ton of
lime to the acre annually would not be paid for by the gain of 175
pounds of grapes. Cover-crops were used in five of the six coöperative
experiments and proved even less adapted to increasing crop yields
than did the manure. There was no appreciable gain, on the average,
from the use of mammoth clover; indeed, a slight loss must be recorded
for the clover except upon the plats which were also limed, and even
with the lime the average yields on check plats and mammoth clover
plats differed by only one one-hundredth of a ton. Wheat or barley
with cow-horn turnips made a slightly better showing, as the plats on
which these crops were turned under, without lime, averaged about
one-twentieth of a ton to the acre better than the checks. With these
non-legumes, lime was apparently a detriment, as the plants with the
lime yielded a tenth of a ton less, on the average, than those without
it."
_Practical lessons from the Fredonia experiment._
From this experiment it becomes clear that the use of fertilizers in a
vineyard is a local problem. General advice is of little value. It is
evident also that the fertilization of vineyards is so involved with
other factors that only carefully planned and long continued work will
give reliable information as to the needs of vines. Indeed, field
experiments even in carefully selected vineyards, as the coöperative
experiments show, may be so contradictory and misleading as to be
worse than useless, if deductions are made from the results of a few
seasons. The experiment, however, has brought forth information about
fertilizing vineyards that ought to be most helpful to grape-growers.
Thus, the results suggest:
_Only vineyards in good condition respond to fertilizers._
It is usually waste to make applications of fertilizers in poorly
drained vineyards, in such as suffer from winter cold or spring
frosts, where insect pests are epidemic and uncontrolled or where good
care is lacking. The experiments furnish several examples of
inertness, ineffectiveness or failure to produce profit when the
fertilizers were applied under any of the conditions named. They
emphasize the importance of paying attention to all of the factors on
which plant growth is dependent. Moisture, soil temperature, aëration,
the texture of the soil, freedom from pests, cold and frosts, as well
as the supply of food may limit the yield of grapes.
_A vineyard soil may have a one-sided wear._
It is certain in some of the experiments and strongly indicated in
others that the soil is having a one-sided wear--that only one or a
very few of the elements of fertility are lacking. The element most
frequently lacking is nitrogen. Exception will probably be found in
very light sands or gravels which are often deficient in potash and
the phosphates; or on soils so shallow or of such mechanical texture
that the root range of the vine is limited; or in soils so wet or so
dry as to limit the root range or prevent biological activities. These
exceptions mean, as a rule, that the soils possessing the unfavorable
qualities are unfitted for grape-growing. The grape-grower should try
to discover which of the fertilizing elements his soil lacks and not
waste by using elements not needed.
_Grape soils are often uneven._
The marked unevenness of the soil in the seven vineyards in which
these experiments were carried on, as indicated by the crops and the
effects of the fertilizers, furnishes food for thought to
grape-growers. Maximum profits cannot be approached in vineyards in
which the soil is as uneven as in these, which were in every case
selected because there was an appearance of uniformity. A problem
before grape-growers is to make uniform all conditions in their
vineyards, and the vines must be kept free from pests if fertilizers
are to be profitably used.
_How a grape-grower may know when his vines need fertilizers._
A grape-grower may assume that his vines do not need fertilizers if
they are vigorous and making a fair annual growth. When the vineyard
is found to be failing in vigor, the first step to be taken is to make
sure that the drainage is good; the second step, to control insect and
fungous pests; the third, to give tillage and good care; and the
fourth step is to apply fertilizers if they be found necessary. Few
vineyards will be found to require a complete fertilizer. What the
special requirements of a vineyard are can be ascertained only by
experiment and are probably not ascertainable by analyses of the soil.
This experiment furnishes suggestions as to how the grape-grower may
test the value of fertilizers in his own vineyard.
_Applying fertilizers._
When it is certain that vines need fertilization, and what is wanted
is known, the fertilizers should be put on in the spring and be worked
in by the spring cultivation. Stable manure should be plowed under.
Grape roots forage throughout the whole top layer of soil so that the
land should be covered with the fertilizer, whether chemical or
barnyard manure. Applications of commercial fertilizers are generally
spread broadcast, though it is better to drill them in if the foliage
is out on the vines and thus avoid possible injury to tender foliage.
Commercial fertilizers should be mixed thoroughly and in a finely
divided state. In leachy soils, nitrate of soda ought not to be
applied too early in the season, as it will quickly wash down out of
reach of the grape roots.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Brighton (×2/3).]
_Over-rich soils._
Some soils are too rich for the grape. On these the growth is
over-luxuriant, the wood does not mature in the autumn, fruit-buds do
not form and the fruit is poor in quality. Certain varieties can stand
a richer soil than others. Over-richness is a trouble that may cure
itself as the vines come in full bearing and make greater demands on
the soil for food. It is well, however, on a soil that is suspected of
being too rich or so proved by the behavior of the vines, to provide
an extra wire on the trellis, to prune little and thus take care of
the rampant growth. Some soils, however, and this is often the case,
are so rich that the grape cannot be made to thrive in them; the vines
waste their substance in riotous living, producing luxuriant foliage
and lusty wood but little or no fruit.
CHAPTER VII
PRUNING THE GRAPE IN EASTERN AMERICA
The inexperienced look on pruning as a difficult operation in
grape-growing. But once a few fundamentals are grasped, grape-pruning
is not difficult. There is much less perplexity in pruning the grape
than in pruning tree-fruits. Pruning follows accepted patterns in
every grape region, and when the pattern is learned the difficulties
are easily overcome. The inexperienced are confused by the array of
"principles," "types," "methods," "systems" and the many technical
terms that enter into discussions of grape-pruning. Some of the
technicalities come from European practices, and others originated in
the infancy of grape-growing in this country when there was great
diversity in pruning. Divested of much that is but jargon, an
inexperienced man can easily learn in a few lessons, from word of
mouth or printed page, how to prune grapes.
The simplicity of pruning has led to slighting the work in commercial
vineyards, by too often trusting it to unskilled hands. Then, too, in
this age of power-propelled tools, pride in hand labor has been left
behind, and few grape-growers now take time and trouble to become
expert in pruning. Simple as the work may seem to those long
accustomed to it, he who wants to put into his pruning painstaking
intelligence and to taste the joy of a task well done finds in this
vineyard operation an ample field for pleasure and for the development
of greater profits. The price to be paid by those who would thus
attempt perfection in pruning the vine is forward vision, the
mechanic's eye, the gardener's touch, patience, and pride in
handicraft.
Simple as pruning is, the pruner soon learns that it is an art in
which perfection is better known in mind than followed in deed. The
theory is easy but there are some stumbling blocks to make its
consummation difficult. It is an art in which rules do not suffice,
for no two vineyards can be pruned alike in amount or method, and
every grape-grower finds his vineyard a proper field for the
gratification of his taste in pruning. Happily, however, enlightened
theory and sound practice are in perfect accord in grape-pruning, so
that specific advice is well founded on governing principles.
One cannot, of course, learn to prune unless he understands the habit
of the grape-vine and is familiar with the terms applied to the
different parts of the vine. As a preliminary to this chapter,
therefore, knowledge of Chapter XVII, in which the structure of the
grape-vine is discussed, is necessary. The next step is to distinguish
between pruning and training.
PRUNING AND TRAINING DISTINGUISHED
The grape is pruned to increase in various ways the economic value of
the plant by increasing the quantity and value of the crop. This is
pruning proper. Or grapes are pruned to make well-proportioned plants
with the parts so disposed that the vines are to the highest degree
manageable in the vineyard. This is training. To repeat, the
grape-plant is pruned to regulate the crop; it is trained to regulate
the vine. Grape-growers usually speak of both operations as "pruning,"
but it is better to keep in mind the two conceptions. The distinctions
between pruning and training must be made more apparent by setting
forth in greater detail the results attained by the two operations.
_Results attained in pruning to regulate the crop._
Proper pruning of vines in their first year in the vineyard, which, as
we have seen, consists of cutting the young plants back severely,
brings the vines in productive bearing a year or two years earlier
than they would have borne had the pruning been neglected. This early
pruning, since it is done with an eye to the vigor of each vine,
insures greater uniformity in the growth and productiveness of the
vineyard. Uniformity thus brought about is important not only for the
time being, but for the future development of the vines, since weak
vines, if unpruned, are stunted and may require years to overtake more
vigorous vines in the vineyard.
The quality of the crop may be regulated by pruning. When vines bear
too heavily, the grapes are small, and wine-makers have found that
they seldom develop sugar and flavor as do grapes on vines not
over-bearing. Grapes on vines too heavily laden seldom ripen or color
well. Not only are the grapes on poorly pruned and unpruned vines poor
in quality but the grapes on such vines are usually not well
distributed and therefore ripen and color unevenly. The results just
mentioned follow because the bunches in a poorly distributed crop
receive varying amounts of light and heat depending on the distance
from the ground, the distance from the trunk and on the amount of
shade.
Pruning may be used to regulate the quantity of grapes borne in a
vineyard and so be made somewhat helpful in preventing alternate
bearing. Abnormally large crops are usually followed by partial crop
failure and biennial bearing sometimes sets in, but the large crop may
be reduced by pruning and the evil consequences wholly or partly
avoided. It follows that pruning must depend much on the vigor of the
vine; for a weak vine may be so pruned as to cause it to overbear;
and, on the other hand, a vigorous vine pruned in the same way might
not bear at all.
_Results attained in pruning to regulate the vine._
It is necessary to regulate the shape of the vine by training so that
tilling, spraying, pruning and harvesting can be easily performed and
the crop be kept off the ground. The cost of production is always less
in a well-pruned vineyard because all vineyard operations are more
easily carried out.
The life of a vineyard is lengthened when the vines are well trained,
because when the parts of a vine are properly disposed on trellis or
stake the plants are less often injured in vineyard operations.
Moreover, not infrequently vines die from over-production and
consequent breaking of canes or trunks which might have been prevented
by pruning to shape the vine. Suckers and water-sprouts are less
common on well-trained vines. It is necessary, too, by training to
keep the bunches away from trunk, canes and other bunches and so
prevent injury to the grapes.
Lastly, fashion, taste or a more or less abnormal use of the grapes,
may prescribe the form in which a vine is trained. Fashion and taste
run from very simple or natural styles to exceedingly complex, formal
ones, depending, often, on the variety, the environment or other
condition, but just as often on the whim of the grape-grower. The
grape is a favorite ornamental for fences, arbors and to cover
buildings; for all of these purposes the vines must be trained as
occasion calls.
SOME PRINCIPLES OF PRUNING
Leaving the shaping of the plant out of consideration and having in
mind pruning proper, all efforts in pruning are directed toward two
objects: (1) The production of leafy shoots to increase the vigor of
the plant. (2) The promotion of the formation of fruit-buds. The
first, in common parlance, is pruning for wood; the second, pruning
for fruit.
_Pruning for wood._
Some grapes, in common with varieties of all fruits, produce excessive
crops of fruit so that the plants exhaust themselves, to their
permanent injury and to the detriment of the crop. Something must be
done to restore and increase vegetative vigor. The most natural
procedure is to lessen the struggle for existence among the parts of
the plant. The richer and the more abundant the supply of the food
solution, the greater the vegetative activity, the larger the leaves
and the larger and stouter the internodes. Obviously, the supply of
food solution for each bud may be increased by decreasing the number
of buds. The weaker the plants, therefore, the more the vine should be
cut. The severe pruning in the first two years of the vine's existence
is an example of pruning for wood. The vine is pruned for wood in the
resting period between the fall of leaf and the swelling of buds the
following spring.
_Pruning for fruit._
Growers of all fruits soon learn that excessive vegetative vigor is
not usually accompanied by fruitfulness. Too great vigor is indicated
by long, leafy, unbranching shoots. Some fruit-growers go so far as to
say that fruitfulness is inversely proportionate to vegetative vigor.
There are several methods of diminishing the vigor of the vine; as,
withholding water and fertilizers, stopping tillage, the method of
training and by pruning. Pruning is used to decrease the vigor of the
vine, in theory at least, for the practice is not always so
successful, by pruning the roots or by summer-pruning the shoots.
Root-pruning the grape at intervals of several years is a regular
practice with some varieties in warm countries, Europe more
especially, but is seldom or never practiced in America except when
planting and when roots arise from the cion above the union of stock
and cion.
Summer-pruning to induce fruitfulness consists in removing new shoots
with newly developed leaves. These young shoots have been developed
from reserve material stored up the preceding season, and until they
are so far developed that they can perform the functions of leaves
they are to be counted as parasites. When, therefore, these shoots are
pruned or pinched away, the plant is robbed of the material used by
the lusty shoot which up to this time has given nothing in return. The
vigor of the plant is thus checked and fruitfulness increased.
Summer-pruning may become harmful if delayed too long. The time to
prune is past with the grape when the leaves have passed from the
light green color of new growth to the dark green of mature leaves.
Fruit-bearing may be augmented by bending, twisting or ringing the
canes, since all of these operations diminish vegetative vigor.
Ringing is the only one of these methods in general use, and this only
for some special variety or special purpose, and usually with the
result that the vigor of the vine is diminished too much for the good
of the plant. Ringing is discussed more fully in Chapter XVI.
_The manner of fruit-bearing in the grape._
Before attempting to prune, the pruner must understand precisely how
the grape bears its crop. The fruit is borne near the base of the
shoots of the current season, and the shoots are borne on the wood of
the previous year's growth coming from a dormant bud. Here is
manifested one of Nature's energy-saving devices, shoot, leaves,
flowers and fruit spring in a short season from a single bud. In the
light of this fact, pruning should be looked on as a simple problem to
be solved mathematically and not as a puzzle to be untangled, as so
many regard it. For an example, a problem in pruning is here stated
and solved.
A thrifty grape-vine should yield, let us say, fifteen pounds of
grapes, a fair average for the mainstay varieties. Each bunch will
weigh from a quarter to a half pound. To produce fifteen pounds on a
vine, therefore, will require from thirty to sixty bunches. As each
shoot will bear two or three bunches, from fifteen to thirty buds must
be left on the canes of the preceding year. These buds are selected in
pruning on one or more canes distributed on one or two main stems in
such manner as the pruner may choose, but usually in accordance with
one or another of several well-developed methods of training. Pruning,
then, consists in calculating the number of bunches and buds necessary
and removing the remainder. In essence pruning is thinning.
_Horizontal_ versus _perpendicular canes._
An old dictum of viticulture is that the nearer the growing parts of
the vine approach the perpendicular, the more vigorous the parts. The
terminal buds, as every grape-grower knows, grow very rapidly and
probably absorb, unless checked, more than their share of the energy
of the vine. This tendency can be checked somewhat by removing the
terminal buds, which also helps to keep the plants within manageable
limits, but is better controlled by training the canes to horizontal
positions. Grape canes are tied horizontally to wires to make the
vines more manageable and to reduce their vigor and so induce
fruitfulness; they are trained vertically to increase the vigor of the
vine.
_Winter-pruning._
Winter-pruning of the vineyard may be done at any time from the
dropping of the leaves in the autumn to the swelling of the buds in
the spring. The sap begins to circulate actively in the grape early in
the spring, even to the extremities of the vine, and most
grape-growers believe this sap to be a "vital stream" and that, if the
vine is pruned during its flow, the plant will bleed to death. The
vine, however, is at this season of so dropsical a constitution that
the loss of sap is better denominated "weeping" than "bleeding." It is
doubtful whether serious injury results from pruning after the sap
begins to flow, but it is a safe practice to prune earlier and the
work is certainly pleasanter. The vine should not be pruned when the
wood is frozen, since at this time the canes are brittle and easily
broken in handling. On the other hand, it is well to delay pruning in
northern climates until after a heavy freeze in the autumn, to
winterkill and wither immature wood so that it can be removed in
pruning.
[Illustration: PLATE IX.--Campbell Early (×2/3).]
_Summer-pruning._
There are three kinds of summer-pruning, the removal of superfluous
shoots, heading-in canes to keep the vines in manageable limits and
the pruning to induce fruitfulness discussed on a foregoing page,
which need not have further consideration. It is very essential that
the grower keep these three purposes in mind, especially as there is
much dispute as to the necessity of two of these operations.
All agree that the vine usually bears superfluous shoots that should
be removed. These are such as spring from small, weak buds or from
buds on the arms and trunk of the vine. These shoots are useless,
devitalize the vine, and hinder vineyard operations. A good practice
is to rub off the buds from which these shoots grow as they are
detected, but in most vineyards the vines must be gone over from time
to time as the shoots appear. Still another kind of superfluous
shoots, which ought to be removed as they appear, are those which grow
from the base of the season's shoots, the so-called secondary or
axillary shoots. These are usually "broken out" at the time the shoots
from weak buds are removed.
While there is doubt as to the value of heading-back the vine in the
summer for the sole purpose of inducing fruitfulness, there can be no
doubt that it is desirable for the purpose of keeping some varieties
within bounds. Heading-back is not now the major operation it once
was, the need of severe cutting being obviated by putting the vines
farther apart, by training high on three or even four wires and by
adopting one of the drooping systems of training. The objections to
heading-back in the summer are that it often unduly weakens the vines,
that it may induce a growth of laterals which thicken the vines too
much, and that it delays the maturing of the wood. These bad effects,
however, can be overcome by pruning lightly and doing the work so late
in the season that lateral growths will not start. Most vineyardists
who keep their plantations up find it necessary to head back more or
less, depending on the season and the variety. The work is usually
done when the over-luxuriant shoots begin to touch the ground. The
shoots are then topped off with a sickle, corn-cutter or similar tool.
RENEWING FRUITING WOOD
There are two ways of renewing the fruiting wood on a grape-vine, by
canes and from spurs. The manner of renewing refers to pruning and not
to training, for either can be used in any method of training.
_Cane renewals._
Renewal by canes is made each year by taking one or more canes, cut to
the desired number of buds, to supply bearing shoots. By this method
the most of the bearing wood is removed each year, new canes taking
the place of the old. These renewal canes may be taken either from the
head of the vine or from the ground, though the latter is little used
except where vines must be laid down for winter protection. Canes may
be renewed indefinitely, if care is exercised in keeping the stubs
short, without enlarging the head from which the canes are taken out
of proportion to the size of the trunk. Renewing by canes is a more
common method than renewal by spurs, as will be found in the
discussion of methods of training.
[Illustration: FIG. 13. Vine ready for pruning; _i_, the stem; _g_,
arms; _d_, canes; _s_, shoots; _b_, spurs. The faint lines near the
bases of the canes indicate the points where they should be pruned off
in the winter, leaving spurs for the production of shoots the
following season.]
_Spur renewal._
In renewing by spurs, a permanent arm is established to right and left
on the canes. Shoots on this arm are not permitted to remain as canes
but are cut back to spurs in the dormant pruning. Two buds are left at
this pruning, both of which will produce bearing shoots; the lower
one, however, is not suffered to do so but is kept to furnish the spur
for the next season. The shoot from the upper bud is cut away
entirely. When this process is carried on from year to year, the spurs
become longer and longer until they become unwieldy. Occasionally,
however, happy chance permits the selection of a shoot on the old wood
for a new spur. Failing in this, a new arm must be laid down and the
spurring goes on as before. The objections to renewing by spurs are:
it is often difficult to replace spurs with new wood, and the bearing
portion of the vine gets farther and farther from the trunk. For these
reasons, spur-renewing is generally in disfavor with commercial
grape-growers, though it is still used in one or two prominent
methods of training, as will be discovered in this discussion. Figure
13 shows a vine ready for pruning.
THE WORK OF PRUNING
The pruner may take his choice between several styles of hand
pruning-shears with which to do his work. The knife is seldom used
except in summer-pruning, and here, more often, the shoots are broken
out or pinched out. In winter-pruning, the cane is cut an inch or
thereabout beyond the last bud it is desired to leave; otherwise the
bud may die from the drying out of the cane. The canes are usually
allowed to remain tied to the wires until the pruning is done, though
growers who use the Kniffin method of training may cut them loose
before they prune. Two men working together do the work of pruning
best. The more skilled of the two severs the wood from the bearing
vine, leaving just the number of buds desired for the next season's
crop. The less skilled man cuts tendrils and severs the cut canes from
each other so that the prunings may be moved from the vineyard without
trouble by the "stripper."
Not the least of the tasks of pruning is "stripping" the brush and
getting it out of the vineyard. The prunings cling to the trellis with
considerable tenacity and must be pulled loose with a peculiar jerk,
learned by practice, and placed on the ground between the rows.
Stripping is done, usually by cheap labor, at any time after the
pruning until spring, but must not be delayed until growth starts or
the young buds may suffer as the cut wood is torn from the trellis.
The brush is hauled to the end of the row by hand or by horse-power
applied to any one of a dozen devices used in the several grape
regions. One of the best is the device in common use in the Chautauqua
vineyards of western New York. A pole, twelve feet long, four inches
in diameter at the butt and two at the top, is bored with an inch
hole four feet from the butt. A horse is hitched to this pole by a
rope drawn through the hole, and the pole, butt to the ground, is then
pulled between rows, the small end being held in the right hand. The
pole, when skillfully used, collects the brush, which is dumped at the
end of the row by letting the small end fly over towards the horse.
The "go-devil," shown in Fig. 14, is another common device for
collecting prunings.
[Illustration: FIG. 14. A "go-devil" for collecting prunings.]
THE TRELLIS
The trellis is a considerable item in the grape-grower's budget, since
it must be renewed every fifteen years or thereabouts. Wires are
strung in the North at the end of the second season after planting,
but in the South the growth is often so great that the wires must be
put up at the end of the first season. Trellises are of the same
general style for commercial vineyards; namely, two or three wires
tautly stretched on firmly set posts. Occasionally slat trellises are
put up in gardens but these are not to be recommended for any but
ornamental purposes.
_Posts._
Strong, durable posts of chestnut, locust, cedar, oak or reënforced
cement are placed at such distance apart that two or three vines can
be set between each two posts. The distance apart depends on the
distance between vines, although the tendency now is to have three
vines between two posts. The posts are from six to eight feet in
length, the heaviest being used as end posts. In hard stony soils it
may be necessary to set the end posts with a spade, but usually
sharpened posts can be driven into holes made with a crowbar. In
driving, the operator stands on a wagon hauled by a horse and uses a
ten- or twelve-pound maul. The posts are driven to a depth of eighteen
or twenty-four inches for the end posts. However set, the posts must
stand firm to hold the load of vines and fruit. The end posts must be
braced. As good a brace as any is made from a four-by-four timber,
notched to fit the post halfway up from the ground, and extending
obliquely to the ground, where it is held by a four-by-four stake. A
two-wire trellis and a common method of bracing end posts are shown in
Fig. 15. The posts on hillsides must lean slightly up-hill, otherwise
they will almost certainly sooner or later tilt down the slope. The
posts are usually permitted to stand a little higher at first than
necessary so that they may be driven down should occasion call;
driving is usually done in the early spring.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. A trellis and a common method of bracing end
posts.]
_Wire for the trellis._
Four sizes of wire are in common use for vineyard trellises; nos. 9,
10, 11 and 12. Number 9, the heaviest, is often used for the top wire
with lighter wires lower. The following figures show the length of
wire in a ton:
No. 9, 34,483 ft.
No. 10, 41,408 ft.
No. 11, 52,352 ft.
No. 12, 68,493 ft.
From these figures the number of pounds required to the acre is easily
calculated. Common annealed wire makes a durable trellis, but many
growers prefer the more durable galvanized wire, the cost of which is
slightly greater. The wires are fastened to the end posts by winding
once around the post, and then each wire is firmly looped about
itself; they are secured to the intervening posts by ordinary fence
staples so driven that the wire cannot pull through of its own weight
but with space enough to permit tightening from season to season. The
size and length of the staples depend on whether the posts are hard or
soft wood. The longest and largest staples are used with soft woods,
as cedar or chestnut. An acre requires from nine to twelve pounds of
staples. The wires should be placed on the windward sides of posts and
on the up-hill side in hillside vineyards. The distance between wires
depends on the method of pruning.
The wires must be stretched taut on the posts, for which purpose any
one of a half-dozen good wire stretchers may be purchased at hardware
stores. Some growers loosen the wires after harvest to allow for the
contraction in cold weather and others use some one of several devices
to relieve the strain. Most growers, however, find it necessary to go
over the vineyard each spring to drive down loosened posts and stretch
sagging wires, and so take no precautions to release wires in the
fall. All agree that the wires must be kept tight during the growing
season to protect buds, foliage and fruit from being injured from
whipping.
_Tying._
The canes are tied to the trellis in early spring, and under most
systems of pruning the growing shoots are tied in the summer. This
work is done by cheap men, women, boys and girls. A great variety of
material is used to make the tie, as raffia, wooltwine, willow, inner
bark of the linden or basswood, green rye straw, corn husks,
carpet-rags and wire. The same materials are not usually employed for
both canes and shoots, since the canes are tied firmly to hold them
steady and the work is done early before there is danger of breaking
swelling buds, while the summer shoots are tied to hold for a shorter
time and more loosely to permit growth in diameter. Tying usually
follows accepted patterns in one region but varies greatly in
different regions. There is a knack to be learned in the use of each
one of the materials named, but with none is it difficult, and an
ingenious person can easily contrive a tie of his own to suit fancy or
conditions.
[Illustration: PLATE X.--Clinton (×2/3).]
CHAPTER VIII
METHODS OF TRAINING GRAPES IN EASTERN AMERICA
The grape-grower takes great liberties with Nature in training his
plants. No other fruit is so completely transformed by the grower's
art from its natural habit of growth. Happily, the grape endures
cutting well, and the pruner may rest assured that he may work his
will in pruning his vines, following to his heart's desire a favorite
method with little fear of seriously injuring his vines. Because of
its accommodation to the desires of man in the disposition of the
vine, there are many methods of training the grape; there being in the
commercial vineyards of eastern America a dozen or more. However, the
differences and similarities are so marked that the several methods
fall into a simple classification which makes conspicuous their chief
features. Thus, all of the methods fall under two chief heads: (1) The
disposition of shoots; (2) the disposition of canes.
_The disposition of shoots._
Bearing shoots are disposed of in three ways in training grapes;
shoots upright, shoots drooping, and shoots horizontal. The terms
explain themselves, but the three methods need amplification since
their adoption is not optional with growers but depends on several
circumstances.
Shoots are trained upright in several methods in which two or more
arms or canes are laid to right and left, sometimes horizontally,
sometimes obliquely along or across horizontal wires. As the shoots
grow upward, they are tied to wires above. The upright methods are
supposed to distribute the bearing wood more evenly on the vines and
to insure greater uniformity in the fruit. In the upright methods,
also, the canes and arms are left nearer the ground, which is thought
to be an advantage in small, weak or slow-growing varieties. Delaware,
Catawba, Iona and Diana are examples of varieties thought to grow best
when trained to one of the upright methods.
In the several methods in which the shoots droop, however the canes
may be disposed, the shoots are not tied but are allowed to droop at
will. These methods are comparatively new but are being rapidly
adopted because of several marked advantages. Usually one less wire
can be used in a drooping method than in an upright one; since the
shoots are not tied, much labor is saved in summer tying; the ground
can be tilled with less danger to the vines; and there is less
sun-scalding of the fruit, since the pendant foliage protects the
clusters. Grape-growers generally agree that strong-growing varieties
like Concord, Niagara, Brighton, Diamond and most of the hybrids
between European grapes and native species grow best when the shoots
droop.
Shoots are trained horizontally in but one recognized method, the
Hudson Horizontal, to be described in detail later. Since this method
is all but obsolete, there is still less reason for discussing it
here, the expressive name sufficing for present purposes.
_Disposition of canes._
There are many recognized methods of disposing of the canes in
training the grape. The chief of these are discussed in the pages that
follow, their names being set down for the present in the
classification that follows.
CLASSIFICATION OF METHODS OF TRAINING THE GRAPE IN EASTERN AMERICA
I. Shoots upright:
1. Chautauqua Arm.
2. Keuka High Renewal.
3. Fan.
II. Shoots drooping:
1. Single-stem, Four-cane Kniffin.
2. Two-stem, Four-cane Kniffin.
3. Umbrella Kniffin.
4. Y-stem Kniffin.
5. Munson.
III. Shoots horizontal:
1. Hudson Horizontal.
_I. Shoots upright_
Systematic training of the grape in America began toward the middle of
the nineteenth century with a method in which the shoots were trained
upright from two permanent horizontal arms. These arms are laid to
right and left on a low wire and bear more or less permanent spurs,
from each of which two shoots are produced each season to bear the
crop. The number of spurs left on each arm depends on the vigor of the
vine and the space between vines. As the shoots grow upward, they are
tied to upper wires, there being three wires on the trellis for this
method. This method is now known as the Horizontal Arm Spur. It has a
serious fault in its troublesome spurs and has almost entirely given
way to a modification called the Chautauqua Arm method, much used in
the great Chautauqua grape-belt. As one of the chief methods of
training the grape in eastern America, this must be described in
detail.
_The Chautauqua Arm method._
The trellis for this method has two wires, although occasionally three
are used. The lower wire is eighteen or twenty inches above the
ground and the second thirty-four inches above the lower. If three are
used, the wires are twenty inches apart. F. E. Gladwin, in charge of
the vineyard laboratory of the New York Agricultural Experiment
Station at Fredonia, in the heart of the Chautauqua belt, describes
this method of training as follows:
"The vines are cut back to two buds at each pruning the first two
years. If the vines are vigorous two canes are tied up at the
beginning of the third year; if scant, but one is left and this, if
the growth is extremely unfavorable, is cut back to two buds. The
canes are carried up obliquely to the upper wire when the growth
permits and are there firmly tied either with twine or fine wire, the
latter being more commonly used. The canes are also loosely tied to
the lower wire. The pruning for the fourth year consists in cutting
away all but two or three canes and a number of spurs from the arms
formed by tying up the two canes the previous year. The vine now
consists of two arms, arising from near the ground, with two or three
canes of the previous year, and several two-bud spurs at intervals
along the arms. As far as possible such canes as have arisen but a
short distance above the lower wire are selected. All the old wood
projecting beyond the last cane retained on each of the arms is cut
away. The arms of the third year are bent down from their oblique
position and are tied firmly to the lower wire, to the right and left
of the center of the vine. These are now permanent arms. The vine at
this time consists of two arms, arising from near the ground, tied to
the lower wire to the right and left of the center, and on these are
two or three canes, pruned long enough to reach to the middle wire at
least, and if possible to the upper. They are tied so that they stand
in a vertical or oblique position. Along the arms at intervals of a
few inches are spurs, consisting of two buds. If the vineyardist
maintains the arms permanently, these spurs furnish the fruiting wood
for the succeeding year.
[Illustration: FIG. 16. Chautauqua training; vine ready to prune.]
"At the pruning for the fifth year one of the arms is cut away
entirely, close to the point of its origin. The remaining arm,
reaching from the ground to a point a few inches below the level of
the lower wire, now becomes the permanent stem. The vineyardist must
now provide for the arm cut away. This is done by the selection of a
cane, arising from the remaining arm at a point below the lower wire,
either directly, or from a spur left for the purpose. This is pruned
to reach the top wire and is tied obliquely to it. This cane at the
next pruning is tied down to the lower wire and becomes the second
arm. Then the same selection of canes and spurs is made from it as was
made at the previous pruning, and the canes are tied up as before.
However, if the grower desires to retain both arms of the preceding
year for a few years, canes that have grown from the spurs may be tied
up and provision made for the following year through further spurring.
If but a single arm is retained, it is pruned in the same way. Spurs
may be obtained from canes that have arisen from dormant buds on the
arm, or by spurring in the basal canes of the fruiting wood of the
year previous. A combination of both methods of renewal will in the
long run work out the better, as the repeated spurring in of the basal
canes will result in greatly lengthened spurs that will require
frequent cutting out. While the canes that arise directly from dormant
buds on wood two years and over are not necessarily the best fruiting
ones, they can, however, be utilized for renewal purposes.
"The ideal vine pruned to this system now consists of a stem reaching
from sixteen or eighteen inches above the ground level or a few inches
below the level of the lower wire. Such a vine is shown in Figure 16.
From the head two arms arise, one extending to the right, the other to
the left and tied along the lower wire, each arm not extending for
more than two feet and a half to either side of the head. From the
arms two canes on each are tied vertically or obliquely to the top
wire. In addition there are left two or three spurs, growing from the
upper side of each arm, located at well-spaced intervals starting
close to the head; these may be used for the renewal of the arms. The
shoots are not tied.
"One of the chief faults of the Chautauqua Arm method is the tendency
of the best matured, and most desirable canes to develop at or near
the upper wire, while those lower down are often too short, or so
poorly matured as to be unfitted for fruiting purposes. When the wood,
bearing the well-developed upper canes, is brought down for arms, a
considerable interval of the arm from the head to the point where the
canes arise is without fruiting wood. Under such conditions the growth
will be again thrown to the extremities. If spurring on the arms has
been practiced, this undesirable condition is eliminated. With either
type of renewal, spurring should be practiced. The fruit from vines
trained by this method reaches its highest development at or near the
level of the upper wire, that on the lower shoots is, as a rule, quite
inferior. This comes from the fact that the sap flow is more vigorous
at these upper points, resulting in more and healthier leaves, which,
in turn, influence the fruit for the better."
_Keuka High Renewal._
Several methods of training pass under the general term "High
Renewal," the significance of which becomes apparent in the discussion
of the Keuka High Renewal method which is probably now the most common
of the several types. In most of these methods the trellis is put up
with three wires, but occasionally only two wires are used and still
less often four. The lowest wire on the three-wire trellis is eighteen
or twenty inches from the ground with twenty-inch intervals between
wires. Gladwin, who has direct charge of vineyard experimental work
about Keuka Lake for the New York Agricultural Experiment Station,
describes current practices in pruning according to this method as
follows:
"At each pruning for the first two years the vines are cut back to two
buds. However, with strong-growing varieties like Concord, Niagara and
Isabella, and under good soil conditions, the stem may be formed the
second year. With moderate-growing varieties and under average
conditions, the formation of the stem is left until the third year.
The straightest and best-matured cane is left for the purpose. This is
carried to the lower wire and there firmly tied with willow. As soon
as the shoots have made sufficient growth they are loosely tied to the
wires that they may be kept away from the tillage tools. The fourth
year the head of the vine is formed. This should stand a few inches
below the lower wire. Two canes growing from the stem near this
position are selected, one being tied to the right and the other to
the left along the lower wire. In the Keuka Lake District, the canes
are tied with willows. In addition, at least two spurs of two buds
each are retained near the head. With Concord, the canes may carry
about ten buds each, but with Catawba, as grown on the hillsides of
the Central Lakes Region of New York, the canes should not carry above
six buds each. As the shoots develop from the horizontal canes, they
are tied with rye straw to the middle and upper wires. This summer
tying is almost continuous after the shoots are long enough to reach
the middle wire.
"The following year all the wood is cut away except two or three canes
that have developed from the basal buds of the canes put up the
previous year, or that have grown from the spurs. In the event of a
third cane being retained, it is tied along the middle wire. Spurs are
again maintained close to the head for renewal purposes. The other two
canes are tied along the lower wire as before. If the same spurs are
used for a few years they become so long that the canes arising from
them reach above the wire and cannot be well managed in the
'willowing.' It is desirable to provide new spurs annually, selecting
those canes for the purpose that arise from the head of the vine or
near it. It is possible by careful pruning to so cut away the old wood
that practically all that remains after each pruning is the stem. Thus
the vine is renewed almost to the ground. When the stem approaches the
end of its usefulness, a shoot is allowed to grow from the ground, and
the old one is cut away. Figure 17 shows a vine pruned by the Keuka
method.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. Keuka method of training.]
"This method of training is especially well adapted to slow growing
varieties, or those situated on poor soils, where but little wood
growth is made. It is ideally adapted for the growing of Catawba on
the hillsides of Keuka Lake. It is well adapted to late-maturing
varieties planted out of their zone. Concord, growing under average
conditions, is too vigorous to be trained by this method. It makes a
tremendous growth of wood out of all proportion to the quantity of
fruit, which is inclined to be very inferior. The chief objection to
this method is the amount of summer tying involved which comes at a
time when attention to tillage should be given. It might prove
profitable in the growing of dessert varieties that have been
discarded because of lack of vigor. On thin hillside soils, Catawba
requires training modelled after this method but on the heavier upland
ones, with shorter pruning, it can be grown on the Chautauqua Arm
plan. Delaware, Iona, Dutchess, Campbell, Eumelan, Jessica, Vergennes
and Regal are, as a rule, grown to better advantage when trained by
the High Renewal method."
_Fan-training._
The only other method now in use in which the shoots may be trained
upright is that in which the canes are disposed of in fan-shape. This
method was much used a generation ago but is rapidly becoming
obsolete. In fan-training the renewals are made yearly from spurs near
the ground, and the fruiting canes are carried up obliquely and so
form a fan. The great advantage in fan-training is that a trunk is
almost dispensed with, which greatly facilitates laying down the vine
in winter where winter-protection is needed. There are several
objections to this method in commercial plantations. The chief one is
that the spurs become long, crooked and almost unmanageable so that
renewals from the root must be made frequently. Another is that the
fruit is borne close to the ground and becomes soiled with mud in
dashing rains. The vines, also, are inconvenient in shape for tying.
There are two or three modifications of fan-training which may be
described as mongrel methods between this and the High Renewal and
Horizontal Arm methods, none of which, however, is now in general
favor.
_II. Shoots drooping_
Quite by accident, William Kniffin, a stone mason living at
Clintondale, New York, in the Hudson River grape region, discovered
that grapes of large size and handsome appearance could be grown on
vines in which the canes were trained horizontally with the shoots
drooping. He put his discovery in practice and from it have come the
several methods of training grapes which bear his name. Kniffin's
discovery was made about 1850 and the merits of his methods spread so
rapidly over eastern America that by the end of the century the
various Kniffin methods were more generally used than any others.
Grape-growers now agree that strong-growing vines like Concord,
Niagara and Clinton are best trained to one or another of the Kniffin
methods. There are several modifications of Kniffin's method, three of
which are now in common use, the most popular being the Single-stem,
Four-cane Kniffin.
The trellis for the three methods carries two wires, the lower placed
at the height of three to three and a half feet and the upper from two
to two and a half feet above it. To permit this height of wires, the
posts must be from eight to eight and a half feet in length, and must
be firmly set with the end posts well braced.
_Single-stem, Four-cane Kniffin._
As practiced at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, the
vines are trained as follows:
One trunk is carried to the top wire the third year after planting, or
if the growth is not long enough at this time, it is carried to the
lower wire and there tied. In this case, the following year a cane is
extended to the top wire. This trunk is permanent. If the stem reaches
the upper wire the third year, growers break out many of the
developing shoots and allow only the strongest to grow, choosing those
that arise close to the wires. The stem should be tied tightly to the
top wire and somewhat loosely to the lower. If girdling results at the
top, it is not objectionable as the head of the vine should be below
rather than above the wire. When the shoots are sufficiently hardened,
those growing close to the wires should be loosely tied to prevent
injury during cultivation. At the beginning of the fourth year, as
shown in Fig. 18, the vine should consist of a stem extending from the
ground to a point below the top wire. From this, all but two canes and
two spurs of two buds each have been cut away below each wire level.
As growth is most vigorous at the top of the stem, four to six more
buds are left on the upper than on the lower canes. A vine of which
the stem reaches the upper wire the third year should support the next
season canes, aggregating twenty-two buds with eight additional buds
on the spurs. If the growth is weak, only half this number should be
left.
[Illustration: FIG. 18. Single-stem, Four-cane Kniffin training.]
The tying at this time consists of fastening the stem loosely, with
ordinary grape twine, to the lower wire, and with the same material
the canes are tied along the two wires to right and left of the stem.
The canes should be tied tightly toward the trunk so that they cannot
slip out of the twine. Ordinarily tying at this time is sufficient for
the year, but if conditions for growth are unfavorable, the twine may
rot before the tendrils take hold of the wires, and a partial second
tying may be necessary.
After the fourth season, the pruner has greater choice of
fruiting-wood for the following year. It may be chosen from the basal
canes of the preceding year's wood or the canes that develop from the
spurs may be used. The choice should depend on the accessibility and
maturity of the wood. At each pruning, the possibilities for obtaining
fruiting wood for the following year must receive consideration. It is
possible to use the same spurs for two or three years, but after this
they should be cut away and new ones retained. After the first
spurring, spurs should be selected from wood older than two years. The
shoots from such wood bear but little fruit and hence make good
fruiting canes for the next year.
_Umbrella Kniffin._
Since most of the fruit on vines trained by the Four-cane Kniffin
method is borne on the two upper canes, some growers in the Hudson
River Valley dispense with the lower canes and cut the upper ones long
enough to bear the crop. In this method the trunk is brought to the
top wire and the head formed as in the Four-cane Kniffin. When the
vines are pruned at the close of the third year, two long canes are
left at the head of the vine with two renewal spurs. These long canes
are drooped over the upper wire obliquely down to the lower wire to
which they are tied just above the last bud, forming an
umbrella-shaped top as shown in Fig. 19. The renewals are made as in
the Four-cane Kniffin. This method reduces the amount of leaf surface
to the minimum, so that care must be taken to insure healthy leaf
growth. The amount of fruiting-wood put up is also reduced to the
minimum, so that the yield is low unless good cultivation is provided,
in which case, with some varieties and on some soils, the yield is up
to the average and the crop is first-class as regards size of bunch
and berry, compactness of bunch and maturity.
[Illustration: FIG. 19. Umbrella method of training.]
_The Two-trunk Kniffin._
The Two-trunk Kniffin, illustrated in Fig. 20, is another modification
with the aim of securing greater fruitfulness. This method also
provides an equal number of buds on both wires. Two trunks are brought
from the root, one to the upper, the other to the lower wire. The
fruiting canes are taken off and are disposed of as in the Four-cane
Kniffin. The trunks are usually tied together to hold them in place.
This method is in restricted use in the Hudson River Valley where it
is known under the name given here and as "Double Kniffin" and
"Improved Kniffin." In experiments in training grapes at Fredonia, New
York, under the direction of the New York Experiment Station, this
method proves to be one of the poorest in growing Concords. The
grapes fall short in size of bunch and berry and do not mature as well
as under the other drooping methods of training.
[Illustration: FIG. 20. Two-trunk Kniffin training.]
_The Y-trunk Kniffin._
Still another modification of the Kniffin method is one in which a
crotch or Y is made in the trunk midway between the ground and the
lower wire. The theory on which this method is founded is that sap for
the lower canes is better supplied than in a straight or continuous
trunk and that the lower canes thus become as productive as those on
the upper wire. The theory is probably wrong but is accepted by many
notwithstanding. The methods of pruning, renewing fruiting-wood and
tying are the same as in the Single-stem Kniffin, except, of course,
that each stem supports two canes and two spurs. This method was in
somewhat common use some years ago in parts of western New York but is
now disappearing.
_The Munson method._
An ingenious modification of the Kniffin principle was devised by
Elbert Wakeman, Oyster Bay, Long Island, and afterwards improved and
brought into prominence by the late T. V. Munson of Denison, Texas; it
is now much used in southern vineyards. The method is described as
follows by Munson:[14]
"The posts should be of some durable strong wood, such as Bois d'Arc
(Osage), Cedar, heartwood of Catalpa, Black Locust or White Oak. The
end posts of every row should be large and strong and be set three and
one-half or four feet in the ground and well tamped. The intermediate
posts, which may be much lighter than the end posts, should be six and
one-half or seven feet long and set two to two and one-half feet in
the ground, with twenty-four feet spaces between posts, which will
take three vines, eight feet apart, or two vines twelve feet apart.
After the posts are set, a three-eighths-inch hole should be bored
through each post, four feet from the surface of the ground, in the
direction in which the row runs, leaving six inches or more of post
above the hole. These holes are for the admittance of the middle,
lower wire of the trellis.
"For each end post prepare for cross-arm, a piece of two by four hard
pine or oak, two feet long, and at one inch from either end, and one
inch from the upper side, bore a three-eighths of an inch bit-hole, or
saw into upper side half an inch, which will take less time and do as
well, to pass the lateral wires through, and in the middle of the
lower side, saw a notch one-half inch deep. For each intermediate
post, prepare a board of similar wood, two feet long, one inch thick
by four broad, and likewise bore or notch.
"Through the holes in the posts run a No. 11 galvanized wire, fasten
at one end, tighten at the other end by a wire stretcher and fasten.
This will be the middle and lower wire of the trellis, and all that
will be needed the first year, when the young vines are trained up a
string, tied from the vine (when set) to the wire, and along it. The
arms, and the two lateral wires which they bear, need not be put on
the trellis until after the vines are pruned and tied the next winter.
To put on the cross-arms, use no bolts or nails, only No. 11
galvanized wire.
"Each end cross-arm is placed inside the post, and against it on top
of the wire, already through the posts, notch-side downward,
straddling the wire, to keep it from sliding. Then take a piece of
same size wire, about seven feet long, pass one end through the
bit-hole or saw-notch, in one end of arm and fasten it by looping and
twisting about six inches of the end back upon itself, then while one
person holds the cross-arm in place, the operator carries the wire
down around the post once near the ground, staples it on each side
and brings the other end up to the opposite end of arm, puts it
through the bit-hole, or saw-notch, draws it tightly, keeping the arm
level, and fastens the end of the wire as was done the other. Wire
nippers and pliers will be needed for this work. Then take another
piece of wire about two feet long, and put it twice around the
cross-arm and the post where they come together, above the middle
wire, and firmly tie them together, crossing the wire as it goes
around. This will hold the arm in place and not weaken or split the
arm as do nails and bolts, and will be longer-lasting, quicker and
cheaper, and more elastic, so that when struck by the hames or collar
in cultivation, it gives a little, receiving no damage.
"Likewise place the cross-arms on the intermediate posts, leaving the
ends of the wire projecting about six inches after fastening, for a
purpose soon to be mentioned. Then draw the two lateral wires through
the bit-holes in the ends of the arms, or drop into the saw-notches,
if such are made, throughout the row, tighten with the wire stretcher
and fasten. Then return along each lateral wire, wrapping ends of wire
at the ends of the arms very closely and tightly around the
through-going lateral wires, as telegraph and telephone wires are
wrapped in splicing. This is quickly done with the proper pliers, and
prevents the arms from slipping out of proper position. Now the
trellis is complete, and will need little or no repairs, and looks
very neat, especially if painted.
"Pruning and training on the Munson trellis is very simple and easy
with a little instruction for a few minutes with a vine or two pruned
for example. The vine the first season is allowed to grow up on to the
middle wire by a string around which it is coiled by hand, by going
over the vineyard once or twice until the selected shoot of each vine
is upon the wire, after which it is allowed to ramble at freedom over
the wires. By getting on to the trellis the first year, one strong
shoot, and allowing no other to grow, a partial crop can be had the
second year, without damage, on all but weak growers, like Delaware,
that should not be allowed to bear until the third year. At the first
regular pruning (all prunings should be done in November or December,
after leaf fall, and never so late as to cause the vines to bleed),
the vine should be cut back to two or three buds that have reached the
middle wire, if weak growers, if strong, with heavy growth, six or
eight buds each, to two arms, one going each way along the lower wire
from where the ascending vine first touches the wire. After the vines
are thus pruned, the outer end of each arm is firmly tied to the lower
wire, along which it is gently coiled. These two ties hold the vine
firmly in place. The buds on the arms push and ascend, passing over
the lateral wires, clinging thereto with their tendrils, and hang over
like a beautiful green drapery shading the fruit and body of the vine
according to its natural habit.
[Illustration: PLATE XI.--Concord (×2/3).]
"On the canopy trellis, all the summer pruning required is, to go
through the vineyard at or a few days before blooming time, and with a
light sharp butcher knife, clip off the tips of all advanced shoots to
be left for bearing, leaving two or three leaves beyond the outer
flower cluster. From the shoots near the crotch, selected for bearing
arms the next year, pick the flower clusters, and strip off or rub off
all shoots and buds that start on trunk of vine below crotch. This
latter is very important, as such shoots, if left, eat up the
nourishment of the land with no return but added work at pruning time.
"It will be found that the shoots at the ends of the arms usually
start first and strongest, and if not clipped back, will not allow the
buds back toward the crotch to start well, but if clipped, all other
desirable buds then push.
"In about six to ten days after the first clipping, a second one is
usually necessary, especially if the weather is moist and warm, and
the land rich. The first clipped shoots, as well as those not clipped
the first time, will need clipping back this time, the end buds on the
first clipped having pushed vigorously.
"At a second year's pruning and others following, the old arms with
all the bearing shoots on them are cut off down to the new arms and
the new arms cut back to lengths they can fill with fruit and well
mature. In this, critical judgment and knowledge of capabilities of
different varieties are more required in the pruner than in any other
of the training work. Some varieties, such as the Delaware, cannot
carry more than three to four arms, two feet long, while Herbemont can
more easily carry four arms each eight feet long, hence such as
Delaware should be planted eight feet or less apart, while Herbemont
and most of the Post-Oak grape hybrids, should be twelve to sixteen
feet apart. In other words, each variety should be set that distance
apart that it will fill the trellis with fruit from end to end, and
mature it well, so as to better economize space.
"By the third year, the vine should come to full bearing, and be
pruned with four bearing arms, two to go each way along the lower wire
of trellis, gently coiling around the wire, one arm in one direction,
the other in opposite direction, and should be in about equal lengths,
so that one firm tie with jute yarn, near the ends, will be all the
tying the vines will need--that is, two ties to each vine--the least
required by any trellis system, and the pruning is also simplest and
the results every way the best.
"Some of the advantages of this trellis are its cheapness, its
simplicity, bringing the work up breast-high so that pruning, tying,
harvesting, spraying, can be done in an erect position, saving back
strain; perfect distribution of light, heat and air to foliage and
fruit; shielding from sunscald and birds; giving free ventilation and
easy passage of wind through the vineyard without blowing down the
trellis or tender shoots from the vines, and allowing ready passage
from row to row, without going around, thus getting larger and better
crops at less expense and increasing length of life of vineyard and
the pleasure of taking care of it."
This method does not seem to be adapted to the needs of grapes in
northern vineyards, and in the South such weak-growing sorts as
Delaware do not thrive when so trained. Several "modified Munson
methods" are in use in the southern states, but those most commonly
employed do not depart greatly from the method here described.
_III. Shoots horizontal_
_Hudson horizontal._
There is now in use but one method of training shoots horizontally. In
this method the trellis is made by setting posts eight or ten feet
apart and connecting them by two slats, one at the top of the posts,
the other about eighteen inches from the ground. Strands of wire are
stretched perpendicularly between the slats at ten- or twelve-inch
intervals. One cane is trained from a trunk from one to two feet high
on the trellis; it rises perpendicularly from the ground and is tied
to the top slat. The shoots push out right and left and are tied
horizontally to each wire as they reach it. The cane is usually
allowed to bear about six shoots on each side. The grapes set at the
base of the shoots so that the bunches hang one over the other, making
a pretty sight. This method is too expensive for a commercial vineyard
but is often used in gardens and for ornamental plantings. Only
weak-growing sorts, as Delaware, Iona or Diana are adapted for this
method. Delaware does remarkably well under horizontal training. The
use of slats and wires in horizontal training are often reversed. The
alternative from the method just described is to set posts sixteen or
eighteen feet apart upon which are strung two wires as for the
ordinary trellis. Perpendicular slats are then fastened to these
wires to which the shoots are tied. Two slats, fifteen inches apart,
are provided on each side of a fruiting cane, which, with the slat for
the support of the cane, give five to a vine. Or the vine may be
supported by a stake driven in the ground.
In both of these methods, a shoot must be taken out from the head of
the vine each season for the next season's fruiting-wood. This shoot
is tied to the central wire or slat and is now allowed to fruit. Thus
the vine starts each spring with a single cane. Grapes are grown under
these horizontal methods chiefly, if not only, in the Hudson River
Valley and even here they are going out of use.
TRAINING ON ARBORS, PERGOLAS AND AS ORNAMENTALS
The grape is much used to cover arbors, pergolas, lattices and to
screen the sides of buildings, few climbing plants being more
ornamental. Leaf, fruit and vine have been favorite subjects for
reproduction by ornamentalists of all ages. As yet, however, it is
seldom seen in cultivated landscapes except to secure shade and
seclusion.
Grown for æsthetic purposes, the grape is seldom fruitful, for the
vines can rarely be cultivated or deprived of their luxuriant growth
as in the vineyard. Nevertheless, grapes grown as ornamentals can be
trained so as to serve the double purpose of ornamental and
fruit-bearing plant. Grown on the sides of a building, the grape often
can be made to bear large crops of choicely fine fruit. The ancients
had learned this, for the Psalmist says: "Thy wife shall be like the
fruitful vine by the sides of thine house."
In all ornamental plantings on arbors or pergolas, if fruit is to be
considered, the permanent trunk is carried to the top of the
structure. Along this trunk, at intervals of eighteen inches, spurs
are left from which to renew the wood from year to year. The vines
should stand six or eight feet apart, depending on the variety, and
one cane is left, three or four feet long, on each spur when the
pruning is done. Shoots springing from these cover intermediate spaces
soon after growth begins. Provision, of course, must be made for a new
cane each season, and this is done by saving a shoot springing from
spur or trunk at pruning time.
The same method of training, with modifications to suit the case, may
be employed on sides of buildings, walls, fences and lattices. If the
object to be covered is low, however, and especially if fruit as well
as a covering is wanted, perhaps a better plan is annually to renew
from a low trunk or even back to the root. In this low renewal, a new
cane, or two or three if desired, should be brought out each season,
thus securing greater vigor for the vine, but greatly delaying,
especially in the case of high walls, the production of a screen of
foliage.
PRUNING AND TRAINING MUSCADINE GRAPES
The Muscadine grapes of the South are so distinct in characters of
growth and fruit-bearing that their requirements as to pruning and
training are quite different from the methods so far given. Until
recent years when these grapes have become of commercial importance,
it was thought by southern vineyardists that the Muscadines needed
little or no pruning and some held that pruning injured the vines. Now
it is found that Muscadines respond quite as readily as other types of
grapes to pruning and training. Husmann and Dearing[15] give following
directions for pruning Muscadines:
"Two systems of training are employed with Muscadine grapes: (1) The
horizontal or overhead system, by which the growth is spread as an
overhead canopy about 7 feet above the ground and supported by posts;
and (2) the upright or vertical system, in which the growth is spread
over a trellis.
"In the overhead system a single trunk is caused to grow erect from
the ground alongside a permanent post. When the vine has reached the
top of the post it is pinched in or cut back, so as to make it throw
out shoots to grow and spread out from the head of the vine as the
spokes of a wheel radiate from the hub. (The overhead training of
Muscadines is shown in Fig. 21; upright training, in Fig. 22.)
[Illustration: FIG. 21. Rotundifolia vines trained by the overhead
method.]
"In the upright systems the fruiting arms are either radiated from a
low vine head, like the ribs of a fan, or they are taken off as
horizontal arms from a central vertical trunk.
"Where the vineyard is not given close personal attention and pruning
and other vineyard practices are neglected the best results will be
obtained with the overhead trellis. Moreover, such a trellis permits
cross-plowing and cultivation and is better adapted for grazing hogs,
sheep, or cattle on cover crops grown in the vineyard. On the other
hand, the careful vineyardist can expect the best and earliest results
from vines on the upright or vertical supports. The upright trellis
facilitates pruning, harvesting, spraying, and intercropping
throughout the life of the vineyard; it is also easier to repair and
can be erected from $10 to $20 an acre cheaper than the overhead
trellis. The use of both the upright system and the overhead trellis
has netted the growers profitable returns. Each has its advantages and
disadvantages. The prospective grower, knowing his own conditions,
must determine which training system is best suited to his conditions.
[Illustration: FIG. 22. A Rotundifolia vine trained by the 6-arm
renewal method.]
"During the first year after planting, a strong stake reaching 4 feet
above the ground at each vine is sufficient support. A trellis should
be erected the second season, though the upper wires of an upright
trellis and the secondary wires of an overhead trellis may be added
later, as the vines need them. In erecting an upright trellis the
posts should be set midway between the vines, the distances apart
varying with the distances between the plants. The end posts of the
rows should be firmly braced. Three wires are generally used, placed
24, 42, and from 56 to 60 inches from the ground.
"In erecting an overhead trellis, the usual method is to place a
substantial, durable post reaching 7 feet above the ground at each of
the permanent vines. Rows of extra heavy, well-braced posts, running
parallel with and also at the ends of the rows of vines, are set at
the boundaries of the vineyard. There are a number of different ways
of arranging the wires. Usually No. 10 galvanized wires are securely
fastened to the tops of the boundary posts on the four sides of a
vineyard and then are run along and securely fastened on the tops of
the inside post down each row in both directions as governor wires. As
needed, No. 14 wires 2 feet apart are run parallel with the governor
wires until in this manner the entire area has been covered.
"A cheaper but less durable overhead trellis is made by running No. 9
governor wires in only one direction and the secondary wires only at
right angles to the governor wires, the secondary wires being fastened
to the governor wires wherever they cross.
"Some growers construct arbors entirely of wood, using slats or poles
instead of wires.
"The pruning of Muscadine grapes during the first three years is
mainly for the purpose of establishing the permanent parts and
adjusting the other parts of the vine to the desired training system
for future usefulness. After that the pruning is primarily a matter of
renewing the bearing surface and keeping the vines healthy, vigorous,
and productive.
"During the first season the trunk of the vine should be established.
From this the main fruiting branches are started the second season.
These, under favorable circumstances, will bear a small crop of fruit
the third season. After that the purpose of pruning should be to renew
growth, to increase or decrease the bearing surface, and to maintain
the shape of the vine.
"Severe pruning usually removes most of the fruit-bearing wood and
throws the vine into vigorous wood growth. No pruning, on the other
hand, causes a growth which is too much distributed, weak, and
incapable of bearing good crops. Therefore, the grape grower should
study the vines sufficiently to enable him to judge each year the
proper severity of pruning for the best results. This will depend on
the variety, the age of the vines, the fertility of the soil, etc.
Muscadine grapes bear their fruit in small clusters. It is therefore
necessary to maintain a large fruiting surface in order to secure a
proper tonnage of fruit. This is accomplished by developing a series
of fruiting arms, spurring along these, and lengthening them as the
vines become stronger. Such fruiting arms can be maintained for a
number of years, but after a time it is desirable to renew them. This
is done by cutting out the arm and starting a new one from a cane that
has been previously grown for such purposes. It is preferable to renew
systematically only one or, at most, two arms on a vine each year.
This gradual renewal does not disturb the vigor of the vine, but keeps
it productive, healthy, and strong. The pruning can be quickly and
easily done if systematically practiced from the time the vines are
started."
REJUVENATING OLD VINES
When pruning and training are neglected, a vineyard soon becomes a
sorry company of halt and maimed vines. These neglected vines can
rarely be reshaped and restored to their pristine vigor. If the old
vines seem capable of throwing out a strong new growth, it is almost
always better to grow a new top by taking out canes from the roots and
so rejuvenate. The energy and activity of Nature are seldom seen to
better advantage than in these new tops, if the old tops are cut back
severely and the vineyard given good care. The new canes grow with the
gusto of the biblical bay tree, making it difficult oftentimes to keep
them within bounds.
Usually this new top can be treated essentially as if it were a new
vine. Not infrequently the cane will make sufficient growth and mature
well enough so that it may be left as a permanent trunk at the end of
the first season. If, however, the wood is short, weak and soft, it
should be cut back in the autumn to two or three buds from one of
which a permanent trunk can be trained the next season from which a
good top can be formed in another season. The old top is discarded as
soon as the new trunk is tied to the trellis. Old vineyards are often
rejuvenated in this way to advantage and return profits to their
owners for years; but if the soil is poor and the vines weak, attempts
to renew the tops seldom pay.
Occasionally rejuvenating old vines by pruning is worth while. When
such an attempt is made, it is best to cut back severely at the
winter-pruning, leaving two, three or four canes, depending on the
method of training, of six, eight or ten buds. The amount of wood left
must depend on the vigor of the plant and the variety. The success of
such rejuvenation depends much on selecting suitable places on the old
vine from which to renew the bearing wood. It requires good judgment,
considerable skill and much experience to rejuvenate successfully an
old vineyard by remodeling the existing top, and if the vines are far
gone with neglect it is seldom worth while.
Sometimes old vines or even a whole vineyard can be rejuvenated most
easily by grafting. This is particularly true when the vines are not
of the kind wanted, and when the vineyard contains an occasional stray
vine from the variety to which it is planted. Directions for grafting
are given on pages 45 to 50. The grafted vine is readily brought into
shape, under any of the several methods of training, by treating it as
a young vine.
[Illustration: PLATE XII.--Diana (×3/5).]
CHAPTER IX
GRAPE-PRUNING ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE
The methods of pruning and training native grapes, discussed in the
last two chapters, do not apply to the Vinifera grapes grown in the
favored valleys of the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific slope. As we
have already seen, the Vinifera or Old World grape differs markedly in
habits of growth from the American species so that it would not be
expected that pruning which applies to the one would apply to the
other types. The fundamentals, to be sure, are much the same and the
different species of grapes are about equally subservient to the
shears of the pruner, but while pruning to regulate fruit-bearing
finds many similarities in Old and New World grapes, the training of
the vines is radically different.
European practices in pruning and training Vinifera grapes are so many
and so diverse that the first growers of this fruit in America were at
a loss to know how to prune their vines. But, out of a half century of
experience, American growers of Old World grapes have adapted from
European practices and have devised to meet new conditions, methods
which serve very well in the new home for this old grape. Since the
culture of the Old World grape is centered in California, almost
confined to that state, California practice may be taken as a pattern
in pruning and training the vines of this species.
VINE PRUNING IN CALIFORNIA[16]
The systems of pruning in use in California may be divided into two
classes according to the arrangement of the arms on the trunk of the
vine. In the commonest systems, there is a definite head to the trunk,
from which all the arms arise symmetrically at nearly the same level.
The vines of these systems may be called "headed vines." In the other
systems, the trunk is elongated four to eight feet and the arms are
distributed regularly along the whole or the greater portion of its
length. The vines of these systems, owing to the rope-like form of the
trunks, are called "cordons."
The headed vines are divided according to the length of the vertical
trunk into high, 2-3 feet, medium, 1-1-1/2 feet, and low, 0-6 inches.
The cordons may be vertical or horizontal, according to the direction
of the trunk, which is from four to eight feet long. The horizontal
cordons may be single (unilateral) or composed of two branches
extending in opposite directions (bilateral). Double and even multiple
vertical cordons occur, but they are very inadvisable and have no
advantages.
The arrangement of the arms of a headed vine may be symmetrical in all
directions at an angle of about 45 degrees. Such a vine is said to be
"vase-formed," though the hollow center which this term implies is not
essential. This is the form used in the great majority of our
vineyards whether of wine, raisin, or shipping grapes. It is suitable
for the "square" system of planting and cross cultivation. Where vines
are planted in the avenue system, particularly when trellised and
where cross cultivation is impossible, the arms are given a
"fan-shaped" arrangement in a vertical plane. This arrangement is
considered to be essential for the economical and easy working of
trellised vines.
On the vertical or upright cordon, the arms are arranged at as regular
intervals as possible on all sides of the trunk from the top to within
twelve or fifteen inches of the bottom. On the horizontal cordon the
arms are arranged similarly, but as nearly as possible on the upper
side of the trunk only.
Each of these systems may again be divided into two subsystems,
according to the management of the annual growth or canes. In one,
spurs of one, two, or three eyes are left for fruit production. This
system is called short or spur pruning. In the other, long canes are
left for fruit production. This is called long or cane pruning. In
rare cases an intermediate form is adopted in which long spurs or
short canes of five or six eyes are left. In cane pruning, each fruit
cane is accompanied by one or two short renewal spurs. These must also
accompany half-long pruning. Systems of pruning, when only long canes
are left without renewal-spurs, are not in use in California. In all
systems, replacing-spurs are left wherever and whenever needed.
Other modifications are introduced by the manner of disposal of the
fruit canes. These may be tied up vertically to a stake driven at the
foot of each vine or bowed in a circle and tied to this same stake, or
they may be tied laterally to wires stretching along the rows in a
horizontal, ascending or descending direction.
The different systems differ therefore in: (1) the shape, length, and
direction of the trunk; (2) the arrangement of the arms; (3) the use
of fruit spurs or fruit canes with renewal spurs; (4) the disposal of
the fruit canes.
The principal possibilities of the pruning are shown in the following
table:
A. HEAD PRUNING: VASE-FORM
} { (_a_) Fruit spurs or
} {
1. High trunk: } { (_b_) Half-long canes and renewal
} { spurs or
2. Medium trunk: } with {
} { (_c_) Fruit canes and renewal
3. Low trunk: } { spurs; canes vertical
} { or bowed.
B. HEAD PRUNING: FAN-SHAPED; TRELLISED
1. High trunk: Fruit canes and renewal spurs; canes descending.
2. Medium trunk: Fruit canes and renewal spurs; canes horizontal or
ascending.
C. CORDON PRUNING
1. Vertical: Spur; half-long; cane.
2. Horizontal-unilateral: Spur; half-long; cane.
3. Horizontal-bilateral: Spur; half-long; cane.
All possible combinations indicated by this table represent 24
variations. Some of these combinations, however, are not used and some
are rare. The most common are shown in Figs. 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27.
Figure 23 B represents a headed, vase-formed vine, with a medium trunk
and short fruit spurs. This is the most common system used in all
parts of California and is suited for all small growing vines which
bear on the lower buds, for most wine grapes and for Muscats. The unit
of pruning in this case is a fruit spur of 1, 2, or 3 internodes,
according to the vigor of the variety and of the individual cane.
Figure 23 A differs from 23 B only in the higher trunk and longer
arms. It is commonly used for Tokay and other large growing
varieties, especially when growing in rich soil and when planted far
apart.
[Illustration: FIG. 23. Forms of head pruning: _A_, spur pruning with
high trunk; _B_, spur pruning with medium trunk; _C_, half-long with
medium trunk.]
Figure 23 C has the same form of body as A and B, except that the arms
are somewhat less numerous. The unit of pruning is a short fruit cane
of four to five internodes, accompanied by a renewal spur of one
internode. It is suited for vigorous table grapes, which do not bear
well on short spurs. It is used especially for the Cornichon and
Malaga in rich soil. This is a difficult system to keep in good shape
owing to the tendency for all the vigor to go to the growth on the
ends of the fruit canes. It is difficult to obtain vigorous canes on
the renewal spurs. Occasional short pruning is usually necessary to
keep the vines in proper shape.
Figure 24 A is similar to 23 C in form, but the number of arms is
still further reduced to 2, 3, or at most 4. The unit of pruning is a
fruit cane of 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet with its renewal spur. Owing to the
length of the fruit canes they require support and are tied to a high
stake.
This method is used in a large number of vineyards with Sultanina,
Sultana and certain wine grapes, especially Semillon and Cabernet. It
is not to be recommended in any case, as it has several very serious
defects.
The difficulty of obtaining new wood from the renewal spurs is even
greater than in the system shown in Fig. 23 C. The length and vertical
position of the fruit canes cause the main growth and vigor of the
vine to be expended on the highest shoots. The renewal spurs are thus
so shaded that, even though their buds start, the shoots make but a
weak growth. The result is that at the following pruning all the good
new wood is at the top of the fruit canes of the previous year, where
it cannot be utilized. The pruner has to choose then between reverting
to spur pruning and getting no crop or using the weak growth from the
renewal spurs for fruit canes, in which case he may get blossoms but
little or no fruit of any value.
[Illustration: FIG. 24. Forms of head pruning: _A_, vertical fruit
canes and renewal spurs; _B_, bowed fruit canes and renewal spurs.]
Other defects of this method are that the fruiting shoots are
excessively vigorous and therefore often tend to drop their blossoms
without setting and the fruit when produced is massed together so that
it ripens unevenly and is difficult to gather. It also requires a tall
and expensive stake.
Figure 24 B represents an improvement on the last system. It differs
only in the method of treating the fruit canes. These are bent over
in the form of a circle and tied by their middle part to a stake which
may be smaller and lower than that needed for the vertical canes.
This bowing of the canes has several useful effects. The change of
direction moderates the tendency of the vigor of the vine to expend
itself only on the terminal shoots. More shoots therefore are formed
on the fruit canes and as their vigor is somewhat decreased they tend
to be more fruitful. The slight mechanical injury caused by the
bending operates in the same direction.
[Illustration: FIG. 25. Head pruning: fan-shaped head; fruit canes
tied to horizontal trellis.]
The excess of vigor thus being diverted from the fruit canes causes
the renewal spurs to form vigorous shoots, which soon grow above the
fruit shoots and obtain the light and air they need for their proper
development. This method is used successfully for certain wine grapes
such as Riesling, Cabernet, and Semillon. It is unsuited to large
vigorous varieties or for vines on rich soil planted wide apart. In
these cases two fruit canes are usually insufficient and, if more are
used, the grapes and leaves are so massed together that they are
subject to mildew and do not ripen evenly or well. The bowing and
tying of the canes requires considerable skill and care on the part of
the workmen.
The body, arms, and annual pruning of the system shown in Fig. 25 are
similar to those of Fig. 24, with the exception that the arms are
given a fan-shaped arrangement in one plane. It differs in the
disposal of the fruit canes, which are supported by a trellis
stretching along the row from vine to vine.
This method is largely used for the Sultanina (Thompson's Seedless),
and is the best system for vigorous vines which require long pruning,
wherever it is possible to dispense with cross cultivation. It is also
suitable for any long-pruned varieties when growing in very fertile
soil.
Figure 26 is a photograph of a four-year-old Emperor vine,
illustrating the vertical cordon system. It consists of an upright
trunk 4-1/2 feet high with short arms and fruit spurs scattered evenly
and symmetrically from the top to within fifteen inches of the bottom.
This system is used in many Emperor vineyards in the San Joaquin
Valley.
[Illustration: FIG. 26. Single vertical cordon with fruit spurs.]
Its advantages are that it allows the large development of the vine
and the large number of spurs which the vigor of the Emperor demands,
without, on the one hand, crowding the fruit by the proximity of the
spurs or, on the other hand, spreading the vine so much that
cultivation is interfered with. It also permits cross cultivation.
One of its defects is that the fruit is subjected to various degrees
of temperature and shading in different parts of the vine and the
ripening and coloring are often uneven. A more vital defect is that it
cannot be maintained permanently. The arms and spurs at the top of
the trunk tend to absorb the energies of the vine and the lower arms
and spurs become weaker each year until finally no growth at all is
obtained below. After several years, most of the vines therefore lose
their character of cordons and become simply headed-vines with
abnormally long trunks.
The cordon can be reëstablished in this case by allowing a vigorous
sucker to develop one year from which to form a new trunk the next.
The following year the old trunk is removed entirely. An objection to
this method is that it makes very large wounds in the most vital part
of the vine--the base of the trunk.
Figure 27 is a photograph of a four-year-old Colombar vine,
illustrating the unilateral, horizontal cordon system. It consists of
a trunk about seven feet long, supported horizontally by a wire two
feet from the ground. Arms and spurs are arranged along the whole
horizontal part of the trunk.
[Illustration: FIG. 27. Unilateral horizontal cordon with fruit
spurs.]
This system accomplishes the same objects as the vertical cordon. It
allows a large development of the vine and numerous fruit spurs
without crowding. It is superior to the vertical cordon in the
distribution of the fruit, which is all exposed to approximately the
same conditions owing to the uniform distance from the ground of the
fruit spurs. All parts of the trunk producing an annual growth of wood
and fruit are equally exposed to light and the tendency of the growth
to occur principally at the part of the trunk farthest removed from
the root is counteracted by the horizontal position. There is not the
same difficulty therefore in maintaining this form of vine permanently
that there is with the vertical cordon.
This system should not be used for small weak vines, whether the
weakness is a characteristic of the variety or due to the nature of
the soil. It is suited only to very vigorous varieties such as
Emperor, Almeria, and the Persian grapes when growing far apart in
rich, moist soil.
_Periods of development._
The first year in the life of a vine is devoted to developing a
vigorous root system; the next two or three years to building up a
shapely trunk and head, and a like period to forming the full
complement of arms. At the end of from five to nine years the
framework of the vine is complete and should undergo no particular
change of shape except a gradual thickening of trunk and arms.
There are, therefore, several periods in the life of the vine with
varying objects, and the methods of pruning must vary accordingly.
These periods do not correspond exactly to periods of time, so it may
be misleading to speak of pruning a two-year-old or a three-year-old
vine. One vine under certain conditions will reach the same stage of
development in two years that another will reach only in three or four
years under other conditions. The range of time of these periods is
about as follows:
First period--Formation of a strong root system 1 to 2 years
Second period--Formation of stem or trunk 1 year
Third period--Formation of head 2 to 3 years
Fourth period--Complete development of the arms 2 to 3 years
Total time of formation of framework 6 to 9 years
Under exceptionally favorable conditions the first and second periods
may be included in the first year and a completely formed vine may be
obtained in five years.
_Before planting._
For planting, cuttings, one-year-old rooted vines, or bench grafts are
used. In all cases, they need some attention from the pruner.
The usual way to prune a good rooted vine of average size having a
single cane at the top and several good roots at the bottom is to
shorten the cane to one or two buds and the roots to two or four
inches, according to their size. Shortening the cane makes the vine
less liable to dry out before rooting and forces the growth from the
lower buds which produce more vigorous shoots. The roots are shortened
so that there will be no danger of the ends being turned upwards when
planted. If they are to be planted in a large hole, they may be left
as long as five or six inches; if to be planted with a crowbar or
dibble, they must be cut back to half an inch.
If the rooted vine has several canes, all but one should be removed
entirely, and this one shortened to one or two eyes. The one left
should be that which is strongest, has the best buds, and is the best
placed. Where a horizontal cane is left, it should be cut back to the
base bud. Otherwise the main growth may occur at a higher bud and the
vine will have a crook which will result in a badly formed trunk.
If canes are growing from different joints, it is usually best to
leave the lower cane if they are equally vigorous. This brings the
buds from which growth will come nearer to the roots, and leaves less
of the original cutting, which are advantages. The upper joint between
the canes is, moreover, often more or less decayed or imperfect.
_First growing season._
The treatment during the first spring and summer will depend on what
growth the vines are expected to make and on whether the vines are
staked the first year.
With cuttings and with both rooted vines and grafts where the growth
will be moderate, staking the first year is unnecessary, though it has
some slight advantages. In these cases, no pruning of any kind is
necessary until the winter following the planting, except in the case
of bench grafts. The pruning in the last case is confined to the
removal of the suckers from the stock and roots from the cion. If the
stocks have been well disbudded by the nurseryman, few suckers will
develop. In moist soil, the cion roots may develop vigorously and must
be removed before they grow too large, or they may prevent the proper
development of the resistant roots.
The removal of roots should usually be done some time in July. For
this purpose the hill of soil is scraped away from the union and after
the cion roots and suckers are removed it is replaced. In this second
hilling up, the union should be just barely covered so that the soil
round the union will be dry and unfavorable to a second growth of
roots. Later in the season, about September, the soil should be
removed entirely from around the union and any new roots that may have
formed removed. The union is then left exposed to harden and mature,
so that it will pass the winter without injury.
_First winter pruning._
At the end of the first growing season, an average good vine will have
produced from three to five canes, the longest of which will be from
two to three feet long.
Soon after the leaves have fallen in December or early in January the
vines should be pruned. The method is precisely similar to that used
for rooted vines before planting except that the main roots are not
touched. All the canes are removed entirely except one. This one
should be well matured, at least at the base, and should have
well-formed eyes. It is shortened to two eyes. It is well also to cut
off all shallow roots within three or four inches of the surface. This
is necessary in the case of grafted vines if any have escaped the
summer root-cutting.
Some of the vines may have made an exceptionally large growth. Such
vines may sometimes possess a cane large enough from which to start
the trunk in the way described later for the second winter pruning.
_Staking._
If the vines have not been staked before, the stakes should be driven
soon after pruning and before the starting of the buds.
In order to preserve the alignment of the vineyard, the stakes should
be driven on the same side of every vine at a uniform distance. The
best distance is about two inches. If driven closer they may injure
large roots or even the main underground stem if the vines have not
been carefully planted vertically or slanting towards the side on
which the stake is to be placed.
The side on which the stake should be placed depends on the direction
of the prevailing winds during the growing season. This side is the
leeward. That is, the stake should be so placed that the wind will
press the vine towards the stake instead of away from it. This will
much facilitate the work of keeping the vine upright and attached to
the stake. If the vine is on the other side the pressure of the wind
will stretch the string tight and the swaying of the vine will
gradually wear the string until it breaks, necessitating retying. By
carefully observing this rule, very few vines will require retying
even if weak material like binding twine is used.
_Second summer pruning._
Before the starting of the buds, in the spring following the planting,
most of the vines appear about the same as when they were planted.
There is, however, a very notable difference, in that they have
well-developed root systems in the soil where they were formed. The
result is that they make a much more prompt and early start and will
produce a much larger growth than they did the first season. For this
reason they require very careful attention from the pruner during the
spring and summer of the second season. Vines neglected at this time,
in this respect, may make as large a growth, but a large part of it
will be wasted, the vines will be misformed and it will require from
one to two years longer to develop a suitable framework and to bring
them into bearing, even though they are properly handled during
subsequent years. The more vigorous the vines, the more necessary it
is to handle them properly during this period.
The main object during this second growing season is to develop a
single, strong, vigorous and well-ripened cane from which to form the
permanent trunk of the vine.
This is done by concentrating all the energies of the vine into the
growth of a single shoot. As soon as the buds start, or when the most
precocious has developed a shoot of a few inches in length, the vines
should be disbudded. This consists in rubbing off with the hand all
buds and shoots except the two largest and best placed. The lowest,
upright shoots are usually the best. Leave only those which will make
a straight vine. It is better to leave less developed buds than a
shoot which, when it grows, will make an awkward crook with the
underground stem.
After this disbudding, the two shoots left will grow rapidly, as they
receive all the energies of the root system. When the longest have
grown from ten to fifteen inches, they should be tied to the stake.
Unless this is done, they are liable to be broken off by any heavy
wind, owing to their soft, succulent texture. Only the best placed and
most vigorous of the two shoots should be tied up. If this shoot is
growing upright and near the stake, this can be done without any
danger of injuring it. In this case the second shoot should be
removed. If the shoot has to be bent over in tying it to the stake it
may be injured. In such a case the second shoot should be allowed to
grow until it is known whether the first has been injured. In case of
injury the second shoot can be tied up the next time the vines are
visited and the injured shoot removed.
At the tying up of the reserved shoots, all new shoots which have
developed since the first disbudding should be removed. The shoots
should be tied up loosely, as they are soft and easily injured, and
they should be brought around carefully to the windward side of the
stake.
The shoots will require tying once more when they have grown another
foot or eighteen inches. There will then be two ties, one at two or
three inches from the top of the stake and the other at about the
middle. If the vines have a tall stake and are to be headed very high,
another tying higher up may be needed later.
With vines making only a moderate growth, no other pruning will be
needed until the winter. Exceptionally vigorous vines, however, may
make a cane eight, ten or more feet long. Such a cane is heavy and is
very likely to break the ropes by which it is attached to the stake.
In this case it may break off at the bottom, or at least will form an
awkward crook near the ground when it matures. In either case it is
difficult to form a good trunk the following year. Even when the ties
do not break, the cane will not be well suited for the commencement of
a trunk, as the joints will be so long that it will be impossible to
leave enough well-placed buds at the winter pruning.
Both these difficulties are avoided by timely topping. When such
vigorously growing canes have grown twelve or eighteen inches above
the top of the stake they are cut back about level with the stake.
This is most conveniently done with a long-bladed knife or piece of
split bamboo. After topping, the cane ceases to grow in length and
laterals start at most of the joints. It is less exposed to the
action of the wind, and the laterals supply the buds needed for
forming the vine at the winter pruning.
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.--Dutchess (×2/3).]
The result of the second season's growth, then, has been to produce a
single vigorous cane with or without laterals. This is the cane which
is to develop into the final and permanent trunk of the vine. It must
not only be large and vigorous, but must be properly matured. If the
vine is allowed to grow too late in the season, an early frost may
destroy the unmatured cane, and much of the results of the year's
growth will be wasted. Such a frost may indeed kill the entire vine.
Grafted vines are particularly liable to injury from this cause, as if
they are killed down to the union they are completely ruined.
Ungrafted vines when killed to the ground may be renewed from a sucker
next year. This sucker, however, is likely to grow with such vigor
that it is even more liable to injury from an autumn frost than the
original shoot.
This late growth is much more likely to occur with young vines than
with old. The old vines stop growing earlier because their energies
are directed into the crop, and as they produce a larger amount of
foliage they draw more upon the moisture of the soil, which therefore
dries out earlier.
Late growth of the young vines must be prevented and the wood matured
before frost if possible. This is accomplished by means which promote
the drying of the soil in autumn. Late irrigations should be avoided.
Cultivation should usually stop by midsummer. In very moist, rich
soils, it is often an advantage to grow corn, sunflowers or similar
crops between the rows of vines to take off the surplus moisture. In
some cases it is good practice to let the summer weeds grow for the
same purpose.
_Second winter pruning._
With vines which have been treated as described and to which no
accident has happened, the second winter pruning is very simple. It
consists simply in cutting back the single cane which has been allowed
to grow to the height at which it is desired to head the vine.
The vine so pruned consists of a single cane which with the older wood
at the base reaches nearly to the top of the stake, or fifteen inches.
This if properly treated will develop into a vine with a trunk of
about twelve inches, though this length can be modified slightly, as
will be explained later.
This cane consists of about seven or eight joints or internodes, with
an equal number of well-formed eyes and an indefinite number of
dormant buds, principally near the base of the cane or junction of the
one- and two-year-old wood. Only the buds on the upper half of this
cane will be allowed to grow. These buds--about four--should give six
to eight bunches of grapes and four, six, or eight shoots from which
to form the spurs at the following winter pruning.
With a vine which has been cut back to form a high head, the cane is
about twenty-four inches long and can be used to form a trunk eighteen
inches high, though this height can be modified as in the last case.
As with the shorter cane, only the buds on the upper half will be
allowed to produce shoots. These--about six--should give ten to twelve
bunches and the shoots necessary for the formation of spurs.
In all cases a full internode has been left above the top bud. This is
done by cutting through the first bud above the highest which it is
desired to have grow. This cut is made in such a way as to destroy the
bud but to leave the diaphragm intact and part of the swelling of the
node. This upper internode is left partly to protect the upper bud,
but principally to facilitate tying. By making a half-hitch around
this internode, the vine is held very firmly. If the swelling at the
node of the destroyed bud is not left, many vines will be pulled out
of the hitch when they become heavy with leaves and supple with the
flow of sap in the spring.
In tying the vines, no turns or hitches must be made around any part
except this upper internode. A hitch below the top bud will result in
a crook-necked vine, as the top will bend over in the summer under the
weight of the foliage. A hitch lower down is even more harmful, as it
will girdle and strangle the vine.
A second tie about half way from the upper to the ground is always
necessary to straighten the cane. Even if the cane is straight when
pruned, a second tie is needed to keep it from curving under the
pressure of leaves and wind in the spring. For high-headed vines three
ties are usually necessary.
For the top tie, wire is particularly suitable. It holds better than
twine and does not wear. Even though it is not removed, it does no
harm, as the part around which it is wound does not grow. The lower
ties should be of softer material, as wire has a tendency to cut into
the wood. They should be placed so that the cane is able to expand as
it grows. With thin and especially with round stakes this means that
the tie must be loose. With large, square stakes there is usually
sufficient room for expansion, even when the twine is tied tight.
_Third summer pruning._
During the third season, average well-grown vines will produce their
first considerable crop and develop the canes from which will be
formed the first arms.
Such a vine, soon after the starting of the buds in spring, will have
one vigorous shoot about three inches long grown from the old wood and
five fruit buds started above on the cane. All the buds and shoots
below the middle of the cane should be removed.
This will leave the four or five fruit buds and will give the vine the
opportunity to produce eight or ten bunches of grapes. These buds will
produce also at least four or five shoots. If the vine is very
vigorous and the season favorable, they may produce eight, ten or
more.
When the five shoots grow, the height of the head will be determined
at the next winter pruning by which of the corresponding canes are
left as spurs. If the highest two canes are cut back to spurs and all
others removed, the vine will be headed as high as possible, as these
two spurs form the two first arms which determine the length of the
trunk. If the lowest two canes are chosen and all of the vine above
them removed, the trunk will be made as low as possible. Intermediate
heights can be obtained by using some other two adjacent canes and
removing the rest. It is often advisable to leave some extra spurs
lower than it is desired to head the vine and to remove these lower
spurs the following winter after they have borne a crop. For example,
the three or four upper canes might be left, if the vine is vigorous
enough, and the lowest one or two of these removed at the next
pruning. This, however, is not often necessary with properly handled
vines and is objectionable because it makes large wounds in the trunk.
_Third winter pruning._
At the end of the third season's growth the vine should have a
straight, well-developed trunk with a number of vigorous canes near
the top from which to form the arms.
Figure 28 represents a well-grown vine at this period. No shoots have
been allowed to grow on the lower part of the trunk and the five buds
allowed to grow above have produced nine vigorous canes. The pruner
should leave enough spurs to supply all the fruit buds that the vine
can utilize. The number, size and thickness of the canes show that the
vine is very vigorous and can support a large crop. It will depend
somewhat on the variety how many buds should be left. For a variety
whose bunches average one pound, and which produces two bunches to the
shoot, twelve fruit buds should give about twenty-four pounds, or
about seven tons per acre, if the vines are planted 12 by 6 feet, as
these were. The number of spurs will depend on their length. Six spurs
of two buds each will give the required number, but as some of these
canes are exceptionally vigorous they should be left a little longer,
in which case a smaller number of spurs will suffice.
[Illustration: FIG. 28. Three-year-old vine ready for pruning.]
When the number and length of the spurs are decided on, the canes
should be chosen which will leave these spurs in the most suitable
position for forming arms. This position will depend on whether we
want a vase-form or fan-shaped vine. In the first case, we choose
those which will distribute the spurs most evenly and symmetrically on
all sides, avoiding any which cross or point downwards.
In the second case, we choose only those canes which run in the
direction of the trellis, avoiding canes which stick out between the
rows. Downward pointing canes may be used in this case.
[Illustration: FIG. 29. Vine of Fig. 28 after pruning for vase-formed
head.]
Figure 29 shows the vine after pruning for a vase-formed head. The
pruner has used two of the strongest canes to form two three-bud
spurs and three of medium vigor to form three two-bud spurs. The head
is of good shape, though some of the spurs are a little too low. One,
two, or three of these can be removed at the following winter pruning,
and the permanent arms and head of the vine formed from canes which
develop on the two highest spurs. If the vine were too high, the head
could be developed the next year from the three lowest spurs and the
upper part removed.
[Illustration: FIG. 30. Three-year-old vines: _A_, pruned for a
vase-formed, and _B_, for a fan-shaped head.]
Figure 30 shows vines of the same age of practically perfect shape.
Less spurs have been left because the vines were less vigorous. It is
easier to properly shape vines which make only a moderate growth
during the first three seasons. On the other hand, very vigorous vines
can finally be brought into practically perfect shape and the somewhat
larger and more numerous wounds necessary are more easily healed by a
vigorous vine.
_Pruning after the third winter._
For the pruner who understands the pruning of young vines and has
brought them to approximately the form represented in Figs. 29 and 30,
the subsequent winter pruning is very simple. It involves, however,
one new idea--the distinction between fruit and sterile wood.
Up to the third winter pruning, this distinction is not necessary;
first, because practically all the wood is fruit wood, and second,
because the necessity of forming the vine controls the choice of wood.
From this time on, however, this distinction must be carefully made.
At each winter pruning a number of spurs of fruit wood must be left to
produce the crop to be expected from the size and vigor of the vine.
Besides these fruit spurs, it may be necessary to leave spurs of
sterile wood to permit of increasing the number of fruit spurs the
following year.
This will be made clear by comparing Figs. 30 A and 31. Figure 30 A
shows a vine at the third winter pruning with two fruit spurs of two
buds each and one fruit spur of one bud--five fruit buds in all.
If these five fruit buds all produce vigorous shoots during the
following summer, they will supply five canes of fruit wood which can
be used to form five fruit spurs at the following winter pruning,
which will be about the normal increase necessary. Some of these fruit
buds, however, may produce weak shoots or shoots so badly placed that
they would spoil the shape of the head if used for spurs. Other
shoots, however, will be produced from base, secondary and
adventitious buds which, while less fruitful, can be used to form
spurs for the starting of new arms.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. Four-year-old vine pruned for vase-formed
head.]
Figure 31 shows a vine after the fourth winter pruning which had
developed from a vine similar to that shown in Fig. 30 A. From the
three fruit spurs left the previous year four canes have been chosen
for the fruit spurs of this year. The old spur on the left has
furnished two new spurs and the two old spurs at the right each one
new spur. The pruner, judging that the vine is sufficiently vigorous
to stand more wood, has formed two spurs from water sprouts which,
while not likely to produce much fruit the first season, will supply
fruit wood for the following year. The result is a very well-shaped
vine with six almost perfectly balanced spurs. These spurs will
develop into permanent arms, some of them furnishing finally two or
three.
Figure 32 shows a high-headed vine of the same age. It has five spurs,
of which four are fruit spurs and one a spur of sterile wood left to
shape the vine. The two more or less horizontal spurs on the right
will bear fruit the following autumn and will be removed entirely at
the following winter pruning, as they are badly placed. The arms of
the vine will then be developed from the three upright spurs, which
are excellently placed.
[Illustration: FIG. 32. Four-year-old vine pruned for high vase-formed
head.]
Each year thereafter the same process must be followed. First, enough
fruit spurs, as well placed as possible, must be left to produce the
crop. Second, on most vines supplementary spurs of sterile wood must
be left to supply more arms where they are needed, and finally, when
the full complement of arms has developed, to supply new arms to
replace those which have become too long or are otherwise defective.
_Fan-shaped vines._
With headed vines, the treatment up to the third winter is the same
except for the variations in the height of the head. At the third
winter pruning, however, the formation of the head commences, and the
pruner determines whether it shall be vase-formed or fan-shaped. The
production of a vase-formed head has already been described.
At the third winter pruning, the vine should be pruned to two spurs,
as shown in Fig. 30 B. More vigorous vines should _not_ be given more
spurs, as in Figs. 29 and 30 A, but the spurs should be made longer,
with four, five, or even six eyes in some cases. This is in order to
obtain some fruit, which might not be obtained from long pruning
varieties by leaving many spurs. With extremely vigorous vines one
fruit cane may be left at this pruning. The wires of the trellis
should be put up this year, if this has not already been done.
Fig. 33 A and 33 B illustrates the second step in the production of a
fan-shaped head. This form of head is used only for trellised vines
and long-pruned varieties. The formation of the head and the
management of the fruit canes are therefore conveniently discussed
together.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. _A_, before pruning; _B_, after pruning.]
By comparing the pruned vine, Fig. 33 B, with the unpruned, Fig. 33 A,
the method of pruning will be made clear. The unpruned vine shows two
arms, the spurs of the previous year, from one of which have grown
three vigorous canes and from the other two somewhat less vigorous.
The pruned vine shows a complete unit, that is, a fruit cane with its
accompanying renewal spur on the vigorous side and a spur for the
production of fruit wood for the following year on the other side. If
the vine had been more vigorous two complete units would have been
left and one or two extra spurs.
As the form of the vine is determined by the renewal spurs, special
attention should be paid to their position. In this case, the middle
cane on one arm and the lower cane on the other have been used for
renewal spurs. This brings them both to the same height above the
ground and determines the place of the permanent arms. The next year
each of these spurs will furnish a fruit cane and one or two renewal
spurs. The arms will thus in two or three years be increased to four,
or, with very large vines, to six. These spurs should be chosen as
nearly as possible in the plane of the trellis, that is, they should
not project out sideways. Figure 25 shows vines of this kind of full
size and in full bearing.
The fruit canes also should be as nearly as possible in the direction
of the trellis, though this is not so important, as they can be bent
over to the wire when tied up, and in any case they are removed the
next year.
_Double-headed vines._
Some growers attempt to arrange the arms of their vines in two stages,
one above the other, forming double-headed or two-crowned vines. The
method is applied to both vase-formed and trellised vines. It is open
to the same criticisms as the vertical cordon, the chief of which is
that it cannot be maintained permanently. The lower head or ring of
arms finally becomes weak and fails to produce wood.
It is easier to maintain in trellised vineyards and has some
advantages, the chief of which is that it makes it easier to keep the
vine in the single plane and to prevent arms getting into the
inter-rows. The double trunk is not necessary and is, in fact, a
disadvantage, as one trunk has a tendency to grow at the expense of
the other.
_Vertical and bowed canes._
Figure 24 A shows a long-pruned vine in which the fruit canes have
been tied vertically to a tall stake. This is a method used commonly
in many vineyards. The unit of pruning is the same as in the method
just described, consisting of a fruit cane and a renewal spur. The
framework of the vine consists of a trunk of medium height, with a
vase-formed head consisting of three or four arms. The defects of this
system have been pointed out on page 155.
It is used with fair success with seedless Sultanas and with some wine
grapes such as Colombar, Semillon, Cabernet, and Riesling, in the
hands of skillful pruners. The results with Sultanina are very
unsatisfactory.
By this method, on most of the vines, the fruit canes start from high
up near the middle of the stake, and are therefore too short for the
best results. The canes which start from low down are in most cases
suckers, and therefore of little value for fruit bearing.
Figure 24 B shows a vine with bowed canes. The method of pruning is
exactly the same as in the method just described. The bowing of the
canes, however, overcomes some of the defects of that method. It is
used regularly in many wine grape vineyards of the cooler regions. It
is unsuited for very vigorous vines in rich soil.
_Vertical cordons._
In head pruning, the treatment of young vines up to the second or
third winter pruning is identical for all systems. In cordon pruning
the treatment for the first and second is also the same. That is, the
vine is cut back to two buds near the level of the ground until a cane
sufficiently long to serve for the formation of the trunk is obtained.
In the vertical cordon the trunk is three to four feet long instead of
one to two, as in head pruning. This makes it necessary to have a
longer and more vigorous cane to start with. It may require a year
longer to obtain this. That is to say, at the end of the second
season's growth many vines will not have a single cane sufficiently
developed to give the necessary three and one-half feet of
well-ripened wood and properly developed buds. At the second winter
pruning, therefore, it will often be necessary to cut the vine back to
two buds, as at the first winter pruning.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. Vertical cordon, young vine pruned.]
Finally, a cane of the required length will be obtained. The vine is
then formed as already described for the second winter pruning of
headed vines, except that the cane is left longer. When such a vine is
pruned, spurs are left at intervals along the trunk, as shown in Fig.
34. Each of these spurs is a fruit spur and is also the commencement
of an arm. The future treatment of these arms is the same as that of
the arms in head pruning.
_Horizontal cordons._
During the first two or three years, vines which are to be given the
form of horizontal cordons are treated exactly as for vertical
cordons, that is, they are pruned back to two buds each winter and the
growth forced by disbudding into a single cane during the summer.
As soon as a well-ripened cane of the required length is obtained, it
is tied to a wire stretched horizontally along the row at from fifteen
to twenty-four inches from the ground.
For this system of pruning, the rows should be twelve to fourteen feet
apart and the vines six, seven, or eight feet apart in the rows. As
the cordon or trunk of each vine should reach the next vine, it will
have to be six to eight feet long. The best shape is obtained when the
trunk is all formed one year from a single cane. It is necessary,
however, sometimes to take two years for the formation of the trunk.
In any case, the cane first tied down should reach at least half way
to the next vine. The following year a new cane from the end of this
should be used to complete the full length of the trunk.
In attaching the cane to the wire, it must be bent over in a gentle
curve and care taken not to break or injure it. The proper form of the
bend is shown in Figs. 27 and 35. Sharp bends should be avoided.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. Unilateral horizontal cordon with half-long
pruning.]
The cane should be placed on top of the wire, but should not be
twisted around it. The end should be tied firmly and the rest of the
cane supported by strings tied loosely in order to avoid girdling when
the cane grows.
In the following spring, most of the buds on a good cane will start.
If the cane is short jointed, some of the shoots should be removed and
only those shoots allowed to develop which are conveniently situated
for permanent arms. If the vines are to be short pruned, the arms
should be developed every eight to twelve inches from a few inches
beyond the bend to the extreme end. For long pruning, the arms should
be farther apart, twelve to twenty inches. Shoots starting from the
top of the cane and growing vertically upwards are to be preferred.
As the shoots develop, the strongest should be pinched repeatedly, if
necessary. This will tend to force the growth of the weaker shoots and
to equalize the vigor of all. At the end of the season, there should
be from five to ten canes growing on each cordon of full length. These
canes are then pruned back to two or three buds, or a little longer
for long-pruned varieties.
During the following spring and summer, the vines should be carefully
suckered and unnecessary water sprouts removed. Any shoots coming from
the lower side of the cordon should be removed early to strengthen the
growth in the shoots on the upper side. Such vines are apt to become
dry or decayed on the upper side. At the end of this year, which
should be the fourth or fifth from planting at the latest, the cordon
will be fully formed and the final style of pruning can be applied. A
short-pruned cordon vine is shown in Fig. 27. The arms and spurs are a
little too numerous and too close together. If this vine required the
number of buds shown it would have been better to have left the fruit
spurs longer and to have left fewer and shorter wood spurs.
The upper vine of Fig. 35 shows a cordon pruned half long. This is an
excellent system for Malaga, Emperor, and Cornichon when growing in
very fertile soil. It gives the half-long fruit canes, which these
varieties need to produce good crops. The fruit canes may be attached
to a wire twelve or fifteen inches above the cordon or bent down and
tied to the cordon itself, as in the lower vine of the figure. The
first method is the more convenient, but the second is necessary where
there is difficulty in obtaining satisfactory growth from the renewal
spurs. When the fruit canes are tied down, as indicated in the lower
vine, renewal spurs may not be needed, as vigorous shoots will
usually be obtained from the lower buds of the fruit canes.
_Choice of a system._
In choosing a system, we must consider carefully the characteristics
of the particular variety we are growing. A variety which bears only
on the upper buds must be pruned "long," that is, must be given fruit
canes. It should be noted that many varieties, such as Petite Sirah,
which will bear with short pruning when grafted on resistant roots
require fruit canes when growing on their own roots. In general,
grafted vines require shorter pruning than ungrafted. If pruned the
same, the grafted vines may overbear and quickly exhaust themselves.
This seems to be the principal reason for the frequent failure of
Muscat vines grafted on resistant stock. The cultural conditions also
affect the vine in this respect. Vines made vigorous by rich soil,
abundant moisture, and thorough cultivation require longer pruning
than weaker vines of the same variety.
The normal size of the bunch is also of importance. This size will
vary from one-quarter of a pound to 2 or 3 pounds. It is difficult to
obtain a full crop from a variety whose bunches are very small without
the use of fruit canes. Spurs will not furnish enough fruit buds
without crowding them inconveniently. On the other hand, some shipping
grapes may bear larger crops when pruned long, but the bunches and
berries may be too small for the best quality.
The possibilities of development vary much with different varieties. A
Mission or Flame Tokay may be made to cover a quarter of an acre and
develop a trunk four or five feet in circumference. A Zinfandel vine
under the same conditions would not reach a tenth of this size in the
same time. Vines in a rich valley soil will grow much larger than on a
poor hillside. The size and shape of the trunk must be modified
accordingly and adapted to the available room or number of vines to
the acre.
The shape of the vine must be such as to protect it as much as
possible from various unfavorable conditions. A variety susceptible to
oïdium, like the Carignane, must be pruned so that the fruit and
foliage are not unduly massed together. Free exposure to light and air
are a great protection in this respect. The same is true for varieties
like the Muscat, which have a tendency to "coulure" if the blossoms
are too moist or shaded. In frosty locations, a high trunk will be a
protection, as the air is always colder close to the ground.
The qualities required in the crop also influence our choice of a
pruning system. With wine grapes, even, perfect ripening and full
flavor are desirable. These are obtained best by having the grapes at
a uniform height from the ground and as near to it as possible. The
same qualities are desirable in raisin grapes, with the addition of
large size of the berries. With shipping grapes, the size and
perfection of the berries and bunches are the most essential
characteristics. The vine, therefore, should be so formed that each
bunch hangs clear, free from injurious contact with canes or soil and
equally exposed to light and air.
The maximum returns in crop depend on the early bearing of young
vines, the regularity of bearing of mature vines and the longevity of
the vineyard. These are insured by careful attention to all the
details of pruning, but are possible only when the vines are given a
suitable form.
The running expenses of a vineyard depend in a great measure on the
style of pruning adopted. Vines of suitable form are cultivated,
pruned and the crop gathered easily and cheaply. This depends also
both on the form of vine adopted and on care in details.
It is impossible, therefore, to state for any particular variety or
any particular location the best style of pruning to be adopted. All
that can be done is to give the general characteristics of the variety
and to indicate how these may be modified by grafting, soil or
climatic or other conditions.
The most important characteristic of the variety in making a choice of
a pruning system is whether it normally or usually requires short,
half-long, or long pruning. With this idea, the principal grapes grown
in California, together with all those grown at the Experiment Station
on which data exist, have been divided into five groups in the
following list:
1. _Varieties which require long pruning under all
conditions._--Clairette blanche, Corinth white and black, Seedless
Sultana, Sultanina white (Thompson's Seedless) and rose.
2. _Varieties which usually require long pruning._--Bastardo, Boal de
Madeira, Chardonay, Chauché gris and noir, Colombar, Crabbe's Black
Burgundy, Durif, Gamais, Kleinberger, Luglienga, Marsanne, Marzemino,
Merlot, Meunier, Muscadelle de Bordelais, Nebbiolo, Pagadebito,
Peverella, Pinots, Rieslings, Robin noir, Ruländer, Sauvignon blanc,
Semillon, Serine, Petite Sirah, Slancamenca, Steinschiller, Tinta Cao,
Tinta Madeira, Trousseau, Verdelho, Petit Verdot, Wälcherisling.
3. _Varieties which usually require short pruning._--Aleatico,
Aligoté, Aspiran, Bakator, Bouschets, Blaue Elbe, Beba, Bonarda,
Barbarossa, Catarattu, Charbono, Chasselas, Freisa, Frontignan,
Furmint, Grand noir, Grosseblaue, Green Hungarian, Malmsey, Mantuo,
Monica, Mission, Moscatello fino, Mourisco branco, Mourisco preto,
Negro amaro, Palomino, Pedro Zumbon, Perruno, Pizzutello di Roma,
Black Prince, West's White Prolific, Quagliano, Rodites, Rozaki, Tinta
Amarella, Vernaccia bianca, Vernaccia Sarda.
4. _Varieties which require short pruning under all
conditions._--Aramon, Burger, Chardonay, Chauché gris and noir,
Colombar, Crabbe's Black Burgundy, Durif, Black Morocco, Mourastel,
Muscat of Alexander, Napoleon, Picpoule blanc and noir, Flame Tokay,
Ugni blanc, Verdal, Zinfandel.
5. _Varieties of table grapes which usually require half-long or
cordon pruning._--Almeria (Ohanez), Bellino, Bermestia bianca and
violacea, Cipro nero, Dattier de Beirut, Cornichon, Emperor, Black
Ferrara, Malaga, Olivette de Cadenet, Pis-de-Chevre blanc,
Schiradzouli, Zabalkanski.
These lists must not be taken as indicating absolutely for all cases
how these varieties are to be pruned. They simply indicate their
natural tendencies. Certain methods and conditions tend to make vines
more fruitful. Where these occur, shorter pruning than is indicated
may be advisable. On the other hand, other methods and conditions tend
to make the vines vigorous at the expense of fruitfulness. Where these
occur, longer pruning may be advisable.
The more usual factors which tend towards _fruitfulness_ are:
Grafting on resistant vines, especially on certain varieties such as
those of Riparia and Berlandieri;
Old age of the vines;
Mechanical or other injuries to any part of the vine;
Large development of the trunk, as in the cordon systems.
The more usual factors which tend towards _vigor_ at the expense of
fruitfulness are:
Rich soil, especially large amounts of humus and nitrogen;
Youth of the vines;
Excessive irrigation or rainfall (within limits).
In deciding what system of pruning to adopt, all these factors,
together with the nature of the vine and the uses to which the fruit
is to be put, must be considered. It is best when the vineyard is
started to err on the side of short pruning. While this may diminish
slightly the first one or two crops, the vines will gain in vigor and
the loss will be made up in subsequent crops. If the style of pruning
adopted results in excessive vigor of the vines, it should be
gradually changed in the direction of longer pruning with the object
of utilizing this vigor in the production of crop.
This change should be gradual, or the risk is run of injuring the
vitality of the vines by one or two excessively heavy crops.
Finally, each year the condition of the individual vine should
determine the kind of pruning to be adopted. If the vine appears weak,
from whatever cause, it should be pruned shorter or given less spurs
or fruit canes than the year before. On the contrary, if it appears
unnecessarily vigorous, more or longer spurs or fruit canes should be
left. Every vine should be judged by itself. It is not possible to
give more than general directions for the pruning of the whole
vineyard. It cannot be well pruned unless the men who do the actual
pruning are capable of using sufficient judgment to properly modify
their methods for each individual vine.
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.--Eaton (×4/5).]
CHAPTER X
EUROPEAN GRAPES IN EASTERN AMERICA
As we have seen, there were many efforts to grow European grapes in
America during the first two centuries in the settlement of the
country. The various attempts, some involving individuals, others
corporations and in early days even colonies, form about the most
instructive and dramatic episodes in the history of American
agriculture. All endeavors, it will be remembered, were failures, so
dismally and pathetically complete that we are wont to think of the
two hundred years from the first settlements in America to the
introduction of the Isabella, a native grape, as time wasted in futile
culture of a foreign fruit. The early efforts were far from wasted,
however, for out of the tribulations of two centuries of grape-growing
came the domestication of our native grapes, one of the most
remarkable achievements of agriculture.
The advent of Isabella and Catawba wholly turned the thoughts of
vineyardists from Old World to New World grapes. So completely,
indeed, were viticulturists won by the thousand and more native
grapes, that for the century which followed no one has planted Old
World grapes east of the Rockies, while vineyards of native species
may be found North and South from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Meanwhile, much new knowledge has come to agriculture, old fallacies
have received many hard knocks and chains of tradition in which the
culture of plants was bound, have been broken. In no field of
agriculture have workers received greater aid from science than in
viticulture. Particularly is this true of the diseases of the vine.
The reports of the old experimenters were much the same, "a sickness
takes hold of the vines and they die." What the sickness was and
whether there were preventatives or remedies, no one knew a hundred
years ago. But in the last half century we have learned much about the
ills of grapes and now know preventatives or remedies for most of
them. We know also that the early vine-growers failed, in part at
least, because they followed empirical European practices. Is it not
possible that with the new knowledge we can now grow European grapes
in eastern America? The New York Agricultural Experiment Station has
put this question to test, with results indicating that European
grapes may now be grown successfully in eastern America. The following
is an account of the work with this fruit at the New York Station.
EUROPEAN GRAPES AT THE NEW YORK EXPERIMENT STATION[17]
In the spring of 1911, the Station obtained cuttings of 101 varieties
of European grapes from the United States Department of Agriculture
and the University of California. The cuttings obtained were grafted
on the roots of a heterogeneous collection of seedlings, five years
set, representing a half dozen species of Vitis. These stocks had
little to recommend them except that all were vigorous, well
established and all were more immune to phylloxera than the Old World
varieties. From four to six grafts of each of the hundred varieties
were made and a stand of 380 vines resulted, the percentage of loss
being exceedingly small. The success in grafting was probably due to
the method used, the value of which had been proved in previous work
on the Station grounds. The method of grafting and details of care
follow:
_Details of care._
In grafting, the earth was removed from the plants to a depth of two
or three inches. The vines were sawed squarely off below the surface
of the ground. The stock was then split for a cleft graft. Two cions,
made as described on page 46, were inserted in each cleft and tied in
place with waxed string. Wax was not used as it does not stick in
grafting grapes, because of the bleeding of the stock. After setting
the cion, the earth was replaced and enough more of it used to cover
stock and cion to prevent evaporation. This method of grafting is
available to those who have old vineyards. It is so simple that the
veriest tyro can thus graft grapes. Were young plants or cuttings used
as stocks, some method of bench grafting would, of course, be resorted
to.
The cultivation and spraying were precisely that given native grapes.
There has been no coddling of vines. The fungous diseases which helped
to destroy the vineyards and vexed the souls of the old experimenters
were kept in check by two sprayings with bordeaux mixture; the first
application was made just after the fruit set, the second when the
grapes were two-thirds grown. Some years a third spraying with a
tobacco concoction was used to keep thrips in check. Phylloxera was
present in the vineyard but none of the varieties seemed to suffer
from this pest. The stocks used were not those best suited either to
the vines grafted on them or to resist phylloxera. Unquestionably some
of the standard sorts used in France and California from _Vitis
rupestris_ or _Vitis vulpina_, or hybrids of these species, would give
better results. From theoretical consideration, it would seem that the
_Vitis vulpina_ stocks should be best suited to the needs of eastern
America.
It was thought by the old experimenters that European grapes failed in
New York because of unfavorable climatic conditions. It was said that
the winters were too cold and the summers too hot and dry for this
grape. During the years the Station vineyard of Viniferas has been in
existence, there have been stresses of all kinds of weather to which
the variable climate of New York is subject. Two winters have been
exceedingly cold, killing peach and pear trees; one summer gave the
hottest weather and hottest day in twenty-five years; the vines have
withstood two severe summer droughts and three cold, wet summers.
These test seasons have proved that European grapes will stand the
climate of New York as well as the native varieties except in the
matter of cold; they must have winter protection.
To growers of American grapes, the extra work of winter protection
seems to be an insuperable obstacle. The experience of several seasons
in New York shows that winter protection is a cheap and simple matter.
Two methods have been used; vines have been covered with earth and
others have been wrapped with straw. The earth covering is cheaper and
more efficient. The vines are pruned and placed full length on the
ground and covered with a few inches of earth. The cost of winter
protection will run from two to three cents a vine. Since European
vines are much more productive than those of American grapes, the
added cost of winter protection is more than offset by the greater
yield of grapes. Trellising, also, is simpler and less expensive for
the European grapes, helping further to offset the cost of winter
protection.
_Pruning._
It is apparent at once that European grapes must have special
treatment in pruning if they are to be laid on the ground annually.
Several modifications of European and California practices can be
employed in the East to bring the plants in condition for winter
laying-down. All methods of pruning must have this in common; new wood
must be brought up from the base of the plant every year to permit
bending the plant. This can be done by leaving a replacing spur at
the base of the trunk. If two-eye cions are used when the plants are
grafted and both buds grow, the shoot from the upper can be used to
form the main trunk, while that from the lower bud will supply the
replacing spur. Each year all but one of the canes coming from this
spur are removed and the remaining one is cut back to one or two buds
until the main trunk begins to be too stiff to bend down readily, then
one cane from the spur is left for a new trunk and another is pruned
for a new renewal spur.
The main trunk is carried up only to the lower wire of the trellis. At
the winter pruning, two one-year canes are selected to be tied along
this wire, one on each side, and the two renewal spurs chosen for
tying up and new renewal spurs left. For the best production,
different varieties require different lengths of fruit canes, but the
work at Geneva has not progressed far enough so that recommendations
can be made for particular varieties. It has been found best, however,
to prune weak vines heavily and vigorous ones lightly. Under normal
conditions, from four to eight buds are left on each cane, depending
on the vigor of the vine. With some of the older seedlings used for
stocks in 1911 which were so large that two cions were used, and in
many of those where the roots seemed to have sufficient vigor to
support the larger top, two trunks were formed, one from each graft.
By spreading these into a V and making the inner arms shorter, very
satisfactory results were secured.
The type of growth in Vinifera is different from that of native
grapes. The young shoots which spring from the one-year canes, instead
of trailing to the ground or running out along the trellis wires, grow
erect. Advantage must be taken of this in the pruning system adopted
in the East. The canes and the renewal spurs as described above are
tied along the lower wire; then the young shoots which come from these
grow upward to the second wire. When the shoots are four to six
inches above this wire, they are pinched off just above the wire and
any which have not already fastened themselves are tied to prevent the
wind breaking them off. At the same time, if any of the axial buds on
the shoots have begun to form secondary shoots, they are rubbed off,
beginning with the node next above the upper cluster and going down to
the old cane. This gives the cluster more room and better light. Soon
after the first heading-back, the upper buds of the young shoot start
lateral growth. The secondary branches usually grow upright and when
they are several inches high they are topped with a sickle. This
heading-back results in stockier and more mature canes for the
following year, and if properly done adds to the fruitfulness of the
vine and the fruit matures better.
_General considerations._
The grower of European grapes grafted on American vines may be
prepared to be surprised at the growth the vines make. At the end of
the first season, the grafts attain the magnitude of full-sized vines;
the second season they begin to fruit more or less abundantly, and the
third year they produce approximately the same number of bunches as a
Concord or Niagara vine; and, as the bunches of most varieties are
larger than those of the American grapes, the yield, therefore, is
greater. The European varieties, also, may be set more closely than
the American sorts, since they are seldom such rampant growers.
It is too early to reason from this short experiment that we are to
grow varieties of European grapes commonly in the East, but the
behavior of the vines under discussion seems to indicate that we may
do so. At the New York Station, the European varieties are as vigorous
and thrifty as American vines and quite as easily managed. Why may we
not grow these grapes if we protect them from phylloxera, fungi and
cold? In Europe, there are varieties of grapes for nearly every soil
and condition in the southern half of the continent. In eastern
Europe and western Asia, the vines must be protected just as they must
be protected here. It seems almost certain that from the many sorts
selected to meet the various conditions of Europe, we shall be able to
find kinds to meet the diverse soils and climates of this continent.
And here we have one of the chief reasons for wishing to grow these
grapes that American grape-growing may not be so localized as at
present. Probably we shall find that European grapes can be grown
under a greater diversity of conditions than native varieties.
The culture of European grapes in the East gives this region
essentially a new fruit. If any considerable degree of success attends
their culture, wine-making in eastern America will be revolutionized,
for the European grapes are far superior to the native sorts for this
purpose. Varieties of these grapes have a higher sugar- and
solid-content than do those of the American species and for this
reason, as a rule, keep longer. We may thus expect that through these
grapes the season for this fruit will be extended. The European
varieties are better flavored, possessing a more delicate and a richer
vinous flavor, a more agreeable aroma, and are lacking in the acidity
and the obnoxious foxy taste of many American grapes. Many consumers
of fruit will like them better and the demand for grapes thus will be
increased.
The advent of the European grape in the vineyards of eastern America
ought to greatly increase the production of hybrids between this
species and the American species of grapes. As we have seen, there are
many such hybrids, but curiously enough scarcely more than a half
dozen varieties of European grapes have been used in crossing. Most of
these have been greenhouse grapes and not those that could be expected
to give best results for vineyard culture. As we come to know the
varieties best adapted to American conditions, we ought to be able to
select European parents to better advantage than we have done in the
past and by using them produce better hybrid sorts.
_Varieties._
From the eighty-five varieties of European grapes now fruiting on the
grounds of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, the following
are named as worth trying in the East for table grapes: Actoni,
Bakator, Chasselas Golden, Chasselas Rose, Feher Szagos, Gray Pinot,
Lignan Blanc, Malvasia, Muscat Hamburg, Palomino and Rosaki. These and
other European grapes are described in Chapter XVIII; Chasselas Golden
and Malvasia are illustrated in Plate V.
[Illustration: PLATE XV.--Eclipse (×2/3).]
CHAPTER XI
GRAPES UNDER GLASS
Grape-growing under glass is on the decline in America. Forty or fifty
years ago the industry was a considerable one, grapes being rather
commonly grown near all large cities for the market, and nearly every
large estate possessing a range of glass had a grapery. But grapes are
better and more cheaply grown in Europe than in America, and the
advent of quick transportation permits English, French and Belgian
grape-growers to send their wares to American markets more cheaply
than they can be grown at home. For the present, the world war has
stopped the importation of luxuries from Europe, and American
gardeners ought to find the culture of grapes under glass profitable;
they may expect also to be able to hold the markets for many years to
come because of the destruction of Belgian houses and the shortage of
labor in Europe resulting from the war.
Amateur gardeners ought never to let the culture of grapes under glass
wane, since the hot-house grape is the consummation of the gardener's
skill. Certainly the forcing of no other fruit yields such generous
rewards. Grapes grown under glass are handsomer in appearance and
better in quality than those grown out-of-doors. The clusters often
attain enormous size, a weight of twenty to thirty pounds being not
uncommon. The impression prevails that to grow grapes under glass, one
must have expensive houses; this is not necessary, and "hot-house
grapes" is a misnomer, the fruit really being grown in cold or
relatively cool houses which need not be expensive. Grapes are grown
under glass with greater ease and certainty than is imagined by those
who form the opinion from buying the fruit at high prices in
delicatessen stores. A grapery need not be an expensive luxury, and
the culture of grapes under glass can be recommended to persons of
moderate means who are looking for a horticultural hobby.
THE GRAPERY
Almost any of the various modifications of greenhouses can be adapted
to growing grapes. Firms constructing greenhouses usually have had
experience in building graperies, and, as a rule, it will pay to have
these professional builders put up the house. If the actual work is
not done by a builder, it is possible to purchase plans and estimates,
from which, if sufficiently detailed, local builders can work. On
small places there is no doubt that the lean-to houses are most
suitable, being inexpensive and furnishing protection from prevailing
winds. These lean-tos should face the south and may be built against
the stable, garage or other building; or better, a brick or stone wall
to the north may be erected. It is possible to build a small grapery
as a lean-to out of hot-house sash.
In commercial establishments and for large estates, where the grapery
must be more or less ornamental, a span-roof house is rather better
adapted to the grapery than a lean-to, especially if the house is not
to be used for the production of grapes early in the season. On
account of the exposure of the span-roof house on all sides, however,
rather more skill must be exercised in growing grapes in them than in
the better protected lean-to grapery. Whatever the house, it must be
so constructed as to furnish an abundance of light, a requisite in
which much is gained by having large-size glasses for the glazing. The
glass must be of the best quality, otherwise the foliage and fruit
may be blistered by the sun's rays being focused through defective
spots.
Light, heat, moisture and good ventilation are all required in the
grapery. Brick or stone are preferable to woodwork, as heat and
moisture in the grapery are quickly destructive to wood foundations.
If wood is used, only the most durable kinds should enter into the
construction of the house. The under structure of masonry or of wood
should be low, not higher than 18 inches or 2 feet before the
superstructure of glass begins. The grapery must be well ventilated.
There must be large ventilators at the peak of the house and small
ones just above the foundation walls or in the foundation walls
themselves. The ventilation should be such that the house can be kept
free from draughts or sudden changes of temperature, as the grape
under glass is a sensitive plant, and subject to mildew. Plenty of
air, therefore, is an absolute necessity to the grapes, especially
during the ripening of the fruit. The lower ventilators in graperies
are seldom much used until the grapes begin to color, at which time
the new growth, foliage and fruit are hardened, but from this time on
upper and lower ventilators must be so manipulated that the houses are
always generously aired.
Grapes can be forced in cold houses without the aid of artificial heat
and formerly these cold graperies were very popular; but in the modern
houses for growing this fruit, artificial heat is now considered a
necessity, even though the heating apparatus may seldom be in use. For
a finely finished product, a little heat to warm the room and dry the
atmosphere may be absolutely necessary at a critical time, this often
saving a house of grapes. Of heating apparatus, little need be said.
Standard boilers for heating greenhouses with either steam or hot
water are now to be purchased of many designs for almost every style
and condition of house. Since the grapery seldom requires high heat,
hot water is rather to be preferred to steam, although there is no
objection to steam, especially if the grapery is a part of a large
range of glass.
_The border._
The border in which the vines are to be planted is the most important
part of the grapery. All subsequent efforts fail if the border lacks
in two imperatives, good drainage and a soil that is rich but not too
rich. The grapery must be built on well-drained land or elevated above
the ground to permit the construction of a properly drained border.
"Border," in the sense of its being a strip or a narrow bed just
inside the house, is now a misnomer, though the name undoubtedly comes
from the fact that narrow beds inside the house were at one time used
in which to plant vines. The border in a modern grapery now occupies
all of the ground surface inside the house and may extend several feet
outside the house.
Much skill is required in building the border. A good formula is: Six
parts loamy turf from an old pasture; one part of well-rotted cow
manure; one part of old plaster and one part of ground bone. These
ingredients are composted and if the work is well done will meet very
well the soil and food requirements of the grape. This formula can be
varied according to soil conditions and somewhat in accordance with
the variety planted. Unless natural drainage is well-nigh perfect, the
border must be under-drained with tile and in any case a layer of old
brick or stone is needful to make certain that the drainage is
perfect. At least two feet, better three feet, of the border compost
should be placed above the drainage material. In a border made as
described, the grape finds ample root-run, but not too much, as in a
surprisingly short time roots are found throughout all parts of this
extensive border.
The care of the border is a matter of considerable moment and varies,
of course, with those in charge. The usual procedure is to spade the
outside border, if the border extends outside, before winter, after
which it is covered with a coating of well-rotted manure, without any
particular attempt having been made to keep out the frost, as a
certain amount of freezing outside of the house is held to be
beneficial. The inside border must be spaded just before the vines are
started in the spring, having been covered previously with well-rotted
manure. The time at which the vines are to be started in growth is
determined by whether an early or a late crop of grapes is wanted. For
an early crop, the vines must be started early in February; for a late
crop, a month or even two months later suffices. So started, the first
crop of grapes comes on in June or July, the later ones following in
August or September.
It is related that Napoleon I, to secure saltpetre for making
gunpowder, composted "filth, dead animals, urine and offal with
alternate layers of turf and lime mortar," and asserted that "a
nitre-bed is the very pattern of a vine-border" and that "when the
materials have been turned over and over again for a year or two they
are in exactly the proper state to yield either gunpowder or grapes."
Napoleon's niter-bed is not now considered a good model for a
grape-border, as the fruit produced in so rich a soil, though
abundant, is coarse and poorly flavored, and the vines complete their
own destruction by over-bearing. Gardeners hold that a grape-border
may be too rich in plant-food, especially too rich in nitrogen.
VARIETIES
Out of the 2000 or more Vinifera grapes, probably not more than a
score are grown under glass, and of these but a half dozen are
commonly grown. Black varieties have the preference for indoors,
especially if grown for the market, where they bring the highest
prices. They are also as a rule more easily handled indoors than the
white sorts. However, as we shall see, one or two white kinds are
indispensable in a house of any considerable size.
Of black grapes, Black Hamburg carries the palm of merit because it is
most easily grown, best stands neglect, is a heavy producer, sets its
fruit well, the grapes mature early; and, in particular, it meets the
requirements of the unskilled gardener better than any other grape.
The clusters are not as large and the flavor not as good as that of
some other sorts.
Muscat of Alexandria is the best of the white varieties. It is,
however, a hard grape to handle since it requires a high temperature
to bring it to perfection, is a little shy in setting fruit and the
grapes are not very certain in coming to maturity; it also requires a
long season. A good quality is that it may be kept long after cutting,
much longer than Black Hamburg.
For an earlier white grape, Buckland Sweetwater has much to recommend
it; it ripens from two to three weeks earlier than Muscat of
Alexandria and is much more easily grown. It is good in quality but
not of high quality. Buckland Sweetwater may be well grown in the
house with Black Hamburg, whereas it is almost impossible to grow
Muscat of Alexandria in the same house with Black Hamburg.
Muscat Hamburg is a cross between Black Hamburg and Muscat of
Alexandria, and is an intermediate in most fruit characters between
these two standard sorts. It is not, however, very generally grown,
although it well deserves to be because of its large, beautiful,
tapering clusters of black grapes of finest quality.
Grizzly Frontignan adds novelty to luxury in the list of indoor
grapes. The fruits are mottled pink in color, deepening sometimes to a
dark shade of pink, and are borne in long, slender clusters. The
grapes ripen early and are unsurpassed in quality but are, all in all,
rather difficult to grow.
Barbarossa and Gros Colman are the two best late black grapes,
especially for those who are ambitious to grow clusters of large size
with large berries. Both are very good in quality. Neither of the two
is particularly easy to grow, since they require a long time to ripen;
but, to offset this, both keep longer than any other sorts after
ripening. Because of the large size of the berries, thinning must
begin early and must be rather more severe than with other grapes.
This variety is now largely grown in England for exportation to this
country in early spring.
White Nice and Syrian are two white sorts which attain largest size in
clusters, specimens weighing thirty pounds being not infrequent, but
are coarse and poor in quality and are, therefore, hardly worth
growing.
Alicante is a black sort often grown for the sake of variety, since it
departs from the Vinifera type rather markedly in flavor. The grapes
have very thick skins and may be kept longer than those of any other
variety.
Lady Downs is another late-keeping black grape of highest quality, but
difficult to grow. The bunches and berries are small in comparison
with other standard sorts, characters that do not commend the variety
to most gardeners.
Perhaps a dozen more sorts might be named worthy of trial in American
graperies, but the list given covers the needs of commercial
establishments and will meet the wants of most amateur growers.
PLANTING AND TRAINING
Two-year-old vines are most commonly planted. The vines are set inside
the house at least a foot from the walls and four feet apart. The
grapery must be built on piers with spaces of at least two feet
between, and the vines are placed opposite these openings in the
foundation. When planted, the vines are cut back to two or three buds,
and when these start the strongest are selected for training, the
others being rubbed off. The grapery must be strung with wires
running lengthwise of the house at about fifteen inches from the
glass. Greenhouse supply merchants furnish at a low price cast iron
brackets to be fastened to the rafters to hold these wires. As the
growing vines reach one wire after another, they are tied with raffia
to hold them in place. Usually, young vines will reach the peak of the
house by midsummer, and as soon as this goal is attained must be
pinched so that the cane may thicken up and store food in the lateral
buds for the coming season. When the wood is well matured, the vine is
cut back to half or one-third its length, depending on the variety,
laid on the ground and covered for the winter. An item of no small
importance in winter care is to keep out mice, this pest being
inordinately fond of grape buds, and once the buds are destroyed the
vines are ruined for the coming season.
The second year's work is largely a repetition of that of the first.
The vines are permitted to reach the peak of the house and are again
stopped by pinching. A considerable number of laterals spring up on
each side of the main vine, and these must be thinned as they develop
to stand at the distance apart of the wires to which they are
fastened. This is pre-supposing that the gardener has chosen the spur
method of pruning, the method generally used in America and the one,
all things considered, which gives best results. The selection of the
laterals the second year, therefore, is a matter of much importance
since spurs are to be developed from them. Care should be taken to
have these spurs regularly distributed over the length of the vine.
This second year, grapes must not be permitted to develop on the
terminal shoots, but a few clusters may be taken from the laterals in
which case the laterals are pinched two buds beyond the cluster, the
pinching continuing throughout the season if the laterals persist in
breaking, as they will do in most cases. At the end of the season, the
terminal is shortened at least one-half, and the laterals are pinched
back to a bud as close as possible to the main stem. The vines are
then put down for the winter as at the close of the first season.
The work of the third season is a repetition of that of the second,
with the exception that the vine is permitted to fruit throughout its
whole length, although not more than one pound of fruit to a foot of
main vine is permitted. The plants are now established and the only
pruning in this and succeeding years is to cut the laterals at the
close of each season close to the main stem, leaving strong healthy
buds of which at least one, usually more, will be found close to the
stem. If more than one bud starts, only the strongest is chosen,
although often an extra one is needed to fill a vacancy on the
opposite side. After the third or fourth season, depending somewhat on
the variety, two pounds of fruit or more to the foot of the main stem
can be permitted. The novice, however, is likely to permit his vines
to overbear with the result that the crop is cast, or the berries
rattle, or the fruit turns sour before ripening. From the beginning to
the finish of the season, in this method of pruning, much pinching of
laterals is required. No hard and fast rule can be laid down for this
pinching, but, roughly speaking, all new growth beyond the second
joint from the cluster should be pinched out as fast as it shows. With
most varieties, this means that the lateral is kept about eighteen
inches from the main stem. After a few years, well-developed spurs
form at the base of the original laterals, and from these spurs the
new wood comes year after year.
An alternative method of pruning is to permit the new canes to grow up
from a bud near the ground each season. When the vine is well
established, this new cane is fruited throughout its entire length,
the laterals being pinched as described under the spur method. This
method of pruning is known as "the long cane method." Gardeners hold
that they can grow better fruit with this than with the spur method,
but the difficulties are greater and the crop is not as large.
CARE OF THE VINES
With the cultivation of all varieties indoors, more clusters set than
the vines can carry. This means that a part of the clusters must be
removed, an operation that depends on the variety and one that
requires experience and judgment on the part of the gardener. Roughly
speaking, half the clusters are taken, leaving the other half as
evenly distributed on each side of the vine as possible. The time to
take these clusters is also a delicate matter, since some sorts are
shy in setting and the clusters must not be taken until the berries
are formed and it can be seen how large the crop will be. As a rule,
however, this thinning of clusters may be begun as soon as the form of
the cluster can be seen.
It is very necessary also, especially with all sorts bearing large
berries, that grapes be thinned in the cluster. The time to thin the
cluster varies with the variety. Sorts which set fruit freely can be
thinned sooner than those which are shy in setting. On the one hand,
the thinning must not be done too soon as it cannot be told until the
berries are of fair size which have set seed and which have not;
however, if thinning is neglected too long, the berries become
over-crowded and the task becomes difficult. The thinning is performed
with slender scissors, and the bunches must not be touched with the
hand, as touching impairs the bloom and disfigures the fruit. The
clusters are turned and steadied by a small piece of pencil-shaped
wood. Thinning is practiced not only to permit the berries to attain
their full size but also to permit the bunches to attain as great size
as possible. If too severely thinned, the clusters flatten out after
maturity. This is especially the case when too many berries are taken
from the center of the bunch. A large cluster of grapes is made up of
several small clusters, making it necessary to tie up the upper
clusters or shoulders of the bunch to permit the berries to swell
without being thinned too severely. Grapes intended for long keeping
require more thinning than those to be used at once after picking,
since, in keeping, the berries mold or damp-off in the center of the
bunch if it is too compact.
The vines in the grapery must be watered with considerable care. The
amount of water to be used depends on the composition of the borders
and the season of growth. If the border is loose and well-drained, the
supply of water must be large; if close and retentive, but a small
amount of moisture is required. Watering must not be done during the
period of blossoming, since dry air is necessary for proper
pollination. When the grapes begin to show color, the vines are
heavily watered, after which little if any water is applied. Some
gardeners mulch the vines with hay to retain the moisture in the house
and keep the atmosphere dry.
Ventilating the grapery is another important detail of the season's
work. Proper ventilation is difficult to secure in the early spring
months when the dryness of the sun on the one hand, and cold air on
the other, make it difficult to avoid draughts and regulate the
temperature. Another troublesome time is when the grapes begin to
color, as it is then necessary for the grapery to have air at night;
but when too much air enters, there is danger from mildew. Towards the
end of the season, all parts of the plant become harder in texture and
the grapery may then be more generously aired. After the fruit is cut,
the houses are ventilated in full so that the wood may ripen properly.
PESTS
Several pests vex the gardener in growing grapes indoors. Of these,
mealy-bug, red-spider, thrips and mildew are most troublesome. In a
well-conducted grapery, there is never an intermission in the warfare
against these pests.
Mealy-bug is usually a sign of sloth on the part of the gardener. In
a grapery devoted exclusively to grape-growing, it should never be
seen, but, since gardeners must often grow other plants in the
grapery, mealy-bug sooner or later appears and is often hard to
dislodge. It is best repelled by removing the loose bark on the trunks
which harbor the pest and then washing with kerosene emulsion. When
this becomes necessary, not only the vines but the rafters and all
parts of the house should be sprayed with the emulsion.
Red-spider is another pest usually found in the grapery, but it
thrives only in a dry atmosphere and is easily gotten rid of by
syringing. As soon as red-spider appears in a house its appearance is
usually known by the reddish tinge on the foliage; syringing should be
kept up until the pest is disposed of, keeping the house damp in all
except dull weather. Syringing is done only when plenty of air can be
given and when it can be followed by sunlight so that the water
remains on the vines as short a time as possible.
Thrips, another small insect, is sometimes troublesome but not often
and is now easily controlled by applications of nicotine. Much care
must be taken in the application of nicotine late in the season,
otherwise the fruit will be injured.
The only fungous disease of the grape troublesome in the greenhouse is
mildew. Mildew is usually brought on by a sudden change of temperature
or by draughts in the grapery. Gardeners are of the opinion that east
winds, in particular, give unfavorable conditions for mildew and
prefer to open the ventilators to the west. If taken in time, mildew
is easily kept in check by preventing the conditions which favor it,
and by dusting the vines in dry sunshine with sulfur.
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.--Elvira (×2/3).]
CHAPTER XII
GRAPE PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL
In common with other cultivated fruits, grapes are at the mercy of
numerous insect and fungous pests unless man intervenes with remedial
or preventive treatment. Happily for viticulture, knowledge of the
pests of the vine has made such advancement in recent years that
practically all are now controlled by remedial or preventive measures.
Possibly no field of agriculture has had greater need, or received
greater aid from science in the study and control of insects and
diseases than grape-growing. A separate treatise would be required to
treat the pathological troubles of the grape fully; only such details
of the life histories of the several pests to be discussed as are
essential to a proper understanding of the control of the parasites
can be given here.
INSECT PESTS
Insects troubling the grapes are numerous, at least 200 having been
described in America, most of which have their habitat on the wild
prototypes of the cultivated vines of this continent. For this reason,
with a few exceptions, the insect pests of the grape in America are
widely distributed, abundant, and, therefore, often very destructive
to vineyards unless vigorously combated. The many pestiferous species
vary greatly in importance, depending on locality, weather and the
variety. Phylloxera, however, the country over, is most common and
deserves first attention.
_Phylloxera._
This minute sucking insect (_Phylloxera vastatrix_), injures the grape
by feeding on its roots. Decay usually follows its work on the roots
and is often more injurious than the harm done directly by the
parasite. This decay is always much more serious on European vines
than on those of our native species. The phylloxera is a native of the
United States east of the Rocky Mountains, from whence it was
introduced into France and from France into California, where it
causes much greater damage than elsewhere in the United States.
Wherever the pest is found, it is more injurious in heavy than in
sandy soils. In fact, in very sandy soils the vines are often
sufficiently resistant to be practically immune.
[Illustration: FIG. 36. Leaf-galls of the phylloxera.]
The life history of the phylloxera is very complex where the different
forms of the insect appear and need not be entered into in detail
here. East of the Rockies, the most evident indication of the presence
of the pest is great numbers of leaf-galls on the under side of the
leaves of the grape as shown in Fig. 36. These galls, however, are
seldom to be seen in California and are not present on Concords and
some other varieties in the East. The winter egg may be taken as the
beginning of the life cycle of the phylloxera. From a single winter
egg a colony may arise, the first insect after hatching making its
way to the leaves where it becomes a gall-maker and gives rise to a
new generation of egg-laying root-feeders. On varieties and in regions
where the gall form is not found, the insect probably goes directly
from the winter egg to the roots. Once the pest is established on the
roots, generation follows generation throughout the growing period of
the vines, as many as seven or eight occurring in one season.
From midsummer until the close of the growing season, some of the eggs
deposited by the root-feeders develop into nymphs which acquire wings
and emerge from the soil to form new colonies from eggs deposited on
the under side of the leaf. An individual insect deposits from three
to six eggs of two sizes, from the larger of which come the females
and these, after fertilization, move to the rough bark of the vine and
deposit the winter egg for the renewal of the cycle.
Several methods of control have been employed in Europe and
California, as treatment by carbon bisulfide injected in the soil;
flooding in vineyards that can be irrigated; confining the vines to
sandy soils; and, most important, planting vines grafted on resistant
stocks, there being great variation in immunity of species of American
grapes to phylloxera. The subject of stocks resistant to this pest has
been discussed in Chapter IV and need not be taken up again. East of
the Rockies, treatment is not necessary with American grapes.
_The grape root-worm._
The grape root-worm is the most harmful of the insect pests of grapes
in the grape-belt along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, Pennsylvania
and New York. This root-worm (Fig. 37) is the larva of a grayish-brown
beetle (_Fidia viticida_), shown in Fig. 38. The worms feed at first
on the rootlets and later on the bark of the larger roots of the vines
so that the injured plants show roots devoid of rootlets and bark
channeled by the pest. So plain is the work of the root-worm that the
grower never need be at a loss as to the cause of vines injured by
this pest. The worms feed during the latter part of the growing
season, reaching full growth at this time. The next June they
transform into pupæ and in late June or early July emerge as adult
beetles.
[Illustration: FIG. 37. The grape root-worm.]
[Illustration: FIG. 38. Root-worm beetle.]
The presence of the adult beetles is more easily detected on the
foliage than is that of the larvæ on the roots, for the feeding
beetles ravenously devour the upper sides of the leaves, leaving
chain-like markings, shown in Fig. 39, their destructiveness
decreasing somewhat after a few days from their first appearance. A
fortnight after the beetles begin their attack on the foliage the
female begins laying her eggs, to the number of 200, placing them
under the rough bark of trunk and cane. These hatch in late July or
August and the young grubs at once seek the roots.
[Illustration: FIG. 39. Injuries caused by beetles of the grape
root-worm.]
Two methods of control have been devised: destruction of the beetles
before they lay their eggs; and destruction of the pupæ while in the
ground. When the beetles are present in large numbers, many of them
may be destroyed by spraying with a mixture of cheap molasses and
arsenate of lead, using molasses at the rate of two gallons to a
hundred gallons of water and the arsenate of lead at the rate of six
pounds. This should be followed by a second spraying a week later,
using bordeaux mixture (4-4-50) and three pounds of arsenate of lead.
This second spray serves to repel migrating beetles from the vines.
The molasses spray is ineffective unless several days of fair weather
follow the spraying, as rain washes the material from the foliage.
Bordeaux mixture is not easily affected by rain. In moderately
infested vineyards, bordeaux mixture and arsenate are used instead of
molasses and arsenate of lead, followed in about ten days with a
second application of the same material.
An effective method of reducing the number of beetles is the
destruction of the pupæ. This is best done by leaving a low ridge of
earth under the vines at the last seasonal cultivation to remain until
most of the larvæ have pupated, and then be leveled with a horse-hoe
and later with a harrow. The horse-hoe and harrow crush many of the
pupæ and break the cells of others to the great destruction of the
pest. This latter method of control is not adequate in itself and in
bad infestations both should be used. When the infestation is only
moderate, this latter method is not advised, owing to the lateness of
the time of horse-hoeing. It is good horticultural practice to
horse-hoe the latter part of May or early June. To wait for the pupal
stage of the root-worm delays the work until numerous small roots
start which would be destroyed by the horse-hoe. Spraying will control
a moderate infestation.
_The grape-vine flea-beetle._
In the warm days of May and June when the buds of grapes are swelling,
a shining steel-blue beetle may often be found in the vineyards of
eastern America feeding on the tender buds of the grape. From its
color the insect is often called the steely-beetle, and from its
activity and habit of jumping it is known as the flea-beetle (_Haltica
chalybea_). The vine is seldom seriously injured by this pest but many
buds are destroyed, causing the loss of the fruit that should have
developed from the buds. It is true that new buds often develop after
the injury, but these, as a rule, produce only foliage.
[Illustration: FIG. 40. Eggs of grape-vine flea-beetle.]
The life history of the flea-beetle is such that the pest is not hard
to control, the chief steps in its development being as follows: The
beetles deposit small orange-colored eggs, cylindrical in form,
illustrated in Fig. 40, about the buds and in crevices of the bark of
the canes in May or June. Most of these eggs are hatched by the middle
of June. The larvæ feed upon the foliage until about July first and
then crawl to the ground in which they form cells and pupate. The
latter part of July the adults emerge and seek wild vines upon which
they feed, entering hibernation rather early in the fall. The beetles
hibernate under leaves, in rubbish and in the shelter of the bark of
trees and vines, but emerge in the warm days the following spring to
seek vineyards.
Two methods of control have been developed to keep this pest under.
The vines should be sprayed with three pounds of arsenate of lead in
fifty gallons of water when the larvæ are feeding on the foliage; or
the beetles when feeding may be knocked into a pan containing a
shallow layer of kerosene. The former is the cheaper and more
effective method provided the grape-grower has the foresight to
discover the larvæ, since the larvæ of this summer produce the beetles
that will destroy the buds next spring. When the adults migrate from
wild vines, or the larvæ were not destroyed in the vineyard,
collecting the adults is the only practical method. The destruction of
wild vines near a vineyard helps to give immunity from this pest.
_The rose-chafer._
The rose-chafer (_Macrodactylus subspinosus_), a long-legged beetle of
a yellowish-brown color, about a third of an inch in length, often
appears in vineyards in vast swarms toward the middle of June in
northern states and about two weeks earlier in southern states east of
the Rocky Mountains. Often they overrun gardens, orchards, vineyards
and nurseries, and usually, after having done a vast amount of damage
in the month of their devastating presence, the beetles disappear as
suddenly as they came. Vineyards on or near sandy soils are most often
infested, the larvæ of the beetle seeming to live in considerable
numbers only in these light soils. The chief damage to the grape is
done to the blossom; in fact the insects, after feeding on the
blossoms during the blossoming period, usually migrate to blossoms of
any one of several shrubs. The larvæ feed on the roots of grasses,
having particular liking for the roots of foxtail, timothy and
blue-grass.
Some knowledge of the life history of these beetles is essential to
effective control. The beetles emerge as adults in June and after
feeding a short time begin to mate, although egg-laying does not take
place until the insects have been out for a fortnight or more. The
females burrow into the soil and deposit their eggs, seldom more than
twenty-five in number, which begin to hatch in about ten days. The
young larvæ feed during the remainder of the summer on roots of
grasses. They are seldom found deeper than six inches while feeding,
but as cold weather approaches they burrow deeper to avoid sudden
changes of temperature. The following spring they again come near the
surface to feed. The grubs form cells from which the pupæ emerge, as
we have seen, about the middle of June, timing their appearance very
closely to the blossoming of Concord grapes.
The methods of control are three, namely: destruction of the larvæ;
cultivation to kill the pupæ; and spraying to kill the beetles. Since
the larvæ feed on the roots of grasses in sandy soils, it is easy to
locate the feeding ground of the pest and plant it to cultivated crops
which destroy the grasses and therefore the larvæ. The second method
of destruction is similar, consisting of cultivation to kill the pupæ.
This is accomplished by thorough cultivation during the pupating stage
to break the cells and crush the pupæ, thus preventing the emergence
of the beetles. The third method, however, is the most effective and
consists of spraying the vineyard with a sweetened arsenical spray.
The spraying should be done as soon as the beetles appear, using
arsenate of lead six pounds, molasses one gallon and water one hundred
gallons. It is often necessary to make a second application a week
later. If rain occurs within thirty-six hours after spraying, the
application should be repeated as soon as the weather clears.
_The grape leaf-hopper._
From Canada to the Gulf and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, wherever
the grape is grown, the small leaf-hopper (_Typhlocyba comes_) infests
the grape in greater or less numbers, feeding on the lower surface of
the leaf. Grape-growers commonly call these insects "thrips," a name,
however, which really belongs to a very different class of insects.
The injury done by this pest varies greatly with the season and the
locality, in some regions it being comparatively harmless and in
others exceedingly destructive in seasons when it occurs in abundance.
There is great variation also in individual vineyards, those near
favorable hibernating places and early spring food plants often being
injured seriously season after season in succession. These
leaf-hoppers obtain their food by piercing the epidermis on the under
side of the leaf surface and sucking the sap, and add further injury
by inserting their eggs underneath the skin of the leaf. The punctures
greatly decrease the starch-producing area of the leaf with the result
that the vigor of the plant is lowered, and the quality of the fruit
decreased.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. First four stages of the grape leaf-hopper.
(Enlarged.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 42. The fifth and the mature stages of the grape
leaf-hopper. (Enlarged.)]
The life history of the leaf-hopper is very well known. The eggs are
deposited in June or early July, and hatch from June 15 to July 10 in
New York, the season being earlier or later as one goes south or
north. The young leaf-hoppers are wingless, the nymph stage, but reach
the adult stage in late July and August, at which time many of them
mate, and eggs are laid from which a second brood may develop,
although usually only one full brood is produced in a season in the
northern states. Figures 41 and 42 show the several life stages of the
leaf-hopper. Insects which become adults in the latter part of July
feed on the foliage until autumn and then seek winter quarters,
passing the winter in the adult stage under fallen leaves, in dead
grass or other similar protection. The hibernating place must be dry
and for this reason sandy knolls are most favored by the insects. The
adults emerge in the warm days of spring and then seek food first on
the strawberry, then migrate to red and black raspberries or
blackberries, if raspberries are not present. They remain upon these
hosts until the grape leaves expand and then migrate to these to feed,
lay their eggs and die.
Three methods of control are in use to prevent the ravages of the
leaf-hopper: avoiding the planting of raspberries near grapes;
spraying with contact insecticides; and the destruction of hibernating
places. Since the leaf-hoppers feed especially on the raspberry before
the leaves of the grape have expanded in the spring, avoiding planting
these two plants near each other is a very effective method of
control. The contact spray must touch the body of the insect and must,
therefore, be applied before the nymphs develop wings. The best spray
is a half pint of Black Leaf 40 to a hundred gallons of water or
bordeaux mixture. It is applied to the under side of the foliage by a
trailing hose or by an automatic grape leaf-hopper spray devised by F.
Z. Hartzell and described in bulletin 344 of the New York Experiment
Station. The destruction of hibernating places is almost as effective
a method of control as spraying. All weeds and strong-stalked grasses
which die in the fall and all rubbish in the vineyard should be
destroyed. It is quite worth while, also, to burn leaves and rubbish
in fence rows and waste places near infested vineyards in the autumn
or early winter. Cover-crops which remain green during the winter do
not harbor the leaf-hoppers.
_The grape-berry moth._
This pest is widely distributed, attacking the grape wherever grown in
North America. The insect feeds on all varieties but is especially
destructive to grapes with tender skins and such as grow in compact
bunches. Its work is detected usually in compact grape clusters where
a number of berries are injured by a "worm." The "worm" is a
dark-colored caterpillar, the larva of the grape-berry moth
(_Polychrosis viteana_.) There are two broods of this caterpillar, the
first of which feeds on the stems and external portions of the young
berries, while the second attacks the berries. The loss to the
fruit-grower is of two kinds, the loss of the fruit and the marring of
clusters which entails the cost of picking out worthless berries.
Figure 43 shows the work of the grape-berry moth. The damage is
usually greatest near woodlands since the trees cause more snow to
lodge in the adjoining vineyards, this protection permitting a greater
percentage of pupæ to survive.
[Illustration: FIG. 43. A bunch of grapes despoiled by the grape-berry
moth.]
The moth passes the winter in the pupal state on leaves underneath the
vine, emerging about the time grapes are blossoming. The sexes then
mate and the eggs are laid on the stems, blossom clusters and newly
set fruit. After reaching full growth, the caterpillars cut out a
portion of the leaf from which they make a pupal case by means of
silken threads, and here pupate for the second brood which emerges in
late July and August. Eggs are laid at once and from these come the
caterpillars which live entirely in the berry. The larvæ leave the
berries about the time the fruit is ripe, form cocoons on the leaves
and hibernate. The moths are small, brown in color, mottled with gray
and so much the color of the grape cane that they can hardly be
detected when resting on the wood.
The grape-berry moth is difficult to control but much can be done to
curtail its ravages. Spraying after the fruit sets is the most
effective preventive. Bordeaux mixture should be used (4-4-50) to
which has been added one and one-half pounds of resin-fish-oil soap
and three pounds arsenate of lead. A second application of the same
spray is advisable in early August. In a small vineyard or with a
slight infestation, it often pays to pick and destroy the berries
infested by the spring brood. Plowing infested vineyards in late fall
or early spring to bury all leaves prevents the emergence of many of
the moths. To be effective, this practice must cover the leaves deeply
directly under the vines and this earth must remain until after the
time for the adults to emerge. Plowing under leaves is not as
effective on sandy as on heavy soils, since sandy soils do not become
sufficiently compact to prevent the escape of moths.
_Insect pests of minor importance._
Of the 200 species of insects that feed more or less on the grape,
entomologists mention several others than those described that in
occasional years or localities become abundant and cause serious
injury. Thus, there are several species of cut-worms which sometimes
feed on the expanding buds of the young leaves of grapes. The damage
of these cut-worms to the grape is greater in California than in other
parts of the United States, but nevertheless they occasionally feed on
the vines in eastern regions to the detriment of the crop. The most
satisfactory control measure for cut-worms is the application of
poisoned bait placed on the ground at the base of the vines.
In California there is a grape root-worm (_Adoxus obscurus_) quite
distinct from the grape root-worm of eastern America which injures
both the roots and the parts of the vine above ground. As in the
eastern species, the best evidence of infestation of this pest is the
narrow chain-like strips eaten out of the leaves, though the insect
also gouges out part of the petioles, pedicels, berries and shoots and
works under ground, eating the rootlets and bark of the larger roots.
Infested vines show a stunted condition, the canes fail to attain a
normal growth and often the vines are killed outright. As in the case
of the eastern species, this root-worm is the larva of a beetle, the
life history of the insect not being greatly different from that of
the eastern beetle. Two methods of control are fairly effective: the
adult beetles may be jarred from the vine and captured on a screen
when the infestation is restricted to small areas; or the beetles may
be poisoned with the arsenical spray recommended for the eastern
species. Both jarring and spraying often have to be repeated as new
infestations appear.
The grape leaf-folder (_Desmia funeralis_) is another insect pest of
vineyards in California, and occasionally in the East, which works,
however, only in restricted localities and in occasional years. In
California, the insects are detected in a vineyard by the
characteristic rolling of the leaves in which a tube rather less than
the diameter of a lead pencil is formed for the home of the larvæ. The
larvæ feed on the free edge of the leaf in the interior of the roll
and are thus protected by the outer layers. In the East the
caterpillar merely folds the edges of the leaves together. This
leaf-folder hibernates as a chrysalis, coming forth in early spring to
lay eggs on the vine shortly after the foliage has appeared. There are
two broods in California and the northern states and three broods in
the southern states. The leaf-folder is easily disposed of by spraying
with an arsenical spray just after the eggs hatch and before the larva
is protected by its roll of leaves.
Still another pest found throughout the United States and especially
destructive in California is the hawk-moth (_Pholus achemon_), the
larvæ of which occasionally do serious damage to small areas of vines.
These larvæ are very similar to the large worms, familiar to all,
which attack the tomato and tobacco. The insect hibernates in the
pupal state in the ground where it may be distinguished as a large
cylindrical object of dark brown color. The moths emerge about the
middle of May and deposit their eggs on the leaves of the grape, upon
which the larvæ when hatched immediately begin to feed. There are
several species of these hawk-moths, all of which have essentially the
same life history. It is not a difficult pest to control since the
larvæ are easily killed with arsenical sprays; or if there are but
occasional specimens they may be picked by hand. There are several
species of the hawk-moth which attack the grape but this is the common
one.
In eastern grape-growing regions, there are two other destructive
grape insects widely distributed, but each noteworthy as pests only in
the Appalachian region of West Virginia and neighboring states. One is
the grape-curculio (_Craponius inæqualis_), not essentially different
from the familiar curculio of the plum and cherry. This snout-beetle
feeds freely on the upper surface of the leaves and the bark of fruit
stems, and the female in laying eggs devours the tissues of the grapes
in excavating her egg chamber. The grape-curculio is effectively
destroyed by spraying with an arsenical spray in the spring as the
beetles appear on the vines and before egg-laying begins.
Another insect pest of this region is the grape-vine root-borer
(_Memythrus polistiformis_) closely allied to the peach-borer, known
by all fruit-growers and the squash-vine borer known to the growers of
vegetables. This borer is the larva of a moth and is a whitish grub
with a brown head which, when fully grown, is about one and
three-quarters inches in length. The body is slender, distinctly
segmented and has a sparse covering of short, stiff hairs. These
larvæ burrow into the grape-root, at first confining themselves to the
softer portions of the bark, often encircling the root several times,
but later bore with the grain of the wood and by the end of the season
so destroy the roots as to leave only the thin membrane of the outer
bark intact. This pest is difficult to deal with. The borers cannot be
removed by "worming" as in the peach, and neither can the roots be
protected by sprays or washes. No one variety of the grape seems more
immune than another. Thorough cultivation in the months of June and
July to destroy the insects while in their cocoons at the surface of
the ground seems to be the only method of stopping their ravages, and
this is not always effective.
FUNGOUS DISEASES OF THE GRAPE
The grape is ravaged by four or five fungous diseases in America,
unless the utmost vigilance is exercised to keep the parasites in
check. Happily for commercial viticulture, there are regions, as we
have seen in the description of grape regions in Chapter I, so
fortunate in their freedom from fungous diseases that there is little
uncertainty in grape-growing and but small expense in controlling
diseases. Also modern science has discovered the life history of all
the important diseases and devised fairly effective means of combating
them.
All of the fungous parasites of the grape in America are indigenous,
having long subsisted on wild vines. They are, therefore, all widely
distributed, and as cultivation has presented to them great numbers of
grape plants in continuous areas, the diseases have increased rapidly
in intensity, at times have swept like wildfire through grape regions
devastating and utterly ruining great areas of vines. Means, however,
are now at hand in remedial and preventive treatment, which, while
because of cost may not permit the grapes to be grown profitably in
all parts of America, do permit their culture for home use in
practically all agricultural districts in the country.
[Illustration: PLATE XVII.--Empire State (×2/3).]
_Black-rot._
[Illustration: FIG. 44. Work of black-rot of the grape.]
This is the most widely distributed and the most destructive fungous
disease of the grape in the region east of the Rocky Mountains.
Fortunately, it is unknown on the Pacific coast. The disease is caused
by a parasitic fungus (_Guignardia Bidwellii_) which gains entrance to
the grape plant by means of minute spores distributed chiefly by wind
and rain. Black-rot passes the winter in mummied grapes, on dead
tendrils or on small, dead areas on the canes. In the spring, the
fungus spreads from these spots to the leaves and forms brown leaf
spots about a fourth of an inch in diameter, or oblong, black spots on
the shoots, leaves, petioles and tendrils. Later the disease spreads
to the fruits, not usually attracting attention until the berries are
at least half grown. Soon after the ravages of the fungus become
apparent on the berries, the fruits turn black, shrivel and become
covered with minute black pustules which contain the summer-spores.
Figure 44 shows the work of black-rot. In the winter and spring,
another form called the winter- or resting-spore is produced upon
these old, shriveled, mummied berries, and these carry the disease
over from one season to another.
Since the disease is carried through the winter in mummied fruits and
diseased wood, the desirability of destroying these mummied grapes and
the leaves and prunings of infected vines as soon as possible is
apparent. This treatment, however, is not sufficient, and the disease
can be effectually controlled only by thorough spraying with bordeaux
mixture (4-4-50). The first application should be made just before the
grape blossoms; the second, shortly after blossoming. The amount of
material applied matters less than evenness in distribution and
fineness of the spray as applied. In rainy seasons, perhaps a third or
a fourth application should be made in regions where the disease is
serious; the third is made when the berries are the size of a pea; the
fourth, as the berries become large enough to touch each other.
_Downy-mildew._
Downy-mildew (_Plasmopara viticola_) rivals black-rot for first place
among fungous diseases of the grape. It is found in all grape regions
east of the Rocky Mountains but does most harm in northern localities.
Like black-rot, downy-mildew attacks all the tender growing parts of
the vine, but is chiefly found on the foliage and is usually less
destructive than black-rot. As first seen on the foliage, the work of
the fungus appears as greenish-yellow, irregular spots upon the upper
surface which later become reddish-brown. At the same time on the
under surface of the leaf, a thin, white downy growth puts forth. The
spores of the fungus are produced on this downy growth, and under
favorable conditions are distributed by wind and water to all tender
parts of the vine, where they germinate and begin their work of
destruction. The fruit is attacked when partly grown, as shown in Fig.
45, becoming covered with the gray down of the fungus, the "gray-rot"
of the grape-grower. If the berries escape the disease until half
grown, the fungus causes a brownish-purple spot that soon covers the
whole grape, giving the disease at this stage the name of "brown-rot."
Besides the summer-spores, another form of reproductive bodies is
produced in the winter to carry the fungus through the resting period.
[Illustration: FIG. 45. Grapes attacked by downy-mildew.]
Downy-mildew, like black-rot, spreads most rapidly and does most
injury in hot, wet weather. As with practically all diseases of the
grape, much can be accomplished in the way of control of the disease
by destroying infested leaves, shoots and berries which contain the
winter spores, but these sanitary measures are not sufficiently
effective and vineyards must be sprayed as recommended for black-rot,
except that the first application should be made before the
blossom-buds appear.
_Powdery-mildew._
Less troublesome than downy-mildew in the East, powdery-mildew
(_Uncinula necator_), unless checked, is capable of destroying the
entire crop of European grapes on the Pacific slope. In the East it
sometimes causes great loss on the several varieties known as "Rogers
hybrids" and, curiously enough, is often a rather serious disease of
the Concord. The disease is caused by a superficial fungus which
passes the winter on fallen leaves and also on the canes. The spores
begin to germinate a few weeks after the grape blossoms, but the
disease is not often found until the grapes are nearly half grown. The
fine white filaments of the fungus, which constitute the vegetative
portion of the parasite, then attack the leaves, shoots and fruit,
sending up short irregular branches on which great numbers of spores
are borne. These give the upper surface of the leaf a gray, powdery
appearance, hence the name. Eventually the diseased leaves become
light brown and if the disease is severe, soon fall. Infected berries
take on a gray, scurfy appearance, speckled with brown, are checked in
growth and often burst on one side, exposing the seeds. The berries,
however, do not become soft and shrunken as when attacked by the
downy-mildew. The disease passes the winter in resting-spores produced
late in the growing season. Powdery-mildew differs from other fungous
diseases of the grape in being more prevalent in hot, dry seasons than
in cold, wet ones.
In eastern America powdery-mildew is controlled by the treatment
recommended for black-rot. When black-rot is not prevalent, two sprays
with bordeaux mixture are recommended; the first in early July and the
second about two weeks later. On the Pacific coast, however,
powdery-mildew or "oïdium" as it is often called there, the name
coming from Europe, is more cheaply and more successfully combated by
dusting with flowers of sulfur. Dusting is often done by hand or with
perforated cans but this is wasteful and uncertain, and any one of
several sulfur-sprayers may be used which does the work better.
_Anthracnose._
Another widespread disease is anthracnose (_Sphaceloma ampelinum_),
called "birds-eye-rot" because of the peculiar spots produced on the
affected fruits, which attacks leaves, shoots and fruits of the vine.
It first appears on the leaves in small, irregular, dark brown sunken
spots with a dark margin. Later it appears on the fruits, having much
the same appearance though the spots are usually larger and more
sunken, the disease being most characteristic on the fruit, however.
Frequently two or more spots unite and so cover the greater part of
the berry. The fruits become hard, more or less wrinkled, and the
diseased area often ruptures, exposing the seed, much as with
powdery-mildew. The spores of the fungus are produced in great numbers
on diseased areas during the growing season and are borne on
thread-like filaments which live throughout the winter in the tissues
of the vine and are ready for new growth in the spring. Winter-spores
have not yet been discovered.
Anthracnose is widely distributed in eastern America but seldom causes
great or general loss, most of the commercial grapes being relatively
immune to the disease. A few sorts rather commonly grown in home
vineyards, as Diamond, Brighton and Agawam, suffer most from
anthracnose. Spraying with bordeaux mixture, as recommended for
black-rot, is usually sufficient to keep the disease in check.
_Dead-arm disease._
A troublesome disease of recent appearance is now doing considerable
damage in the Chautauqua grape-belt along the shores of Lake Erie,
being most common on the Concord. From the fact that it is usually
found on one arm of the vine it is called "dead-arm disease"
(_Cryptosporella viticola_.) The disease is caused by a fungus which
passes the winter in small, black fruiting bodies in the dead parts of
the vine. Early in the spring the fungus spreads by means of spores to
the young shoots and later in the season attacks mature berries,
producing small, black, oblong spots of black-rot. Sooner or later, if
the diseased shoot is not cut off, the fungus spreads to the arms or
trunk of the vine, producing a slow, dry rot which eventually kills
the affected part. Fortunately, the presence of the disease is quickly
detected by small yellowish leaves, much crimped about the margin.
The fungus is easily controlled by marking the diseased arms when the
first symptoms appear and cutting these off at pruning time. If the
vine is much mutilated by such pruning, usually suckers can be brought
up from beneath the surface of the ground to renew the vine. The
applications of bordeaux mixture recommended for black-rot are
valuable in preventing the dead-arm disease. The disease is largely
prevented by renewing the old wood of the vine as soon as the trunk
begins to show a gnarled appearance.
_Shelling._
In eastern America, especially in the Chautauqua grape-belt,
grape-growers not infrequently lose a large part of the crop by the
premature falling of the grapes from the stems. The trouble is an
ancient one and is designated as "shelling" or "rattling." This
premature dropping usually begins at the end of a cluster, and
clusters farthest from the trunk are earliest affected. When vineyards
suffer badly from this shelling, the vines often take on a sickly
appearance, the foliage falling off in color and the outer margins of
the leaves drying up more or less. The fallen fruit has an insipid
taste and is, of course, worthless even if it could be harvested.
The cause of the trouble is not known. Grapes may "rattle" on high
land or low land, on poor soil or rich soil, on heavy or light soil. A
vineyard may be affected one year and not the next. Grape-growers
usually attribute the trouble to faulty nutrition, but applications of
fertilizers have not proved a preventive. Old and well-established
vineyards seem freer from the trouble than new and poorly established
plantings. The most reasonable theory as to the cause of shelling is
that it comes from faulty nutrition of the vine, but the conditions so
affecting the nutrition are not yet satisfactorily determined.
_Diseases of minor importance._
Ripe-rot or bitter-rot (_Glomerella rufomaculans_) is a disease due to
the same fungus causing the bitter-rot of the apple. As the name
indicates, the disease usually appears on the fruit at ripening time
and under favorable conditions continues after the grapes are picked.
It may also attack the leaves and stems. The first indication of the
fungus is the appearance of reddish-brown spots which spread and
eventually cover the whole fruit. The berries do not shrivel, but the
rotted surface becomes dotted with pustules in which the spores are
borne. It is hard to tell how much damage this disease does, but it is
not usually great and the late applications of bordeaux mixture for
black-rot or powdery-mildew are very effective in controlling it.
Crown-gall, now known to be a bacterial disease which causes knots or
galls on the roots of various wild and cultivated plants, sometimes
attacks grape roots or even the vines above ground. Occasionally, the
disease is rather serious, but it is not often to be reckoned with in
the vineyard regions of America. Fungicides are useless in combating
the disease and all that can be done is to exercise great care in
planting infected stock. It is doubtful whether crown-gall ever
seriously injures vines in northern regions, although it may
occasionally do so in the South.
In California there is a somewhat mysterious disease known as "Anaheim
disease," because of its having first made its appearance in the
vicinity of Anaheim. As near as can be learned, the disease first
appeared in 1884 and then spread rapidly from forty to fifty miles
from the point where it began its ravages, causing direct and indirect
loss of many millions of dollars, and leading to the abandonment of
grape-growing in some parts of southern California. Fortunately, in
recent years the Anaheim disease is less aggressive but still does
more or less damage. The nature and the treatment of this disease are
not as yet fully determined, although several experimenters are
studying the trouble. Californians whose vineyards suffer from this
disease should apply to the experiment station at Berkeley for the
latest information in regard to it.
Coulure is another trouble of the vine in California of which little
is yet known, either as to cause or treatment. The term signifies the
failure of the fruit to set or to remain on the clusters. The trouble
occurs in varying degrees from the loss of a few berries to the
complete shelling of the fruit from the stem. It is worse in some
localities than others and in some varieties than others. Various
causes have been assigned to the disease, chief of which, and most
probable, are unfavorable climatic conditions.
CONTROL OF INSECTS AND DISEASES
From the number of insects and diseases found on the grape, it would
seem that, literally, "pestilence walketh in darkness and destruction
wasteth at noonday" in the vineyards of the country. But not many of
the ills that grape-flesh is heir to are ever found in one region, and
the vineyard is seldom attacked by many diseases or insects in a
single season. There was a time, as we have said before, when
grape-growers were so beset by pests which they could not control,
that viticulture was one of the most uncertain fields in agriculture.
But one brilliant discovery after another has brought the pests of the
grape under the hand of man until now there are but few that need
cause much expense in treatment or worry as to the outcome.
Plants cannot be attacked by diseases unless infection is permitted.
It follows that by proper sanitation most of the insect pests of the
vine can be kept out of the vineyard.
_Vineyard sanitation._
By changing or modifying environment, immunity can be secured from
many of the pests of the grape and damage may be reduced with most if
not all. Cultivation, as has been noted under several insect pests and
one or two of the diseases of the grape, is an effective method of
eliminating grape pests. In the case of insects, it destroys the
insects themselves and the hibernating places as well. The vineyard
should never be kept in sod, but always under thorough and frequent
cultivation. Vineyard sanitation is greatly improved, also, if
cover-crops which remain green during the winter are planted after the
last cultivation. Cultivation should usually be preceded by deep
plowing in the fall or spring to turn under fallen leaves and weeds or
grass in which hibernating insects may pass the winter.
The surroundings of the vineyard should be looked after. Fence-rows
and waste lands which cannot be cultivated may often be burned over to
destroy the hibernating places of grape insects. As a rule, it is
unwise to plant the bramble berries or even strawberries in
vineyards, or adjoining vineyards, since these plants afford
hibernating places and food plants for some of the grape insects,
especially the destructive leaf-hopper. Lastly, precaution should be
taken by destroying all wild grape-vines near vineyards, as these
frequently harbor insects and diseases, the flea-beetle finding the
wild grape-vine almost a necessity to its existence.
_Spraying._
Definite rules cannot be laid down for spraying vineyards the country
over. The literature on this subject is plentiful in any state in
which grapes are largely grown, within the reach of the grape-grower,
and is not difficult to understand once it is in hand. Every
grape-grower should secure and study the publications of the state
experiment stations having to do with the control of insects and
diseases.
The number of applications and the sprays to be used vary greatly in
different parts of America. On the Pacific slope the only application
yearly required in most vineyard regions is dusting with flowers of
sulfur for powdery-mildew. Several other pests may, however, from year
to year, or in one locality or another, require special treatment. In
the grape regions of New York, many grape-growers do not spray at all,
but these are usually slovens or procrastinators whose profits are
small and uncertain. In the grape regions of the northeastern states,
orderly vineyardists spray at least once with bordeaux mixture
(4-4-50) in which is put three pounds of arsenate of lead, no matter
how few insects and fungi are present. This treatment is given soon
after the blossoms fall. In more southern regions it may be necessary
to make a similar treatment soon after the first leaves appear, again
after the blossoms fall and every two weeks thereafter until the
grapes begin to turn in color, making as many as four, five or even
six applications in all. To these regular applications of bordeaux
mixture and arsenate of lead, contact insecticides, as some of the
nicotine preparations, may have to be added; or, for special purposes
as specified in discussing the several pests, cheap molasses is added.
It is doubtful, however, whether the grape can be grown with
commercial success where insects and fungi prevail and are so
pestiferous as to require annually more than two or three applications
of spraying mixtures.
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.--Herbert (×2/3).]
CHAPTER XIII
MARKETING THE CROPS AND VINEYARD RETURNS
Viticulture, as all divisions of agriculture, is made up of two quite
distinct phases of activity: growing the crop and marketing the crop.
The subjects to be treated in this and the next chapter belong rather
more to marketing than to cultural activities. Treated in detail,
these operations constitute matter sufficient for a separate treatise,
and only an outline of present practices is in place in a text such as
this devoted to the culture of the fruit. The several operations to be
discussed are picking, packing, storing, shipping and marketing.
HARVESTING IN THE EAST AND NORTH
As the consummation of the care of the vine, the in-gathering of the
crop is celebrated in all European countries with rejoicings in song,
dance and mirth. In America the vintage is less of an event than in
Europe, but it is more picturesque and diverting than the harvest of
most other crops. It is work in which youth and old age, as well as
those in the prime of life in both sexes, can take part and is reputed
as a most healthful occupation. For these reasons, the grape harvest
in America, as in Europe, has somewhat the air of a holiday, so that
workers are usually readily found for the several operations of
harvesting. Laborers come as grapes begin to ripen from near-by cities
and towns and neighboring country-sides in such numbers that the care
of the crop is speedily accomplished.
_Pickers._
As a rule, pickers are hired by the piece rather than by the day,
experience having demonstrated that so paid they do more and better
work. There is usually much diversity in race, age and condition of
life of pickers so that harmonious and efficient work is scarcely
possible without a competent foreman in charge who must often be
assisted by a sub-foreman. Efficient supervision doubles the picking
capacity of a gang of workers, and, moreover, is necessary to see that
the fruit is picked and packed with proper care. In hiring pickers, it
is usually stipulated that a part of the pay is to be reserved until
the close of the season; otherwise those disposed to have a holiday
leave when the weather becomes unpleasant or seek greener pastures
when the grapes become scarce.
_Time to pick._
Unlike some fruits, grapes must not be picked until they are fully
ripe, as unripe grapes do not mature after picking. Grapes not matured
lack the necessary percentage of sugar and solids to keep well and
have not developed their full flavor. Many growers make the mistake of
sending grapes to the market before fully ripe, a mistake easily made
with some varieties because they acquire full color before full
maturity. Color, therefore, is not a good guide as to the time to
pick. In the northern and eastern states, late varieties of grapes may
be allowed to hang on the vines for some little time after maturity,
the late autumn suns giving them a higher degree of sweetness and
perfection. Some growers run the risks of light frosts to further
maturity and to secure the added advantage of the removal of many
leaves from the vines. Ripeness is indicated by a combination of signs
difficult to describe but easily learned by experience. These signs
are: first, a characteristic color; second, full development of flavor
and aroma; third, a softer texture of the pulp and a slight
thickening of the juice so that it is more or less sticky; fourth, the
ends of the stems turn from green to brown; fifth, the berries pull
more readily from their stems; sixth, the seeds are free or more
nearly free from the pulp and usually turn from green to brown.
_Picking appliances._
But few appliances are needed in picking grapes. Shears are a
necessity. These are of special make and can be bought from dealers in
horticultural supplies, costing from 75 cents to $1. Some growers,
after picking, pack the fruit in the field in the receptacles in which
it is to go to market. The greater number, however, pick in trays
which are taken to the packing-house and allowed to stand until the
fruit is wilted before packing for shipment. Trays may be of several
sizes and shapes, but are usually shallow flats holding from
twenty-five to thirty-five pounds. The picked fruit is taken from the
vineyard to the packing-shed in a wagon with flexible springs to
prevent jarring and jolting. Large growers usually have specially
built one-horse platform wagons, the front wheels of which pass under
the platform.
_Picking accounts._
It is no small matter to keep a picking account with pickers.
Business-like growers use one of several kinds of tickets or tags in
keeping accounts. Probably the most common method is to give a ticket
to the picker when the receptacle of grapes is delivered, the grower
either keeping half of the original or a duplicate of it. Objections
to ticket systems are that the pickers often lose the tickets, are
irregular in returning them, or exchange them with other pickers. To
obviate the disadvantages of tickets, some growers use tags which bear
the picker's name and are attached to his person. These tags have
marginal numbers or divisions which are canceled by a punch as
pickers deliver the grapes. Still another method is to keep book
accounts with each picker in which case payment is made by the pound,
each receptacle being put on the scales as brought in from the field,
credit being given for the number of pounds. It is the duty of those
in charge to see that each picker finishes the row or the part of the
row to which he is assigned, and that he does not wander over the
vineyard in search of the best picking.
_Packing-houses and their appliances._
The commercial grape-grower must have a house for packing and storing.
Houses differ in design and fitting for almost every vineyard.
Sometimes the house is a combination one for packing and storing.
Often the packing-house is a halfway place between the vineyard and
the shipping station, in which case it is an open shed or a lightly
constructed building. In these field packing-houses there are usually
no provisions for storing. The better types of combined houses are
provided with a cellar for the storage of grapes, the first floor is
used for packing, and the attic provides a place for the storage of
baskets and crates. In all such houses provision must be made for
thorough ventilation, especially for the storage cellar if the grapes
are to be kept for any length of time. Properly ventilated, the
temperature of the grape cellar can be kept as low as 50° F. during
September and October. The cellar floor in these houses is usually of
dirt better to regulate the moisture-content of the room. Often the
first floor is divided into two rooms, one to be used for
packing and the other as a shipping room. A good combination
packing-and-storage-house of this type can be built for $1000 to
$2000. Now that cold storage facilities can be secured in most
grape-growing regions, and the rates of storage are becoming more
reasonable, there is less need of storage-houses.
Packing-houses are so simple in construction and may be so different
in design that it is neither possible nor necessary to describe them
in detail. A building that protects the workers from the elements and
affords conveniences in packing serves the purpose. Such a
packing-house, which is often located in the vineyard, should be well
lighted, should be connected with the storage-room for baskets and
should have advantages for delivering the packages from the
storage-room to the packing-room and from the packing-room to the
shipping-room. Its size will depend on the quantities of grapes to be
packed. The house must be built so that it can be kept clean and
sweet.
[Illustration: FIG. 46. Packing grapes on a packing-table.]
Every packing-house, whatever the design, must be furnished with
tables for holding the trays while the fruit is being packed. Usually
these tables are so made that the picking trays are set before the
packers on an inclined table. The packer transfers the grapes from the
trays into the baskets in which the fruit is to be sold. The trays of
grapes as they come from the field are set before the worker, who then
packs the fruit into the basket from the left. As the baskets are
filled, they are placed on a flat ledge or shelf in front of the
packer and are then taken off by an attendant. Empty baskets are
usually held in store on a higher shelf convenient to the packer and
from time to time are replenished by the attendant. Figure 46 shows a
packing-table of the kind just described. Sometimes the packing-table
is circular and revolves, the packers sitting about the table. The
baskets are held on the lap and the packer takes the grapes off the
table which is turned as fresh fruit is brought in. This circular
table is not in general use; its only advantage is that it permits the
packer to select from a larger quantity of fruit.
_Grading grapes._
Grapes are more easily graded than most other fruits; for usually
there are but two grades, firsts and culls. It is difficult to specify
exactly what firsts are, since a number of factors must be considered
which bring in play the judgment of the grader. At least, firsts must
have the following qualities: The bunches must be approximately
uniform in size; there must be few or no berries missing from the
stems; the grapes must be fully ripe, of a uniform degree of ripeness
and uniformly colored; and the fruit must be free from insect and
fungous injuries. It is easier to give specifications for culls, since
all grapes not firsts are culls.
In large vineyards, only good fruit or the best fruit is worth
grading. It is more advisable to sell poor fruit by the ton with
little or no grading. It follows, also, that the higher the price, the
more special the market, and the more carefully the crop is picked,
the more profitable it is to grade. The work of grading is done in the
packing-shed when the fruit is transferred from the trays into the
selling receptacles. A pair of slender scissors made for the purpose,
to be purchased from dealers in horticultural supplies, is used to
trim out diseased and crushed berries. The fruit must be permitted to
wilt for a few hours, a half day or overnight, before it can be graded
to advantage. In this work of grading, the greatest care should be
taken to keep the fruit clean and fresh, to sort out broken bunches
and to preserve the bloom. The less handling, the more finely finished
is the product.
_Grape packages in eastern grape regions._
Packages for grapes are less varied than those for any other fruit,
selling receptacles in the states east of the Rocky Mountains being
much the same for all regions. Dessert grapes are universally packed
in gift packages--that is, packages which are given away when the
fruit is sold--and this insures a clean dainty package. It seems
imperative that a uniform style of package should be used the country
over for the general market, but up until this time, although there
have been both national and state laws passed, uniformity has not been
secured. A national law is needed establishing standard commercial
packages so that the grower may safely ship from one state to another
without being a law-breaker. Such a package should be based on
cubic-measure and not on weight as is often advocated; for grapes
cannot be shipped without some loss from sampling in transit; and
there are also losses in weight by evaporation so that the grower,
although trying to comply with the law, may become technically a
law-breaker if the standard is based on weight.
[Illustration: FIG. 47. Climax baskets in two sizes.]
The most popular package for the grape in eastern grape regions is the
Climax basket made in various styles and sizes. These are cheap,
easily packed and handled, nest well in shipment and are durable.
Three sizes are commonest in use, the five-pound, the ten-pound and
the twenty-pound basket. The five-pound basket usually holds only a
little over four pounds; the ten-pound about eight pounds; and the
twenty-pound rather less than twenty pounds. Two sizes of Climax
baskets are shown in Fig. 47. It is commonly understood, however, that
the packages are short in weight, and as grapes are retailed by the
basket and not by the pound, short weight does not really deceive.
These baskets are made of thin wood veneer with a light wood binding
at the top and bottom. The cover is of wood and is usually fastened on
with staples. The handle is either of wood or of wire. When well made,
the baskets are firm and symmetrical, without splinters and are clean
and white. Packages carried over from year to year become dingy in
color, but the wood may be whitened by fumigating in the storage-room
with sulfur. The baskets also become yellow and discolored if left in
the sun and must, therefore, be stored in clean, dark, dry rooms.
When grapes are sold by weight to manufacturers of wine or
grape-juice, they are usually delivered in the picking trays which, if
the market is near at hand, are always returned. If they are to be
shipped far, they go to market in twenty-pound baskets or bushel
baskets, although the latter are not regarded with favor by consumers.
_Packing._
Grapes packed indoors, as has been said, are allowed to stand from a
few to twenty-four hours after being picked to permit them to wilt.
When thus wilted they are much more easily packed and do not shrink in
transportation, so that the basket usually reaches the market well
filled with fruit. Each bunch of grapes is placed separately in the
basket after all unmarketable berries have been removed. The bunches
are arranged in concentric tiers, the top layer being placed with
special care. When the basket is filled, the grapes rise a little
above the level of the basket, care being taken not to have the fruit
project too much so that the grapes will be crushed when putting on
the cover. In all this work, the berries are handled as little as
possible, so as not to destroy the bloom. Care is taken, also, that
the fruit is free from spraying material and is otherwise clean and
fresh. Much less pains need be taken when the grapes are packed in
trays to be sold by weight, but even in this there must be method in
filling the trays, otherwise there will be many open spaces and
corners between bunches.
Practically all commercial grape-growers now use labels on their
packages. These not only add to the attractiveness of the packages,
but are a guarantee of the contents, both as to name of the variety
and the quality of the fruit. These labels are, also, a sign by which
a grower's fruit may be distinguished and are, therefore, a valuable
advertising medium. Some growers have registered their labels in the
United States Patent Office in order to prevent others from using
them. Obviously, it is not desirable or worth while to label a poor
grade of grapes.
_Storing grapes._
The commercial grape-grower now stores his grapes in cold storage
warehouses if he keeps them any length of time after harvesting. There
is no question but that keeping a part of the crop in artificially
cooled houses is a great benefit to the grape-grower, since it
prolongs the season for selling by some three or four months.
Formerly, native grapes could be secured in general markets only until
Thanksgiving time or thereabouts, but now American grapes are very
generally offered for sale in January and February, while the European
grapes from California are in the market nearly the year around. The
grape-grower need make little or no preparation of his product in
putting it in cold storage except to make sure that the product is
first class in every respect. It would be a waste of money and effort
to attempt to store any but clean, sound, well-matured, well-packed
grapes. The grape-grower, however, seldom need concern himself with
storing, since the crop is usually stored by the buyers.
Few small growers seem to have learned the art of keeping grapes in
common storage, There are but few difficulties in keeping European
grapes for several months after picking if they are stored under
favorable conditions. Not all, but several of the native grapes may
also be kept practically throughout the winter if proper precautions
are taken. Among these varieties Catawba is the standard winter sort,
but Diana, Iona, Isabella, Rogers' hybrids and Vergennes, all rather
commonly grown, may be kept by the small grower.
To insure keeping, these native grapes must be handled most carefully.
The fruit is picked a few days before it is dead ripe and the bunches
placed in trays holding forty or fifty pounds. It is important that
the temperature be reduced gradually so that there are no sudden
changes. If the nights are cool, a valuable aid is to leave the grapes
out-of-doors in crates the night after they are picked, placing them
in a cool building or dry cellar early the next morning. The cellar or
store-room should be well ventilated and should be such that the
temperature is not variable, care being taken that the air in every
part of the storage room is changed. Draughts, however, should be
avoided or stems and berries will shrivel. If a temperature from 40°
to 50° can be maintained, the varieties named may be kept until March
or April. An expensive store-room is not necessary and ice to cool the
room is not only unnecessary but undesirable.
If the storage-room is too dry, the grapes wilt and lose flavor; if,
on the other hand, the atmosphere is too damp, the grapes mold. It is
essential, therefore, to strike a medium between an atmosphere too dry
and one too wet. It is possible that a light fumigation with sulfur or
formaldehyde might help to keep down molds in these common storage
grape-rooms, but as to the value of fumigation there seems to be no
experimental evidence.
Grapes grown on clay lands are said to be firmer and to keep better
than those grown on gravel or lighter soils. Some years ago there was
an association in Ohio known as The Clay-Growers Association which
handled only grapes grown on clay lands. The members of this
association believed that their grapes were much more desirable for
storage than grapes from regions where the soil was lighter.
HARVESTING AND HANDLING MUSCADINE GRAPES
The Muscadine grapes of the South Atlantic and Gulf states are unique
in vine and fruit, are used for different purposes and go to different
markets from the grapes of the North, so that they may be considered
almost a distinct fruit. Not only are cultural requirements peculiar
to this fruit, as we have seen, but the methods of harvesting and
marketing are quite distinct. These are well set forth by Husmann and
Dearing[18] as follows:
"Rotundifolia vines have been almost entirely grown on overhead arbors
in the past, the fruit being made into wine, and under such conditions
the general practice of jarring the grapes from the vines is perhaps
the most practical method of harvesting. If the vines are trained to
upright trellises or if the fruit is intended for shipping or table
use the grapes should be picked by hand in order to be sound and
clean. On account of the presence of leaves, twigs, etc., mixed with
the grapes jarred from the vines, wine and grape-juice manufacturers
will pay 5 to 15 cents a bushel more for hand-picked grapes. The
growers who make a practice of hand picking claim that the work can be
done at practically no greater expense than is necessary to shake off
and clean a crop, and the increased price obtained for the fruit will
more than pay the difference.
"A description of the harvesting of the Rotundifolia grapes by the
jarring method will be interesting to those not familiar with it.
Poles are attached to sheets of canvas measuring 6 by 12 feet and
having leather handles. A man is placed at each end of the sheets and
four men with two sheets work together. The wide sides of the two
sheets are brought close together under each vine, with the trunk of
the vine in the middle. The vines are then jarred, the berries falling
into the sheets. Those not caught by the sheets or that have fallen to
the ground by the shaking of the trellis when the fruit of the
adjoining vines was harvested, etc., and which are usually of the best
quality, are picked by hand. The writers are informed that it costs
approximately 15 cents a bushel to harvest the fruit on the ground and
12 cents to harvest that which falls on the sheets.
"The fruit is put in boxes or barrels, and if the quantity is not
large the leaves, sticks, etc., which become mixed with the fruit are
removed by hand. If there is a considerable quantity of fruit some
mechanical means, such as ordinary grain fan mills, are used to clean
it. After cleaning, the fruit is hauled or shipped to the winery. In
wineries with modern equipment there are blowers which thoroughly
clean the fruit. These are located near the end of the elevators that
carry the fruit to the crusher.
"A common and very objectionable practice followed in harvesting
Rotundifolia grapes, especially by the jarring method, is that of
gathering the fruit all at once, whereas there should be at least
three periods of harvesting. When harvested at one time the best
quality of fruit ripens, falls to the ground, and is lost before the
harvest is commenced and the last part of the crop is thrashed from
the vines in a half-ripe condition along with the ripe fruit. In this
manner not only is the first and best fruit entirely lost, but the
harvested fruit is inferior in quality, which necessarily results in a
poor product from the entire yield."
_Returns from Muscadine grapes._
"Great variations occur in the yields from Rotundifolia vines. At
times there are record-breaking yields and, again, small yields are
reported, the small yields resulting from black-rot, coulure, wet
weather, self-sterility, lack of cultivation, fertilization, lack of
pruning, age of vines, and various other causes. In spite of this,
Rotundifolia vines are said to be among the safest and most prolific
of fruit-bearing plants. While in one of the largest Rotundifolia
vineyards there has been only a partial crop during the last three
years, owing to various causes, another grower reports a yield of 177
bushels of grapes from 4-year-old James vines, in addition to a bale
of cotton to the acre. A Florida grower estimated his crop of white
Rotundifolia and Thomas grapes for the season of 1911 at 280 bushels
to the acre. An average yield of 27 bushels an acre from 4-year-old
vines, 100 bushels from 5-year-old vines, and 150 bushels to the acre
when the vines are in full bearing should be obtained.
"The prices paid for Rotundifolia grapes depend on the season, the
quality of fruit, and the market. In years when the crop is short
better prices are usually paid than when there is a heavy crop. Aside
from the grapes sold and shipped to wineries, grapes as a rule sell
for more in the cities and larger towns than in smaller places, the
local demand being somewhat in proportion to the population. In such
localities fruit of good quality will bring a much better price than
inferior fruit. Hand-picked fruit in half-bushel peach baskets or in
berry boxes usually brings from $1 to $2 per bushel. Grapes harvested
by jarring are usually sent to the wineries and bring an average of 75
cents per bushel of 60 pounds. The highest price paid for this quality
of fruit was reached in 1910, when $2.25 per bushel (f.o.b. shipping
point) was paid for white Rotundifolia.
"In many localities certain growers have built up quite a reputation
for themselves in choice, hand-picked fruit, which they ship to
special customers in distant markets. For this purpose the James
variety is usually grown because the berries adhere well and are of
good size and flavor. Several growers ship as far north as New York
and Boston, getting from $2.00 to $2.50 gross per bushel crate. In
shipping, three styles of carriers are used--the 24-box strawberry
crate, the 6-basket peach crate, and the 8-pound basket. More
attention should be given to this phase of the industry. The varieties
best suited for shipping are the James, Memory, Flowers, and Mish.
"In the fall of 1910 shipments of the James, Thomas, and Eden
varieties were sent from the Rotundifolia experiment vineyard at
Willard, N. C., to Washington D. C., part of the consignment being in
strawberry boxes and the remainder in bushel baskets. No important
difference could be noted in the two lots on their arrival in
Washington. The James variety arrived in perfect condition in both
packages; of the Eden 30 per cent and of the Thomas 35 per cent had
shelled. More extensive experiments along this line are contemplated."
HANDLING THE GRAPE IN CALIFORNIA
Grapes are grown in California for three purposes, wine, raisins and
the table. The handling of the crop for raisins and wine is best taken
up in a discussion of these products in the chapter on by-products of
the grape, leaving only table grapes to be discussed at this place.
The table-grape industry of the Pacific slope is dependent on the wide
distribution of the product in eastern markets for a profitable sale
of the crop, since production is so great that but a small part of the
crop is consumed in the markets of the Pacific slope. The growers in
this region, therefore, have special problems, chief of which are
those of successful shipment over long distances. California annually
ships in the neighborhood of 10,000 carloads of table grapes, all of
which must be handled within a period of about two months. As
competition increases, it becomes more and more necessary to extend
the area over which the fruit is to be sold; to lengthen the marketing
season through cold storage; and for both of these purposes to devise
new or to improve present methods of handling the fruit. The two
requisites for the successful shipment of this great bulk of grapes
are: The fruit must reach the markets in sound condition; and it must
have sufficient market-holding quality to remain sound for a
considerable length of time after it arrives in the markets.
Experience has thoroughly demonstrated to grape-growers in California
that decay in grapes is largely dependent on the presence of injuries
to the grape berries, to the pedicels or to the stems of the bunches.
Methods of handling grapes, therefore, and the type of package used,
must be such that the product is injured as little as possible.
_Careful handling._
In the shipment of European grapes from California, it has been found
that it pays to go to much extra trouble in handling the crop. The
bunches are picked with care to avoid bruising or crushing berries,
and as far as possible they are lifted only by the main stems. They
are then laid with care in the picking trays which are filled only one
layer deep. In moving the trays to the packing-house, they are handled
carefully, the trays being moved only on wagons with springs. In
sorting, special care is taken to remove all injured and unsound
berries and not to injure others in the bunch, here again handling the
clusters by the stems. In packing, the bunches are placed firmly in
the baskets with care not to crush or bruise the stems or to injure
the pedicels of the berries. A slight injury of either berry or
pedicel permits the spores of the fungus causing decay to gain
entrance into the fruit.
_Shipping packages._
The most common package for table-grapes in California is a square
basket holding about five pounds. These baskets are placed for
shipment in fours in crates. The bunches of some varieties may be too
large for these small baskets, and these extra large-clustered grapes
are packed in oblong baskets holding in the neighborhood of eight
pounds, two baskets filling a crate. No good filler seems yet to have
been devised for packing grapes in California. The cork dust in which
grapes from the Mediterranean are received is not available and a good
substitute has not yet been found. Sawdust is sometimes used but has
not proved satisfactory in holding the decay and the fruit absorbs
disagreeable flavors from the wood. Occasionally, however, grapes from
California are sent to eastern markets packed in dry redwood sawdust
and these seem to come through in good condition and not to have
absorbed a disagreeable flavor. Reports seem to indicate that this
specially selected redwood sawdust is proving much better than the
ordinary sawdust experimented with some years ago.
_Shipping._
Considerable work has been done by the United States Department of
Agriculture to determine how table-grapes could best be shipped from
the far West and reach the eastern markets in good condition. The crop
is, of course, shipped in refrigerator cars and much depends on the
cooling of these cars and especially on the temperature at which the
grapes are kept while in transit. To carry well over the 3000 miles of
mountain and desert, heat and cold, the best type of refrigerator car
must be used. It does not appear that the pre-cooling so advantageous
to citrous and other tree-fruits is worth the trouble and expense with
table-grapes, as it does not seem to prevent decay. Cooling cannot be
substituted for careful handling, which seems as yet the most
necessary precaution to be taken in the preparation of these grapes
for eastern shipment.
MARKETING
Table-grapes from both eastern and western grape regions are now
almost entirely shipped in carload lots. Since few grape-growers are
prepared to load a car quickly with grapes, some kind of coöperation
is required, or the crop must be handled by large buyers. Coöperative
methods are becoming more and more popular, although a large part of
the grape crop, both East and West, is now handled by buyers.
There are several important advantages in selling through a
coöperative organization. Thus, in selling coöperatively, the grapes
are graded and packed in accordance with one standard; more favorable
transportation rates can be secured by a coöperative association; and,
most important of all, the output can be distributed to the grape
markets of the country without the disastrous competition that attends
individual marketing. In some of these organizations, also, supplies
needed by the grape-grower in producing a crop are purchased more
economically than by individuals; in particular, grape packages can be
purchased better by an organization than by an individual.
As the grape industry and competition grow in the different regions of
the country, the necessity of forming marketing organizations becomes
greater. Such organizations must be founded on the principles which
many experiments have shown best govern fruit-marketing associations.
It is not possible to discuss these principles at length, but the
following fundamentals will suffice:
An ideal coöperative association is one in which there are no profits
nor dividends. Every member of the whole organized association is a
producer. All of the product grown by a member is sold through the
association. The association is democratic, all members having an
equal voice in its management and all sharing alike in its successes
and failures. When profits arise of necessity, they are distributed to
the members of the association in proportion to the amount of business
each has done. The work of the organization is conducted at as near
cost as possible and profits are declared only after expenses,
depreciation, interest on capital for future operations are deducted.
Thus it is seen that the plan of the organization is to give each
member as nearly as possible the exact price his fruit has brought in
the markets.
VINEYARD RETURNS
Grape-growing as a business is a comparatively new industry in
America. It is true that the first attempts at growing this fruit were
made to found an industry, but these were complete and dismal
failures, and the start in growing grapes in America eventually came
as a pleasing hobby. In evolving from a hobby into vineyard culture on
a large scale, the business side of the industry long lagged. At
present, with increasing competition, manifold uncertainties in
vineyard conditions, and much unbusinesslike administration, interest
in cultural operations, with which pioneers in the industry were
chiefly concerned, is eclipsed by the conception that grape-growing is
a highly developed commercial enterprise requiring for success careful
business management.
Unfortunately there is nowhere a substantial body of figures from
which growers can obtain a fair conception of what the outgo and
income of average vineyards in grape regions are. The value of such
data to investors or to those making an effort to keep track of the
finances of their business is obvious, and an attempt is made here to
put the reader in possession of figures that ought to be helpful. The
data given, although scant and fragmentary, show fairly accurately the
cost of producing grapes, selling prices and profits in the culture
of this fruit in one of the great grape regions.
The New York Agricultural Experiment Station is carrying on
experiments to determine the outgo and income from vineyards in the
Chautauqua grape-belt. The work is not yet finished, nor could the
findings be published in detail before being sent out by the Station,
but F. E. Gladwin, in charge of the work, has consented to set down
summaries of costs and returns taken from vineyards at Fredonia, which
will serve as a guide to planters of grapes in this region at least:
_First Year_
Interest on value of land @ $200 per acre $12.00
Preparation of land 8.00
Cost of vines per acre 12.00
Planting 4.00
Cultivating 6.00
------
Total expenditure for first year $42.00
_Second Year_
Interest on value of vineyard @ $225 per acre $13.50
Cultivating, hand hoeing, etc. 9.25
Pruning 1.00
------
Total expenditure for second year $23.75
_Third Year_
Interest on value of vineyard @ $250 per acre $15.00
Pruning 2.50
Posts (cost of) @ .10 240 24.00
Setting and driving 6.50
Wire and wiring, staples, etc. 11.65
Tying and twine 1.45
Cultivating, plowing, harrowing 9.25
Spraying 4.00
No. baskets sold @ .16 per basket 500 $80.00
Cost of baskets @ $20 per thousand 10.00
Picking @ .01 per basket 5.00
Packing @ .01 per basket 5.00
Hauling .003 1.50
------
Outgo for third year $95.85
------
Income $80.00
_Fourth Year_
Interest on value of vineyard @ $300 per acre $18.00
Pruning 2.50
Tying 2.90
Spraying and materials 4.00
Cultivating, plowing, harrowing, hand-hoeing and
plowing back one furrow 9.25
Trellis upkeep, driving posts, tightening wires, etc. 2.50
Pulling and poling out brush 1.69
No. baskets sold @ .16 per basket 1000 $160.00
Cost of baskets @ $20 per thousand 20.00
Picking @ .01 per basket 10.00
Packing @ .01 per basket 10.00
Hauling .003 3.00
------
Outgo for fourth year $83.84
-------
Income $160.00
Outgo for four years $245.44
Income for four years 240.00
_Estimates for Succeeding Years_
Gross income $125-200
Outgo 75- 85
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.--Iona (×3/5).]
CHAPTER XIV
GRAPE PRODUCTS
Over-production, with the attendant losses caused by glutted markets,
is a factor which, like frosts and freezes, is ever in the mind of the
grape-grower. No season passes but that some of the grape regions of
the country suffer from over-production. Not uncommonly the grape
industry in a region is better off in a season when the crop is small
and prices high, than when the crop is large and prices low. In every
part of the country where grapes are grown, over-production has been a
great deterrent to viticulture; this, in spite of the fact that
grape-growers have availed themselves of the opportunity to
manufacture products from this fruit. Thus, wine and raisins are made
from the grape in California, and a large part of the harvest in the
East goes into wine, champagne and grape-juice. But the growth of
prohibition now threatens the wine and champagne industries of the
country, in fact may be said to have driven them to the wall, making
the need of new outlets in manufactured products a greater necessity.
Under these conditions, grape-growers must seek in every way to
enlarge the sale of the crop to manufacturers with the hope that thus,
together with more perfect distribution of his commodities, the
inroads made by prohibition on the industry may be offset and the
over-production of table-grapes be better prevented. With this brief
emphasis on the importance of manufactured products of the grape, we
approach the discussion of the several possible outlets to
over-production in this fruit.
WINE
The manufacture and use of wine in America, as has been intimated, is
likely to cease through prohibition. Therefore, whatever may be said
of this product of the grape is of less and less interest to
grape-growers. However, a few years of grace probably remain for the
making of wines in America, and since wine-making yet offers the
greatest outlet for the grape crop, next to table-grapes, wine must be
considered as a factor in the grape industry.
Since the demand and price for grapes depend very largely on the kind
of wine to be made, it is necessary to characterize the wines made in
America. Wine, it should be said, is the product of alcoholic
fermentation of the grape. Alcoholic fermentations made from other
fruits are not, strictly speaking, wines. Natural wines are divided
into three broad groups; dry, sweet and sparkling wines. Dry wines are
those in which sugar has been eliminated by fermentation; sweet wines
those in which sufficient sugar remains to give a sweet taste; and
sparkling wines are those which contain sufficient carbonic acid gas
to give a pressure of several atmospheres in the bottle. The carbonic
acid gas is produced in sparkling wines by fermentation in the bottle
of a dry wine.
The color in these three classes of wine may be red or white,
depending on whether or not the color is extracted from the skins in
the process of fermentation. To make red wine, of course, the grapes
to be fermented must have red coloring matter in skin or juice or
both. Each of these groups of wine includes a very large number of
kinds distinguished by the name of the region, the locality or the
name of the vineyard in which a wine is made. Wines are still further
distinguished according to the year of the vintage.
_Wine-making._
There are four distinct stages in the making of wine after the grapes
are grown. The first is the harvesting of the grapes when they have
reached the proper stage of maturity, which is known as "wine-making
ripeness." This stage of ripeness is determined by means of a
must-scale or saccharometer. The wine-maker squeezes the juice from a
number of bunches of grapes into a receptacle into which he drops the
must-scale, whereupon the sugar-content of the juice is indicated on
the scale, determining whether the proper stage of ripeness has been
reached. Suitable varieties of grapes having been grown, it is
necessary that they be permitted to hang on the vine until the proper
degree of ripeness is developed, after which they are delivered at the
winery as free as possible from injury or decay.
The second stage is the preparation of the grapes for fermentation.
The grapes are weighed on arriving at the winery and are then conveyed
either by hand or more often by a mechanical conveyor to the hopper or
crusher. The ancient method of crushing, which still prevails in some
parts of Europe, was to tramp the grapes with bare feet or wooden
shoes. Tramping has been superseded by mechanical crushers which break
the skin but do not crush the seeds. The best mechanical crushers
consist of two-grooved revolving cylinders. As the grapes pass through
the crusher, they fall into the stemmer, a machine which tears off the
stems, discharging them at one end, while the seeds, skins, pulp and
juice pass through the bottom to the presses usually on the floor
below. There are several types of wine-presses, all of which, however,
are modifications of screw, hydraulic or knuckle-joint power. In large
wineries, the hydraulic press has almost driven out the other two
forms of power and when great quantities of grapes must be handled a
number of hydraulic presses are usually in operation. The grape
pomace is built up into a "cheese" by the use of cloths and racks
variously arranged. The "cheese" is then put under heavy pressure from
which the juice or "must" is quickly extracted.
The third stage is fermentation. The "must" is carried from the press
into open tanks or vats which hold from 500 to 5000 gallons or even
more. The yeast cells which cause fermentation may be introduced
naturally on the skins of the grapes; or in many modern wineries the
"must" is sterilized to rid it of undesirable micro-organisms and a
"starter" of "wine-yeast" is added to start the fermentation. Yeast
organisms attack the sugar and must, breaking it up into alcohol and
carbonic acid gas, the latter passing off as it is formed. When active
fermentation ceases, the new wine is drawn from the pomace and is put
into closed casks or tanks where it undergoes a secondary
fermentation, much sediment settling at the bottom of the cask. To rid
the new wine of this sediment, it must be drawn off into clean casks,
an operation called "racking." The first racking usually takes place
within a month or six weeks. A second racking is necessary at the end
of the winter and a third is desirable in the summer or fall.
The fourth stage is the aging of the wine. Before aging begins,
however, the wine usually must be rendered perfectly clear and bright
by "fining." The materials used in fining are isinglass, white of egg
or gelatine. These, introduced into the wine, cause undissolved
matters to precipitate. The wine is now ready for bottling or
consumption. Most wines acquire a more desirable flavor through
"aging," a slow oxidation in the bottles.
_Champagne._
When champagne wines have gone through their first fermentation, they
are racked off into casks to age until their quality can be
ascertained, after which a blend of several different wines is made.
This blend is called the "cuvée." The cuvée is bottled and a second
fermentation starts. The bottles are now put in cool cellars, corded
in horizontal layers with thin strips of wood between each layer of
bottles. The champagne in this stage is said to be in "tirage." The
carbonic acid gas generated at this second fermentation is confined in
the bottles and absorbed by the wine. When the bottle is uncorked, the
gas, seeking to escape, produces the sparkling effect desirable in
sparkling wines. After the wine has been in tirage for one or two
years, the bottles are placed in A-shaped racks, the neck of the
bottle pointing downward so that the sediment formed during
fermentation drops to the cork. To further the settling of the
sediment, workmen turn or shake each bottle daily for a period of one
to three months. The bottles are then taken to the finishing room,
cork down and the wine is "disgorged." Disgorging is accomplished by
freezing a small quantity of wine in the neck of the bottle containing
the sediment, after which the cork is removed and with it the frozen
sediment. The bottle is refilled, recorked, wired, capped, and the
champagne is ready for shipment.
_The vintage._
The wine-making season the world over is known as the "vintage." The
time at which the vintage begins depends, of course, on the region,
the variety of grapes, the growing season and the location of the
vineyard. Its duration, also, depends on these same factors. The
season is usually lengthened by the fact that wine-makers require for
their purposes a number of varieties of grapes which ripen at
different times. Before or during the vintage, representatives of wine
cellars usually make contracts for the number of tons of grapes
required at a certain price a ton.
The notion prevails that grapes for wine and grape-juice need not be
first-class. This is far from the truth. To make good wine the grapes
must be carefully harvested, transported with as little injury as
possible and must be protected from dirt, mold and fermentation before
reaching the winery. European vintagers maintain that grapes picked at
sunrise produce the lightest and most limped wines and yield more
juice. They say, also, that the grapes should not be gathered in the
heat of the day because fermentation sets in at once. These niceties
are not observed in America.
_Prices paid for wine grapes._
Supply and demand regulate the price paid for wine grapes. There is
always demand for good wine grapes, although a poor product often goes
begging for market. In the East, the highest prices are paid for the
grapes used in making champagne. The champagne region of the East is
confined to a few localities along Lake Erie and to western New York
about Keuka Lake, where the industry is most largely developed. The
varieties used in champagne-making in the East are Delaware, Catawba,
Elvira, Dutchess, Iona, Diamond and a few other sorts. Prices differ
with the many conditions affecting the grape and champagne industries,
perhaps the average price for Catawba, the grape chiefly used in
making champagne in this region, being from $40 to $50 a ton. Choicer
grapes, as Delaware, Iona and Dutchess, often sell from $75 to $100 a
ton. Concords are sometimes utilized in making dry wines in the
eastern states, $30 or $40 a ton being the average price. Ives and
Norton are much used for red wines and sell for top prices.
Wine-makers in the East are at a disadvantage in producing wines other
than champagne, since the price paid on the Pacific slope for wine
grapes is much lower; Grapes for sweet wine in California often sell
as low as $6 or $7 a ton, the average price being $10 or $12. Grapes
for dry wines, such as Zinfandel and Burger, bring on the Pacific
coast from $10 to $12 a ton. Choice varieties of grapes in this
region, such as Cabernet, Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Riesling, bring
from $22 to $24. The eastern wine-makers, however, have the advantage
of being close to the largest and best markets in the country. Wines
made in the East are very different from those made in California and
supply a different market.
A few years ago most of the Muscadine grapes grown in the South were
used for wine-making. From these grapes wine has been made since
colonial times, and for a century there have been some large vineyards
of Muscadine grapes in the South from which wine was made in a
commercial way. Since Muscadine grapes do not sell well in the markets
in competition with the grapes of the North or the Pacific slope, the
Muscadine grape industry has been dependent on the wine industry of
the section in which the fruit is produced. The growth of prohibition
in the South, however, has driven the wine industry to the North and
West and there is now little wine manufactured from Muscadine grapes
in the South, although some grapes are shipped North for wine-making.
The wine made from these grapes is very distinct in flavor and on that
account a special trade has been developed for it. It is possible that
this special trade will keep up the demand for Muscadine wine so that
some part of the crop may be shipped to wine-making states to supply
this demand.
GRAPE-JUICE
When properly made, grape-juice is the undiluted, unsweetened,
unfermented juice of the grape and contains no preservatives,
fermentation being prevented by sterilization with heat. The product
is as ancient as wine, and, therefore, as the cultivation of the vine,
for all wine-making peoples have used new wine or grape-juice as a
beverage. For centuries physicians in wine-making countries have
prescribed grape-juice as it comes from the wine-press for certain
maladies, the treatment constituting an essential part of the
grape-cures of European countries. The process of making an
unfermented grape-juice that will keep from season to season as an
article of commerce is, however, a modern invention, and is the
outcome of the discoveries of the last half century regarding the
control of the agents of fermentation.
The manufacture of commercial grape-juice in America, to which country
the industry is confined, began as a home practice following the
fundamental processes of canning fruit. Toward the close of the last
century, several inventive minds discovered methods of making a
commercial product and began developing markets for their wares. The
beginning of the present century found the new industry in full swing,
since which time its growth has been truly marvelous. In 1900 the
amount of grape-juice made in the United States was so small as to be
negligible in the census report of that year. By 1910, the annual
output had reached for the whole country over 1,500,000 gallons and at
present writing, 1918, it is well above 3,500,000 gallons per annum.
The manufacture of grape-juice is no longer a home industry but a
great commercial enterprise. It is an industry closely associated with
grape-growing, however, and as such needs further consideration here.
_Grape-juice regions._
The manufacture of grape-juice is centered in the Chautauqua
grape-belt in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. So far, the demand
seems to be almost wholly for juices made from native grapes, the
juice of European grapes grown on the Pacific slope being so sweet as
to be insipid. Possibly 80 per cent of the grape-juice now
manufactured in America comes from a single variety, the Concord.
There can be no question, however, but that sooner or later
grape-juices of distinct qualities will be made from many varieties of
grapes, thus giving wider sale and greater variation for the product.
A very good sparkling grape-juice is now on the market and its
reception seems to promise a great increase in the production of an
article that closely simulates champagne in color and sparkling
vivacity, but not, of course, in taste, since it contains no alcohol.
The grape-juice industry has been started and is in a flourishing
condition in several other grape regions than the Chautauqua belt
which is now its center. There are factories at Sandusky, Ohio, using
grapes grown in the Kelly Island district; in southwestern Michigan
there are several factories; and the industry still survives at
Vineland, New Jersey, which probably should be called the original
home of the manufacture of grape-juice. In the South, some grape-juice
is made from Muscadine grapes, but this product seems not as yet to
have been well received in the markets.
_Commercial methods of making grape-juice._
There is at present a great diversity of methods and of apparatus
employed in the grape-juice manufacturing plants throughout the
country. Since the industry is in its infancy, and the attempt has
been made to hold some of the methods as trade secrets, the diversity
of methods and appliances is not to be wondered at. No doubt there
will be greater uniformity of method and machinery and, therefore,
greater efficiency, as the industry develops.
Husmann[19] gives the following account of the manufacture of
grape-juice in the eastern states and in California:
"Sound, ripe, but not over-ripe, grapes are used. These are first
crushed or, in case the stems are to be removed, are run through a
combined stemmer and crusher. If the machinery is stationed high
enough, the crushed fruit can be run through chutes directly into the
presses or kettles; otherwise, it must be pumped into them by means of
a pomace or must pump or carried in pomace carts or tubs.
"If a white or light colored juice is desired, the crushed grapes are
first pressed, the juice which comes from the press being heated to
about 165° F., skimmed, run through a pasteurizer at a temperature of
between 175° and 200° F. into well-sterilized containers, and then
placed in storage.
"If a colored juice is desired, the crushed grapes are heated
immediately, usually in aluminum kettles having double bottoms, which
prevent the steam from coming in contact with the contents. These
kettles usually contain revolving cylinders, the arms of which keep
the crushed grapes thoroughly stirred while they are being heated to
about 140° F. The simultaneous heating and stirring help to extract
the coloring matter from the skins, tear the cells of the berries,
increase the quantity of juice obtained per ton of fruit, and give to
the must many ingredients of red wine, with the substitution of grape
sugar for alcohol of the wine.
"The aluminum kettles are filled and emptied in rotation, thereby
making continuous manipulation possible. The presses should be
situated below the kettles, so that the hot juice can be drained
directly into them. The expressed juice is then reheated to about 165°
F., skimmed, and run through the pasteurizer in the same manner in
which the white juice is handled. The juice passes from the
pasteurizer while still hot (about 160° F.) into the container, which
should be sealed immediately. The lower the temperature (above the
freezing point) at which these containers are then stored, the less is
the danger of fermentation and the more rapidly the juice will clear
and deposit its sediment.
"The ordinary receptacles in which the juice is stored are 5-gallon
demijohns, 20-gallon carboys, or clean, new barrels or puncheons, well
washed and drained. All containers should be thoroughly sterilized
before they are filled, and the covers, corks, bungs, cloths, etc.,
used in sealing them should be scrupulously clean and carefully
sterilized. If barrels or puncheons are used as containers, they are
placed on skids and firmly wedged to prevent movement. As the juice
cools, air laden with fermentation germs is apt to be drawn into the
barrels by the decrease in the volume of the liquid. In order to
prevent this, tight air-filtering plugs of sterilized cotton are
sometimes used instead of the ordinary bungs of solid wood.
"The type of pasteurizer differs in almost every establishment. As the
industry is of comparatively recent development commercially, there
are few models on the market and each manufacturer has constructed the
model best suited to his particular ideas or requirements. There are
two general types, however, (1) open, double-bottomed kettles in which
the juice is heated to the required temperature and then drawn off,
and (2) continuous pasteurizers in which the juice is heated to the
required temperature as it passes through the water bath.
"The presses also show great variation in different establishments,
either hydraulic, screw or lever power being used, and there is a
marked difference between the types of pomace containers. Sometimes
the crushed grapes are heaped on burlap cloths the sides of which are
folded in, and these burlaps are placed one on top of the other in the
press; sometimes press baskets take the place of these burlaps.
"The manufacturers in California and those in the grape-growing
regions of the Rocky Mountains seem to have adopted entirely different
methods of handling the juice after it is first pasteurized and
stored. Most of the eastern juices are red and are obtained from the
Labrusca varieties, generally the Concord. When the juice comes from
the presses, some manufacturers strain it to remove the coarse
particles and then pour it directly into well-sterilized bottles;
others siphon it off the sediment in the containers in which it is
stored after the first pasteurization and pour it into pasteurized
bottles. In either case, the bottles are securely corked and then
repasteurized. The California juices, however, both red and white, are
made exclusively from Vinifera varieties. They are allowed to settle
in the original containers and are siphoned out of these and carefully
filtered to make them clear and bright.
"The clearing of the juice is sometimes facilitated by fining or
adding a small quantity of a substance which coagulates and when
settling carries down with it the solid matters causing cloudiness in
the liquid. Such finings may be applied at the time of the first
pasteurization or just before the final filtration and bottling. In
the latter case the juice is drawn off the settlings in containers,
the finings are added, and the juice again pasteurized into other
receptacles. When it clears, it is either bottled directly or first
passed through a filter, drawn into carefully sterilized bottles,
securely corked, and then repasteurized. Care must be taken that the
final sterilization is not at a higher temperature than the previous
one; otherwise, solid matter may be precipitated and the must clouded
again.
"A simple and efficient form of sterilizer consists of a wooden trough
provided with a wooden grating which is raised 2 inches from the
bottom and on which rest the filled bottles in wire baskets. The
trough contains enough water to submerge the bottles and is kept at a
temperature of 185° F. by means of a steam coil beneath the grating.
It requires about 15 minutes for the must at the bottom of the bottles
to reach that temperature; for packages of other sizes it is necessary
to make a test with a thermometer in order to determine how long it
takes for the entire contents to reach 185°.
"To prevent the corks from being expelled during sterilization, they
are either tied down with a strong twine or with some contrivance such
as the cork holder. In order that mold germs may not enter the must
through the corks, especially if a poor quality of cork is used, the
necks of the corked bottles are dipped in heated paraffin before
putting on the caps, or the corks are sealed down with sealing wax. It
is also well to keep the bottles on their rider to prevent the corks
drying out."
_Home methods of making grape-juice._
The principles involved in making grape-juice in the home are the same
as those used in canning. The grapes may be crushed by hand or in
mills similar or identical with the small cider-mills owned by many
farmers. In making a light-colored juice, the crushed grapes are put
in a cloth sack and hung up to drain, or the filled sack may be
twisted by two persons until the greater part of the juice is
expressed. The juice is then sterilized in a double-boiler by heating
it at a temperature of 180° to 200° F., care being taken that the
thermometer never goes above 200°. The sterilized juice is now poured
into a glass or enameled vessel to stand for twenty-four hours, after
which it is drained from the sediment and strained through several
thicknesses of clean flannel. The juice is now put in clean bottles
preparatory to a second sterilization, care being taken that at least
an inch of space is left at the top for the liquid to expand when
heated. The second sterilization may be conducted in a wash-boiler or
similar receptacle. The filled bottles must not rest on the bottom of
the boiler but should be separated from it with a thin board. The
boiler is filled with water up to within an inch of the tops of the
bottles and heated until the water begins to boil. The bottles should
then be taken out and corked immediately, using only new corks. After
corking, the bottles are further sealed by dipping the corks in melted
paraffin. A cheap corking machine is a great convenience in this work,
and in any case the corks should be soaked for at least a half hour in
warm but not boiling water.
The process varies somewhat in the making of red grape-juice. The
crushed grapes are heated to a temperature of 200° F., and are then
strained through a drip bag without pressure, after which the liquid
is set away in glass or enamel vessels to settle for twenty-four
hours. Except for this difference in the preliminary treatment of the
juice, the methods are the same in making the red or the light-colored
product. For proper keeping it is not necessary to let the juice
settle after it is strained, but a clearer and brighter product is
obtained if the juice is permitted to settle. In either case the
grape-juice should keep indefinitely if the work has been well done.
As soon as bottles are opened, fermentation begins with the formation
of alcohol.
RAISINS
The grape is best conserved as a raisin. Canning is seldom practiced
with this fruit. A raisin is a dried grape. Tree-fruits are evaporated
as by-products, but the raisin is a primary product. This is a
difference worth noting; for with tree-fruits the cream of the crop
goes to the fresh fruit market, while with the grape the entire crop
of raisin varieties may go into the cured product. The raisin industry
is dependent on a sunny and rainless climate and hence in America is
confined to the grape regions of certain parts of California. In this
state, raisin-making is a rich resource of the grape-grower, the
annual output now averaging well above 200,000 pounds, grown on
120,000 acres of land, and having a market value of $10,000,000.
Fresno County, California, produces nearly 60 per cent of the output
of the state and the city of Fresno is the center of the industry. The
raisin industry does not stand alone in California, as some raisin
grapes, notably Muscat of Alexandria, are good dessert sorts and are
also much used for wine and brandy. Only the first crop of the variety
named is used for raisins, while practically all of the second crop
each season is made into wine and brandy.
Raisins proper are mostly made from the Muscat of Alexandria, although
other large, white, sweet grapes are sometimes used. Sultana raisins,
naturally seedless, are made from Sultanina and the Sultana. The dried
currants of commerce are made from grapes, and of these California
produces small quantities from White Corinth.
The following account of raisin-making is given by Husmann:[20]
"In the raisin districts grapes are ripe by the middle of August, the
season often lasting into November. The average time necessary for
drying and curing a tray of raisins is about three weeks, depending on
the weather, the earliest picked grapes drying in ten days and the
later ones often taking four weeks or more.
"The method of drying is very simple. The bunches are cut from the
vines and placed in shallow trays 2 feet wide, 3 feet long, and 1 inch
high on which the grapes are allowed to sun-dry, being turned from
time to time by simply placing an empty tray upside down on the full
one and then turning both over and taking off the top tray. After the
raisins are dried they are stored away until they are packed and
prepared for shipment. Some of the larger growers, in order not to run
so much risk in drying on account of rain, and also to enable them to
handle the crop fast enough, have curing houses, where the curing is
finished after having been partially done outside."
_Dipping and scalding raisins._
"The operation of dipping and scalding is designed to accomplish
several purposes, namely, to cleanse the fruit, to hasten its drying,
and to give the dried fruit a lighter color. In dipping and drying,
the fruit, immediately after being cut from the vines, is either
dipped in clear water to first rinse it of particles of dust and other
foreign matter, or it is taken direct to the scalder and immersed in a
boiling alkaline mixture called 'legia' (lye) until the grapes show an
almost imperceptible cracking of the skin, the operation consuming
perhaps from one-fourth to one-half of a minute. This dipping calls
for skill on the part of the operator, the duration of the emersion
depending on the strength and temperature of the mixture and the
condition of the fruit. Desiccation follows the scalding process,
which is accomplished on trays in the sun, the same as undipped
raisins cured entirely by solar heat. On account of the scald they
cure rapidly, and the fruit is also often of lighter color when cured.
"The following formula has been used for Sultana and Sultanina grapes
at Fresno:
"Fifteen pounds of 'Greenbank's 98-per cent lye' are boiled in 100
gallons of water. This mixture is for grapes containing 25 per
cent of sugar. Should their sugar content be less, enough lye is
added to remove the bloom and open the pores of the skin of the
grapes. After dipping, the grapes are spread on trays and
sulphured for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Observation will show whether it
may be necessary to vary this formula a trifle to suit conditions
of ripeness and influence of temperature. The length of time
required for dipping is ascertained by experience, and differs
with the strength of the lye, the heat of the solution, and the
thickness of the skins of the grapes."
_Packing raisins._
"The raisins as received at the packing house are weighed and the
loose raisins and those that are to be shipped as dried grapes are
immediately run through a stemmer and grader which stems, cleans, and
assorts the raisins into three or four different grades, after which
they are packed and shipped to various parts of the country, some also
being exported. Those producing cluster or layer raisins (if they have
not already been equalized) are first stored in the equalizing rooms.
In these rooms the sweat boxes, filled with layers of new raisins, are
stacked and left usually from 10 to 30 days, or long enough for the
overdried berries to absorb moisture from the under-dried ones. This
sweating also properly softens and toughens the stems, which prevents
their breaking and enables them to hold the berries better. In
California, where the climate is so dry, no first class pack could be
made without thus first equalizing the raisins. After having been
equalized the raisins are taken out, assorted into the different
grades, and placed in trays holding 5 pounds each. The trays of the
same grades are then pressed and stacked away in piles ready for
packing.
"Pressing the raisins so that they look well and so none are burst
open is work requiring experience and good judgment. It takes four
pressed trays to fill a 20-pound box. The loose raisins that have
dropped from the cluster through handling before they were equalized
are also graded, the largest, of course, making the choicest pack."
_Classes of raisins._
"Previous to the consolidated organization of the packers the three
best grades of raisins on the stems were known as 'Imperial,'
'Dehesia,' and 'Fancy Clusters,' respectively. The California Raisin
Growers Association established classification and grades similar to
those of the Spanish raisin packers, on which the French trade names
are also based. The original Spanish, as well as English terms with
which they correspond, and the different grades in descending order of
quality are shown in the following table:
=========================================================================
SPANISH TERMS|FRENCH TERMS |ENGLISH TERMS |CALIFORNIA TERMS
-------------+---------------+----------------------+--------------------
Imperial |Imperiaux Extra|Extra Imperial Cluster|Six-Crown Cluster
Imperial Bajo|Imperiaux |Imperial Cluster |Five-Crown Cluster
Royan Bajo |Royaux |Royal Cluster |Four-Crown Cluster
Cuarta (4a) |Surchoix Extra |Choicest |Three-Crown Cluster
Quinta (5a) |Choix Extra |Choice Cluster |Two-Crown Cluster
=========================================================================
"The grading is optical, as a result of experience, there being no
linear or cubic measurement standard. Thus, a nice cluster with all
berries of large size, would be a 'Six-Crown Cluster,' such being the
very finest raisins on the stem. 'Five-Crown Clusters' were formerly
the 'Dehesia' cluster, and 'Four-Crown Clusters' were formerly 'Fancy
Clusters.' Grades less than 'Four-Crown' on the stems (the
'Three-Crown' and 'Two-Crown') are known as 'Layers,' or 'London
Layers.' These are placed in boxes containing 20 pounds net; in half
boxes of 10 pounds; and quarter boxes of 5 pounds; and in fancy boxes
containing 2-1/2 pounds. Loose raisins, or raisins off the stem, are
graded into Two-Crown, Three-Crown, and Four-Crown raisins by being
run through screens the meshes of which are thirteen thirty-seconds,
seventeen thirty-seconds, and twenty-two thirty-seconds of an inch in
size, respectively. The Sultanina (erroneously called Thompson
Seedless), and the Sultana are packed in 12-ounce cartons, 45 to the
case."
_Seeded raisins._
"The invention of a raisin-seeding machine by George E. Pettit in the
early seventies, and its use, has had a wonderful effect on the
industry.
"Seeded raisins were first put on the market by the late Col. William
Forsythe, of Fresno, Cal., who at first found it very difficult to
dispose of 20 tons. The output in the last 15 years has increased from
700 tons to 50,000 tons per annum, and their popularity is constantly
increasing. In 1900 about 14,000 tons were placed on the market, in
1905 about 21,000 tons, in 1910 about 31,000 tons, and in 1913 about
49,000 tons. The seeding machines in present use can turn out 300 tons
per day. Seeded raisins are now the most important branch of the
raisin industry.
"A brief outline of how seeded raisins are prepared will prove
interesting. The raisins are first exposed to a dry temperature of
140° F. for three to five hours, after which they are put through a
chilling process so that the pedicels can be easily removed, and are
then thoroughly cleansed by being passed through cleaning machines.
They are then taken by automatic carriers to another room, spread out
on trays, and exposed to a moist temperature of 130° F. to bring them
back to their normal condition. The raisins pass to the seeding
machine, where they are carried between rubber-faced rollers and the
impaling device of the seeding machine which catches the seeds and
removes them from the fruits as they are flattened between the
surfaces of the rollers. The impaled seeds are removed from the roller
by a whisking device in such a way as to be caught in a separate
receptacle. The seeded raisins pass through chutes to the packing
tables on the floor below.
"The seeded or loose raisins are packed in 50-pound boxes; in 1-pound
cartons, 36 to the case; in 12-ounce cartons, 45 to the case; and some
in bulk in 25-pound boxes.
"Information has recently been sent out to the effect that the
California Associated Raisin Co. is arranging to do away with the
grades in seeded raisins, so there will only be one grade. This
contemplates using all of the Three-Crown, the smallest of the
Four-Crown, and the best of the Two-Crown in one blended grade.
"From the seeds, formerly used as a fuel, a number of by-products are
now made.
"The seeds and pedicels removed from the raisins in seeding vary from
10 to 12 per cent of the original weight of the raisins according to
their conditions and quality.
"The grading, seeding, facing, and packing have become separate
branches of the industry, and the work is nearly all done by
especially trained women, who have become experts at it. The
establishments in which this work is done furnish employment for over
5000 persons. The aggregate pay roll each month during the season is
between $200,000 and $350,000."
GRAPE-VINEGAR
A very good vinegar can be made from grapes, although as yet this
outlet for over-production is not largely utilized in America. Grapes
which are unsuitable for raisins, dessert, wine-making or grape-juice
can be used for vinegar-making. Under the most favorable conditions,
grape-vinegar cannot compete in cheapness with vinegar made from
numerous other products and must, therefore, always sell at a high
price. Indeed, it is doubtful whether a high-grade grape-vinegar can
be manufactured at a less price than good wine. The production of
grape-vinegar requires as much care, but possibly not as much expert
knowledge, as the making of wine. Unlike the latter, however, the
vinegar can be produced on a small scale for domestic purposes by any
one possessing a knowledge of wine-making or vinegar-making.
Grape-vinegar may be manufactured from either white or red grapes,
although that from white grapes is generally preferred. It may be made
either directly from grapes or from wine, the acetifying process being
the same for both. There are, therefore, two distinct stages in the
manufacture of this product. First, there must be alcoholic
fermentation by which the sugar in the grape is changed into alcohol
with the escape of carbonic acid gas. Second, acetic fermentation must
follow the alcoholic fermentation by which the alcohol is changed into
acetic acid.
BY-PRODUCTS OF GRAPE INDUSTRIES
There are several valuable by-products in the wine-making and
grape-juice industries, and even raisin-making yields a by-product in
the seeds taken from the raisins. The utilization of these wastes has
been rendered profitable in Europe, and there is no reason why
by-products should not yield considerable profit in America, as a few
already do. Good authorities state that if all the wastes of the
grape crop could be utilized the value of the crop would be increased
over 10 per cent.
_Pomace._
The pomace or marc, the residue left after grape pressing, is the most
valuable of the by-products of the wine and grape-juice manufacturers.
If the pomace is permitted to ferment, and afterwards is distilled, a
product called pomace-brandy is made. Unscrupulous wine-makers often
add water and sugar to pomace, after which it is refermented and the
resulting product is sold as wine. Notwithstanding the fact that the
word "wine" as applied to this product is a misnomer, the total amount
of such wine made and consumed in America is large. Piquette is
another product in which the pomace is put into fermenting vats,
sprinkled with water and the liquid after a time is drawn off,
carrying with it the wine contained in the pomace. This liquid is
re-used in other pomace, until it is high enough in alcoholic
strength, when it is distilled into "piquette" or "wash."
In Europe, the pomace from stemmed grapes is said to make a sheep and
cattle food of more or less value when salted slightly and stored in
silos. The pomace is also oftentimes used as a manure, for which it
has considerable to recommend it, being rich in potash and nitrogen.
Acetic acid is made from pomace by drying it in vapor-tight rooms,
during which process 50 to 60 per cent of the weight of the pomace
becomes vapor, and this, condensed, yields considerable quantities of
acetic acid.
_Cream-of-tartar._
The lees of wine, the sediment which settles in the casks in which new
wine or grape-juice is stored, form a grayish or reddish crust on the
inside of the receptacle. This is the argol or wine-stone of the
wine-maker, and from it is made cream-of-tartar, an article
considerably used in medicine, the arts and for culinary purposes.
From 20 to 70 per cent of the lees consist of either cream-of-tartar,
or of calcium tartrate, the latter also having commercial value. Red
wines are much richer in argol than white wines. A ton of grapes
yields from one to two pounds of argol. This product becomes a source
of considerable profit in large wineries and in grape-juice
manufacturing plants.
_Seeds._
In Europe, the seeds are separated from the pomace and used in various
ways. They are also utilized to a smaller extent in America,
especially when separated from raisins. The seeds are used as food for
horses, cattle and poultry, for which they are said to have
considerable value. If crushed and ground, the seeds yield a clear
yellow oil which burns without smoke or smell and which may also be
employed as a substitute for olive oil. A ton of grapes yields from
forty to one hundred pounds of seeds from which may be made from three
to sixteen pounds of oil. This oil is also used as a substitute for
linseed oil and in soap-making. Besides oil, the seeds yield tannin.
After the oil and tannin have been taken from the seeds, there remains
a meal which may still be utilized as a stock food or as a fertilizer.
DOMESTIC USES FOR GRAPES
At present, when food conservation is being emphasized everywhere,
mention of the domestic use for grapes is particularly appropriate.
The country over, no fruit is more generally grown than the grape; yet
grape products are not as common for home use as those of several
other fruits, although many attractive and appetizing preserves can be
made from grapes without the use of large quantities of sugar, spices
or other ingredients. Few housekeepers realize the high quality and
the cheapness of the products that can be made from the grape. Thus,
grape-juice, jelly, jam, marmalade, grape-butter, catsup, spiced
grapes, canned grapes, conserves in which grapes are used, preserves
and mince-meat are among the desirable culinary products easily and
cheaply prepared from home-grown grapes or those bought in the market.
Only simple domestic utensils are needed in the preparation of any of
these products.
Grape-sirup is less easily produced, yet can be made in any home
without the addition of sugar. It is not only a good table sirup, but
is a most useful sugar substitute for the preparation of other
culinary products. The Muscadine grapes in the South, to be purchased
by almost every householder in southeastern United States, in
particular, are useful for these domestic products. Recipes for all of
these products can be found in cook books, and one or two bulletins
and circulars from the United States Department of Agriculture give
recipes for preparing grapes for domestic purposes. Farmers' Bulletin
859 entitled _Home Uses for Muscadine Grapes_ is a particularly
valuable publication on this subject.
It is interesting to note that several large manufacturers of
grape-juice are putting on the market grape jams, jellies and
marmalades. It would seem that these delicious and wholesome products
would find a ready sale in the markets of the country, and that their
manufacture would prove profitable to the maker and to the
grape-grower. The greater the use of grapes for their products, the
better the grower can breast the blows of unfavorable markets and
over-production.
[Illustration: PLATE XX.--Isabella (×2/3).]
CHAPTER XV
GRAPE-BREEDING
Chance, pure and simple, has been the greatest factor in the
production of varieties of American grapes. From the millions of wild
plants, an occasional grape of pre-eminent merit has caught the eye of
the cultivator and has been brought into the vineyard to be the
progenitor of a new variety. Or in the vineyards, more often in
near-by waste lands, from the prodigious number of seedlings that
spring up, pure or cross-bred, a plant of merit becomes the foundation
of a new variety. An interesting fact in the domestication of the four
chief species of American grapes is that none came under cultivation
until forms of them, striking in value, had been found. Catawba,
representing the Labrusca grapes; the Scuppernong, the Rotundifolias;
Norton, from _Vitis æstivalis_; Delaware and Herbemont from the
Bourquiniana grapes; and Clinton from _Vitis vulpina_, are, after a
century, scarcely excelled, although in each species there are now
many new varieties.
That our best grapes have come from chance is not because of a lack of
human effort to produce superior varieties. Of all fruits, the grape
has received most attention in America from the generation of
plant-breeders just passing. Grape-breeders have produced 2000 or more
varieties, a medley of the heterogeneous characters of a dozen
species. That so many of this vast number are worthless is due more to
a lack of knowledge of plant-breeding than to a lack of effort, for
the order and system in plant-breeding that now prevail, disclosed by
recent brilliant discoveries, were unknown to grape-breeders of the
last century.
GRAPE HYBRIDS
As early as 1822, Nuttall, a noted botanist, then at Harvard,
recommended "hybrids betwixt the European vine and those of the United
States which would better answer the variable climates of North
America." In 1830, William Robert Prince, Fig. 48, fourth proprietor
of the then famous Linnean Botanic Nursery at Flushing, Long Island,
grew 10,000 seedling grapes "from admixture under every variety of
circumstance." This was probably the first attempt on a large scale to
improve the native grapes by hybridizing, although little seems to
have come of it. Later, a Dr. Valk, also of Flushing, grew hybrids
from which he obtained Ada, the first named hybrid, the introduction
of which started hybridizers to work in all parts of the country where
grapes were grown.
[Illustration: FIG. 48. William Robert Prince.]
Soon after Valk's hybrid was sent out, E. S. Rogers, Fig. 49, Salem,
Massachusetts, and J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, began to give
viticulturists hybrids of the European Vinifera and the American
species which were so promising that enthusiasm and speculation in
grape-growing ran riot. Never before nor since has grape-growing
received the attention in America as given during the introduction of
Rogers' hybrids. It was the expectation of all that we were to grow in
America, in these hybrids, grapes but little inferior, if at all, to
those of Europe.
A statement of the difference between European and American grapes
shows why American viticulturists have been so eager to grow either
pure-breds from the foreign grape or hybrids with it.
[Illustration: FIG. 49. E. S. Rogers.]
European grapes have a higher sugar-and-solid content than the
American species; they, therefore, make better wines and keep much
longer after harvesting and can be made into raisins. Also, they have
a greater variety of flavors, which are more delicate, yet richer,
with a pleasanter aroma, seldom so acid, and are always lacking the
disagreeable, rancid odor and taste, the "foxiness," of many American
varieties. There is, however, an unpleasant astringency in some of the
foreign grapes, and many varieties are without character of flavor.
American table-grapes, on the other hand, are more refreshing, the
unfermented juice makes a pleasanter drink, and lacking sweetness and
richness, they do not cloy the appetite so quickly. The bunches and
berries of the European grapes are larger, more attractive and are
borne in greater quantities. The pulp, seeds and skins are somewhat
objectionable in all of the native species and scarcely so at all in
the Old World sorts. The berries of the native grapes shell from the
stem so quickly that the bunches do not ship well. The vines of the
Old World grapes are more compact in habit and require less pruning
and training than do those of the native grapes; and, as a species,
probably through long cultivation, they are adapted to more kinds of
soil, to greater differences in environment and are more easily
propagated than the American species.
Because of these points of superiority in the Old World grape, since
Valk, Allen and Rogers showed the way, American grape-breeders have
sought to unite by hybridization the good characters of the Old World
grape with those of the American. Nearly half of the 2000 grapes
cultivated in eastern America have more or less European blood in
them. Yet, despite the efforts of the breeders, few of these hybrids
have commercial value. Whether because they are naturally better
fixed, or long cultivation has more firmly established them, the vine
characters of _Vitis vinifera_ more often appear in varieties arising
as primary hybrids between that and the native species, and the
weaknesses of the foreign grape, which prevent their cultivation in
America, crop out. Hybrids in which the vinifera blood is more
attenuated, as secondary or tertiary crosses, give better results.
Several secondary hybrids now rank among the best of the cultivated
grapes. Examples are Brighton and Diamond. The first is a cross
between Diana-Hamburg, a hybrid of a Vinifera and a Labrusca, crossed
in its turn with Concord, a Labrusca; the second is a cross between
Iona, also a hybrid between a Vinifera and a Labrusca, crossed with
Concord. Both were grown from seed planted by Jacob Moore, Brighton,
New York, in 1870. Brighton was the first secondary hybrid to attract
the attention of grape-breeders, and its advent marked an important
step in breeding grapes.
The signal success achieved by hybridizers of the European grape with
native species quickly led to similar amalgamations among American
species. Jacob Rommel, of Morrison, Missouri, beginning work about
1860, hybridized Labrusca and Vulpina grapes so successfully that a
dozen or more of his varieties are still cultivated. All are
characterized by great vigor and productiveness; and, although they
lack the qualities which make good table-grapes, they are among the
best for wine-making. Rommel has had many followers in hybridizing
native species, chief of whom was the late T. V. Munson, Fig. 50,
Denison, Texas, who literally made every combination of grapes
possible, grew thousands of seedlings and produced many valuable
varieties.
[Illustration: FIG. 50. T. V. Munson.]
_Improvement by selection._
Selection, continued through successive generations, so important in
the improvement of field and garden plants, has played but small part
in the domestication of the grape. The period between planting and
fruiting is so long that progress would be slow indeed were this
method relied on. Moreover, selection, as a method in breeding, is
possible only when plants are bred pure, and it is the experience of
grape-breeders that in pure breeding this fruit loses in vigor and
productiveness and that the variations are exceedingly slight and
unstable. Many pure-bred grapes have been raised on the grounds of the
New York Agricultural Experiment Station under the eyes of the writer,
of which very few have surpassed the parent or have shown promise for
the practice of selection.
_New varieties from sports._
Bud-sports or mutations now and then arise in grapes. But not more
than two or three of the 2000 varieties now under cultivation are
suspected of having arisen in this way. It is true that mutations
seem to occur rather often in grapes, but they are easily confused
with variations due to environment and are usually too vague to lay
hands on. Until the causes of these mutations are known and until they
can be produced and controlled, but little can be hoped for in the
amelioration of grapes through mutations.
HYBRIDIZING THE GRAPE
Hybridization has been the chief means of improving the grape. At
present, from what is being accomplished by many workers, it looks as
if it will long continue to be the best means of improving this fruit.
Since the grape-grower must depend on new varieties for progress, as
old varieties cannot be changed, it should be the ambition of growers
to produce varieties better than those we now have. Many amateur and
professional grape-growers in the past have found breeding grapes a
pleasing and profitable hobby, so that much knowledge has accumulated
in regard to manipulating the plants in hybridization, and the results
that follow in the offspring of hybridization.
_How to hybridize._
It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the botany of flowers
and the essential principles in crossing plants. If he is not, he must
carefully study the structure of flowers, especially those of the
grape, so as to be able to distinguish the different organs and to
discover when the pollen and stigma are ready for the work of
pollination. He should, also, read any one of several current books on
plant-breeding.
The first task in crossing grapes is to remove the anthers before the
flower opens, a process known as emasculation. This is necessary to
prevent self-pollination. This first operation having been performed,
the cluster of grape-flowers must be tied securely in a bag to protect
it from foreign pollen which otherwise would surely be carried to the
stigma by insects. As soon as the stigma is ready to receive the
pollen, the bag is removed and pollen from the male parent is applied,
after which the bag is again put on the flower to remain until the
grapes are well set. By examining the stigmas in the flowers of
uncovered grapes, the operator can tell approximately whether the
covered stigma is ready to receive pollen. The time required after
covering depends, of course, on the age of the bud when emasculation
takes place. It is, by the way, best to delay emasculation until just
before the flowers open, but one must be certain that the anthers have
not discharged their pollen before the flower has been emasculated.
Emasculation is a simple operation. The essential organs of the
grape-flower are covered by a small cap; this in some grapes must be
removed before the anthers can be reached. In many native grapes,
however, the cap and the anthers may be removed at one stroke by the
operator. The best tool for this is a small pair of forceps. Each of
the blades of the forceps in working with native grapes should have a
sharp cutting surface, but with Vinifera sorts, where the cap must be
removed before the anthers can be reached, forcep blades with a flat
surface are best. There is, of course, some danger when the buds are
well developed that the pollen may be squeezed out and so reach the
stigma or adhere to the instrument and thus contaminate future
crosses. The first danger must be avoided carefully by the skill of
the operator, while the second is easily overcome by sterilizing the
forceps in alcohol. An effort should be made to fertilize as many of
the flowers in the cluster as possible, but success is not always
certain; when there is doubt, the uncertain flower should be removed
from the cluster.
The flower from which the pollen is to be taken must be protected from
wind and insects; otherwise pollen from another flower may be left on
it. Protection should be given by tying the flowers in a bag while
still in bud. There are various ways of obtaining pollen from ripe
anthers and applying it to the stigma of the flowers to be crossed.
The simplest is to crush the anthers, thus squeezing out the pollen,
after which, with a brush, scalpel or other instrument, it may be
placed upon the stigma. A brush is very wasteful of pollen and often
becomes a source of contamination to future crosses, so that the
scalpel is the better implement of the two. When pollen is plentiful,
as will usually be the case when a man is working with vines in his
own vineyard, by far the best method is to take the cluster from the
male vine and apply the pollen directly to the stigma of the flower to
be crossed, thereby making certain of fresh pollen and an abundance of
it. The stigma, if pollen suffice, should be covered with pollen.
Grape pollen does not keep well and an effort should be made to have
it as fresh as possible. The work of pollination is best performed in
bright, sunny weather when the pollen is very dry. As may be seen from
the foregoing statements, tools and methods are of less importance
than care in doing the work. The only tool absolutely necessary is a
pair of forceps, although a hand-lens is often helpful. Bags for
covering the flowers should be just large enough and no larger. A bag
to cover the pollen-producing flower may well be an ordinary manilla
bag sufficiently large to amply cover the flower-cluster. It is
helpful, however, to have a light transparent oiled bag through which
one can see the condition of the anthers. It is desirable that the bag
for the female flower be permitted to remain until the fruits ripen as
a protection against birds and fungi. It must, therefore, be of larger
size. While the bags are still flat, a hole is made near the opening
through which a string is passed which can be tied when the upper end
of the bag is squeezed about the cluster.
_Choosing the parents._
Very much depends on the immediate parentage in hybridizing grapes.
Some varieties when crossed produce much higher averages of worthy
offspring than others. There is so much difference in varieties in
this respect that to discover parents so endowed should be the first
task of the grape-breeder. Fortunately, considerable work has been
done by several experiment stations in breeding grapes, and their
accumulated knowledge, together with that from such workers as Rogers,
Ricketts, Campbell and Munson, furnishes beginners with good starting
points. There is no way possible of discovering what the best
progenitors are except by records of performance. Very often varieties
of high cultural value are worthless in breeding because their
characters seem not to be transmitted to their progeny and, to the
contrary, a good-for-nothing variety in the vineyard is often valuable
in breeding.
From present knowledge it does not appear that new characters are
introduced in plants by hybridizing. A new variety originating from
hybridization is but a recombination of the characters of the parents;
the combination is new but the characters are not. Thus, one parent of
a hybridized grape may contribute color, size, flavor and practically
all the characters of the fruit, while the other parent may contribute
vigor, hardiness, resistance to disease and the characters of the
vine. Or these and other characters in the make-up of a new grape may
be intermingled in any mathematical way possible. The grape-breeder
must make certain that one or the other of the parents possesses the
particular characters he desires in his new grape.
It is now known that the characters of the grape, in common with those
of other plants, are inherited in accordance with certain laws
discovered by Mendel. The early workers in grape-breeding did not know
of these laws and could not take aim in the work they were doing.
Consequently, hybridization was a maze in which these breeders often
lost themselves. Mendel's discoveries, however, assure a regularity of
averages and give a definiteness and constancy of action which enable
the grape-breeder to attain with fair certainty what he wants if he
keeps patiently at his task. The grape-breeder should inform himself
as to what Mendel's laws are, and on the work that has been done on
the inheritance of characters of the grape. A technical bulletin
published by the State Experiment Station at Geneva, New York, and
another from the North Carolina Station at Raleigh give much
information on the inheritance of characters in certain grapes, and
further information can be secured by applying to the United States
Department of Agriculture at Washington for literature on the subject.
The grape-breeder can hope to progress only by making many
combinations between different varieties and growing large numbers of
seedlings. He should extend his work to all varieties which show
promise in the breeding of grapes for the particular purpose he has in
mind. The seed may be saved and planted as directed in the chapter on
propagation. Unless he desires to make scientific interpretations of
his results, weak seedlings should be discarded the first year, and a
second discard may be made before the young plants go in the vineyard.
The breeder will soon discover that he can tell fairly well from the
character of the seedlings whether they are of sufficient promise to
keep. Thus, if the number of leaves is small or if the leaves
themselves are small, the vine is of doubtful value; if the internodes
are exceedingly long, the prospect is poor; slenderness of cane, if
accentuated, does not promise well; on the other hand, great stoutness
and very short internodes are not desirable indications. Through these
and other signs, the breeder will come quickly to know which vines
should eventually go to the vineyard.
RESULTS OF GRAPE-BREEDING
There are now 2000 or more varieties of grapes of American origin, all
produced within approximately a century. It is doubtful whether any
other cultivated plant at any time in the history of the world has
attained such importance in so short a time from the wild state as
American grapes. It would seem that almost every possible combination
between species worth considering has been made. Through
hybridization, species and varieties have become so mixed that the
grape-breeder cannot now work intelligently with these gross forms and
must work with characters rather than with species and varieties which
are but combinations of characters. Great progress, it is true, has
been made in the past in breeding grapes in America, but the work has
been wholly empirical and extremely wasteful. Many varieties have been
called, but few have been chosen. With the new knowledge of breeding
and with the experience of past workers, progress should be made with
greater certainty. From what has been done and from work now under
way, it is not too much to say that we shall soon be growing grapes
everywhere in America, and kinds so diverse that they will meet not
only all purposes to which grapes are now put, but also the demand for
better grapes made by more critical consumers.
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.--Jefferson (×3/5).]
CHAPTER XVI
MISCELLANIES
There yet remain several phases of grape-culture essential to success,
none of which quite deserves a chapter and none of which properly
falls into any of the foregoing chapters. The subjects are not closely
related, are by no means of equal importance, yet all are too
important to be relegated to the limbo of an appendix and are,
therefore, thrown into a chapter of miscellanies.
CROSS-POLLINATION
The blooming of the vine had little significance to the grape-grower,
the blooming period being so late that grapes are seldom caught by
frost, until the discovery was made that many varieties of grapes are
unable to fertilize themselves, and that failure of crops of these
varieties was often due to the self-sterility of the variety. Until
this discovery, the uncertainty attending the setting of the grape in
these varieties was one of the discouragements of grape-growing.
Following investigations of the self-sterility of the tree-fruits, an
investigation of the grape showed that the vines of this fruit are
often self-sterile. This knowledge has in some degree modified the
planting of all home collections and has more or less affected the
plantings of commercial sorts.
Varieties of American grapes show most remarkable differences in the
degree of self-fertility. Many sorts fruit perfectly without
cross-pollination. Others set no fruit whatsoever if cross-pollination
is not provided for. Most varieties, however, are found in groups
between the two extremes, neither self-fertile nor self-sterile.
Figure 51 shows staminate and perfect clusters on one vine. Some
varieties show no variation in the degree of self-sterility or
self-fertility; others behave differently in regard to these
characters under different environment. Now and then the widest
variations are to be found in a variety in respect to self-fertility.
[Illustration: FIG. 51. Staminate and perfect clusters on one vine;
_right_, staminate; _left_, perfect.]
Following the lead of Beach at the New York Agricultural Experiment
Station, several workers have made careful studies of the
self-fertility of the grape, and now the cultivated varieties of
native grapes are divided into four groups in accordance with the
degree of self-fertility. Class I includes self-fertile varieties
having perfect or nearly perfect clusters; Class II includes
self-fertile varieties having clusters loose but marketable; Class III
includes varieties which are so imperfectly self-fertile that the
clusters are generally too loose to be marketable; Class IV includes
self-sterile varieties. The following is a list of commonly cultivated
grapes classified according to the divisions just given:
CLASSIFICATION OF GRAPES ACCORDING TO SELF-FERTILITY
CLASS I. Clusters perfect or varying from perfect to somewhat loose.
Berckmans
Bertha
Cottage
Croton
Delaware
Diana
Etta
Janesville
Lady Washington
Lutie
Moore Early
Poughkeepsie
Pocklington
Prentiss
Rochester
Senasqua
Winchell
CLASS II. Clusters marketable; moderately compact or loose.
Agawam
Brilliant
Brown
Catawba
Champion
Chautauqua
Clinton
Colerain
Concord
Dutchess
Early Victor
Elvira
Empire State
Fern Munson
Hartford
Iona
Isabella
Isabella Seedling
Jefferson
Jessica
Lady
Mills
Missouri Riesling
Perkins
Rommel
Triumph
Ulster
CLASS III. Clusters unmarketable.
Brighton
Canada
Dracut Amber
Eumelan
Geneva
Hayes
Lindley
Noah
Northern Muscadine
Vergennes
CLASS IV. Self-sterile. No fruit develops on covered clusters.
America
Aminia
Barry
Black Eagle
Clevener
Creveling
Eldorado
Faith (?)
Gaertner
Grein Golden
Hercules
Jewel
Massasoit
Maxatawney (?)
Merrimac
Montefiore
Requa
Salem
Wyoming
In the main, the cause of infertility, as with other fruits, is the
impotency of pollen on the pistils of the same variety. There are a
few cases in which pollen does not seem to be formed abundantly, but
these are very few. There are a few cases, also, in which the pistil
does not become receptive until after the pollen has lost its
vitality; these, however, are very few. In a greater number of cases
the pollen is found defective. However, dismissing all of these as the
exception, the rule is that self-sterility is due, as has been said,
to the lack of affinity between pollen and pistils produced on the
vines of some varieties.
Nature is helpful to the grape-grower in giving a guide to
self-fertility. The length of stamens is a fairly safe indication of
self-fertility. All grapes which are self-fertile bear flowers with
long stamens, although the latter are not a sure sign of
self-fertility, as a few varieties with long stamens are self-sterile.
On the other hand, short or recurved stamens are always associated
with complete or nearly complete self-sterility.
The remedy for self-sterility is inter-planting. Only the varieties
named in Classes I and II in the foregoing classification should be
planted alone. The sorts named in Classes III and IV must be planted
near other sorts which bloom at the same time in order that their
flowers may be cross-pollinated.
It is evident that the grape-grower must have some knowledge of the
relative time that grapes bloom, if he is to plant intelligently to
secure cross-pollination. The following table, taken from Bulletin 407
of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, shows the blooming
time of grapes at that Station. Variations due to location and season
must be expected, but within the bounds of the regions in which these
grapes are grown variations will be slight. When this table is used
for other regions than New York, it must be borne in mind that the
farther south, the longer the blooming season; the farther north, the
shorter the season.
_Blooming dates of grapes._
From three years' records, the average length of blooming season for
grapes was twenty days, nineteen days in 1912 and 1914 and twenty-two
days in 1913. The first date in the average year of 1912 was June 14,
while for 1914, it was June 7:
TABLE IV.--SHOWING BLOOMING TIME OF GRAPES
=====================================================================
| VERY | | MID- | | VERY
| EARLY | EARLY | SEASON | LATE | LATE
-------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Agawam | | | * | |
America | | | | * |
August Giant | | | * | |
Bacchus | * | | | |
Barry | | | * | |
Beacon | | | | * |
Bell | | * | | |
Berckmans | | * | | |
Black Eagle | | | * | |
Brighton | | | * | |
Brilliant | | | * | |
Brown | | | * | |
Campbell Early | | | * | |
Canada | | * | | |
Canandaigua | | | * | |
Carman | | | | | *
Catawba | | | * | |
Champion | | * | | |
Chautauqua | | | * | |
Clevener | * | | | |
Clinton | * | | | |
Colerain | | | * | |
Columbian Imperial | | | * | |
Concord | | | * | |
Cottage | | * | | |
Creveling | | | * | |
Croton | | | | * |
Delago | | | * | |
Delaware | | | * | |
Diamond | | | * | |
Diana | | | * | |
Downing | | | * | |
Dracut Amber | | * | | |
Dutchess | | | | * |
Early Victor | | * | | |
Eaton | | | * | |
Eclipse | | | * | |
Eldorado | | | * | |
Elvira | | * | | |
Empire State | | | * | |
Etta | | | * | |
Eumedel | | | * | |
Eumelan | | | | * |
Faith | | * | | |
Fern Munson | | | | * |
Gaertner | | | * | |
Geneva | | | * | |
Goethe | | | * | |
Gold Coin | | | * | |
Grein Golden | | * | | |
Hartford | | | * | |
Headlight | | | * | |
Helen Keller | | | * | |
Herbert | | | * | |
Hercules | | | * | |
Hicks | | | * | |
Hidalgo | | | * | |
Hosford | | | * | |
Iona | | | | * |
Isabella | | * | | |
Janesville | * | | | |
Jefferson | | | | | *
Jessica | | * | | |
Jewel | | | * | |
Kensington | | * | | |
King | | | * | |
Lady Washington | | | | * |
Lindley | | | * | |
Lucile | | | * | |
Lutie | | | * | |
McPike | | | * | |
Manito | | | | * |
Martha | | | * | |
Massasoit | | | * | |
Maxatawney | | | * | |
Merrimac | | | * | |
Mills | | | * | |
Missouri Riesling | | * | | |
Montefiore | | | * | |
Moore Early | | | * | |
Moyer | | | * | |
Nectar | | | * | |
Niagara | | | * | |
Noah | | * | | |
Northern Muscadine | | * | | |
Norton | | | | | *
Oporto | * | | | |
Ozark | | | | * |
Peabody | | | * | |
Perfection | | | * | |
Perkins | | | * | |
Pierce | | | * | |
Pocklington | | | * | |
Poughkeepsie | | | | * |
Prentiss | | | * | |
Rebecca | | | * | |
Regal | | | * | |
Requa | | | * | |
Rochester | | | * | |
Rommel | | | * | |
Salem | | | * | |
Secretary | | | * | |
Senasqua | | | | | *
Stark-Star | | | | | *
Triumph | | | | | *
Ulster | | * | | |
Vergennes | | | * | |
Winchell | | | * | |
Worden | | | * | |
Wyoming | | | * | |
=====================================================================
RINGING GRAPE VINES
The ringing of woody plants is a well-known horticultural practice.
Three objects may be attained by ringing: unproductive plants may be
brought into bearing by ringing; the size of the fruits may be
increased and thereby the plants be made more productive; and the
maturity of the fruit may be hastened. In European countries, ringing
has long been practiced with all tree-fruits and the grape, but in
America the operation is recommended only for the apple and the grape
and with neither fruit is ringing widely practiced. Experiments
carried on at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station by Paddock,
as reported in Bulletin 151 from this Station, show that ringing may
well be practiced by grape-growers under some conditions. Since
Paddock's experiments, and possibly to some extent before, the grape
has been ringed to produce exhibition fruits or a fancy product for
the market.
Ringing consists in taking from the vine a layer of bark around the
vine through the cortex and bast of the plant. The width of the wound
varies from that of a simple cut made with a knife to a band of bark
an inch in diameter. The operation is performed during that period of
growth in which the bark peels most readily from the vine, the period
of greatest cambial activity. The term "ringing" is preferred to
"girdling," a word sometimes used, since the latter properly
designates a wound which extends into and usually kills the plant.
The theory of ringing is simple. Unassimilated sap passes from the
roots of the plant to the leaves through the outer layer of the woody
cylinder. In the leaves this raw material is acted on by various
agents, after which it is distributed to the several organs of the
plant through vessels in the inner bark. When plants are ringed, the
upward flow of sap is continued as before the operation, but the newly
made food compounds cannot pass beyond the injury, and therefore the
top of the plant is supplied with an extra amount of food at the
expense of the parts below the ring. The extra food produces the
results noted.
It turns out in practice that ringing is usually harmful to the plant,
as one might expect from so unnatural an operation. Injury to the
plant arises from the fact that parts of the vine are starved at the
expense of other parts; and because, when the bark is removed, the
outer layers of the woody cylinder dry out very quickly and thus check
to some extent the upward flow of sap through evaporation from the
exposed wood. Thus, not infrequently, the plant's vitality is
seriously drained. Nevertheless, vineyards may be found in which
ringing has been extensively practiced many seasons in succession and
which continue to yield profitable crops, the growers having learned
to perform the work of ringing so as to injure the vines but little.
Ringing without harm to the plant depends much on the way in which the
vines have been pruned. For instance, if the vines are pruned to the
two-arm Kniffin method, the ringing of bark should be done from both
arms just beyond the fifth bud. Thus, the ten buds left on the vine
produce enough leaf surface to supply the food necessary to keep the
vine in vigorous condition. When the four-arm Kniffin method is used,
the two top arms only are ringed, and even so three or four buds must
be left on each for renewals. Whatever the method of training, it will
be seen from these examples that some unringed wood must be left to
the vine with which to supply leafy shoots to support the vine. Some
growers ring their vines only every other year, thus giving them an
opportunity to recover from whatever loss of vigor they may have
sustained in the season of ringing.
Several other considerations are important in ringing: First, the
vines must not be permitted to carry too large a crop. Again, the
amount of fruit on the ringed portion of the vine must depend on the
amount of leaf surface not only of the plant but of the ringed arms,
each ringed arm acting somewhat independently so far as its crop is
concerned. If too many clusters are left on the ringed arms, it always
follows that the fruit is inferior and often worthless. Lastly, all
fruit between the rings and the trunk must be removed, for it does not
mature properly and so adds only to the drain on the plant's vitality.
As to the results, it is certain from the experiments that have been
conducted and from the experience of grape-growers, that the maturity
of the fruit is hastened, and berries and bunches are larger when the
ringing has been done intelligently. Many growers hold that fruit
produced on ringed vines is never quite up to the mark in quality and
in firmness of fruit. There seems to be a difference in opinion about
this falling off in quality, however, although unquestionably, choice
sorts, as Delaware, Iona and Dutchess, suffer more or less in quality.
It is commonly agreed, also, that varieties, the fruits of which crack
badly, as the Worden, suffer more from cracking on ringed than on
unringed vines.
Experiment and experience prove that the best results of ringing are
obtained if the work is done when the grapes are about one-third
grown. Of course the exact time depends on the season and on the
variety. The operation is variously performed and is easily done with
a sharp knife, but when large vineyards are to be ringed the grower
ought to provide himself with some simple tool. Paddock, in the
bulletin previously mentioned, pictures two of these tools and these
are reproduced in Fig. 52.
[Illustration: FIG. 52. Tools used in ringing grape-vines are shown in
1 and 2; while 3 and 4 show ringed vines at the beginning and the
close of the season.]
In conclusion it must be said that it is doubtful whether the gains
attained by ringing offset the losses. The practice is chiefly of
value only when exhibition clusters of grapes are wanted or when it is
necessary to hasten the maturity of the crop. Always, however, the
work must be performed with intelligence and judgment or the losses
will offset the gains.
BAGGING GRAPES
In some localities bagging is considered an essential to profitable
grape-growing. The bags serve to protect the grapes against birds. In
some grape regions vineyards suffer more from the depredations of
robins and other birds than from all other troubles. Grapes bearing
small berries and having tender pulp and those which shell most
readily from the stem suffer most. Of standard sorts, Delaware is
probably more enticing to robins than any other variety. There is only
one way of preventing damage to grapes from birds and that is by
bagging the clusters.
Bagging is also an effective means of protecting the grape from
several fungi and insects. In home plantations or small commercial
vineyards, bagging the bunches often eliminates the necessity of
spraying for fungi and for most of the insects that trouble the grape.
Because of the warmth afforded by the bags, bagged grapes ripen a
little earlier and are of somewhat higher quality than those not
bagged. Grapes bagged are protected from early frost, thus prolonging
the season. Grapes that have been protected from the elements during
the summer are more attractive than those exposed to the weather,
since the fruits are free from weather marks and present a fresh,
bright appearance, which puts them in a grade above unbagged grapes.
Bagging often enables the grower to sell his crop as a fancy product.
Grapes are bagged as soon as the fruits are well set, the sooner the
better if protection against fungi is one of the purposes. Under no
circumstances, however, should the clusters be bagged while in
blossom. A patent bag made for the purpose may be purchased or,
serving equally well, the common one and one-half and two-pound manila
bags used by grocers prove satisfactory. One of the patent bags which
is known as the Ideal Clasp Bag has a metal clasp attached to the top
for securing the bag in place over the cluster. In using the grocer's
bag, before it is put in place the corners of both the top and bottom
are cut off by placing several bags on a firm level surface and using
a broad-shaped chisel. Cutting off the corners of the top enables the
operator to close the bag neatly over the cluster, while cutting off
the corners of the bottom furnishes a means of escape for any water
that gets in the bag. In putting the bag in place, the top is pinned
above the lateral from which the bunch hangs, and must not be fastened
about the small stem of the cluster, as the wind blowing the bag
almost invariably breaks the cluster from the vine. The largest pins
to be purchased in dry-goods stores are used in pinning the bags. The
bags remain until the grapes are picked. Wet weather does not injure
bags and seemingly they grow stronger with exposure to sun and wind.
The cost of the bags and the work of putting them on is no small item.
To secure the best results, the work must be done at the period
between the dropping of the blossoms and the formation of the seeds,
when the grapes are about the size of a small pea. This is a busy time
for the grape-grower, which adds to the cost. When the work is
conducted on a large scale, the cost is about two dollars a thousand
bags, this figure covering both the cost of bags and labor. Women do
the work more expeditiously than men and soon become very skillful in
putting on the bags. Despite the trouble and cost of bagging, growers
seeking to produce a fancy product find that the expenditure proves
profitable.
WINTER-PROTECTION OF GRAPES
With a little care as to winter-protection, grapes may be grown
profitably in northern regions where, without protection, the vines
are killed or injured by low temperatures. Indeed, it is little short
of amazing how well grapes can be grown in northern regions where
nature wears a most austere countenance in winter, if hardy early
sorts are planted in warm soils and situations, and the vines are
covered in the winter. Occasionally one finds grapes grown profitably
in commercial vineyards in the northern states in regions where
protection must be given to prevent winter-killing, the extra work of
giving protection being more than offset by the high price received in
local markets for the fruit.
In all locations in which winter-protection must be given, several
other precautions are helpful or even necessary. Thus, cultivation
must cease early in the season, and a cover-crop be sown to help
harden and mature the vines. The grapes, also, must not be planted in
soils rich in nitrogen, and nitrogenous fertilizers must be applied
with care. The pruning should be such as does not induce great growth.
These simple precautions to hasten maturity often suffice in climates
where the danger of winter-killing is but slight, but where danger is
imminent the vines must be covered either by wrapping or by laying
down. Wrapping with straw may suffice for a few vines, but when many
vines are to be protected, laying them down is cheaper and much more
effectual.
By laying down is meant that the vines must be placed on the ground
and there be protected by earth and snow or other covering. It is
obvious that to protect thus, the vines must receive special training;
otherwise the trunks may be too stiff for bending. Some method of
training must be chosen in which renewals may be made rather
frequently from the ground so that if the trunks become large, clumsy
and unpliable, a more manageable trunk can be trained. If the
provisions for renewal are kept in mind, any one of the several
methods of training grapes explained in Chapter VIII on training may
be used.
Laying down must be preceded by pruning, after which the arms and
trunk are loosened from the wires and bent to the ground. Bending is
facilitated by removing a spade full of earth from the side of the
vine in the direction in which the vine is to be bent. The trunk is
then laid on the earth and sufficient soil placed on it to keep it in
place on the ground. If the danger of winter-killing is great because
of the tenderness of the variety or the austerity of the climate, it
often becomes necessary to cover the whole plant lightly with earth.
Small growers often make use of coarse manure, straw, corn-stalks or
similar covering, in which case the vines are held on the ground by
fence-rails or other timbers; but protecting with material that must
be brought into the vineyard is expensive and not more satisfactory
than earth.
The vines can be put down at any time after the leaves drop and before
the earth begins to freeze. It is more important that the vines be
taken up at the proper time in the spring. If uncovered too early and
cold weather follows, injury may result and more harm be done than if
the vines had not been covered. On the other hand, if the earth is
permitted to remain too long, foliage and vine are tender both to
sunshine and frost. A grape-grower in New York who has had much
experience in laying down vines in a vineyard of some thirty or forty
acres says that the work may be done at a cost of $6 an acre at the
average wage paid for farm-labor. It must be expected in a large
plantation, no matter how well the work of covering is done, that
occasionally a trunk will be broken, making it necessary to graft the
vine if a shoot does not spring up from below the break.
RIPENING DATES AND LENGTH OF SEASON FOR GRAPES
Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may be expected to
ripen and the length of season that they will keep. The commercial
fruit-grower by all means should have this information. It is not
sufficient that he know only roughly at what season his varieties
ripen; for, to take the turn of the market, he must know exactly when
a variety will ripen and how long it will keep. He needs this
information, also, that he may distribute his labor better throughout
the picking season.
Unfortunately, the data as to ripening time given by originators
and introducers of varieties are not always reliable. This
untrustworthiness of data is readily accounted for in several ways:
First, growers do not generally agree as to when grapes are ripe nor
as to how long they are fit to eat. Again, much confusion as to when
varieties ripen and how long they will keep arises from the fact that
grapes ripen at different times in different places, and it is
difficult for the grape-grower in Maine to make allowance in season
for varieties, the time of ripening of which is given for Maryland.
There are also other causes than the seasonal differences in grape
regions for variability in ripening time; thus, some soils are warmer
and quicker than others, and on these grapes ripen earlier.
Application of nitrogenous fertilizers may delay the period of
ripening somewhat. Grapes ripen perceptibly earlier on old plants than
on young ones. Lastly, every vineyard in a particular region has its
own particular climate caused by the lay of land, nearness to water,
air currents and altitude which cause small differences in ripening.
The following table taken from Bulletin No. 408 of the New York
Agricultural Experiment Station gives the ripening dates of grapes at
Geneva, New York. It is necessary that the reader know something about
the conditions affecting the ripening time at Geneva. The latitude is
42° 50' 46". The altitude is 525 feet above sea level. The vineyard
lies a mile west of a relatively large body of water. The soil is a
cold heavy clay which must delay ripening time somewhat. The land is
level. The data are given as an average for three seasons, 1913-1915.
The figures given for "weeks in common storage" cover a variable
number of years, but for all varieties three or more years. The
grapes, after being picked, were at once placed in common storage in a
room on the second floor of a building. There conditions were not
ideal, and no doubt the season of storage would have been prolonged
somewhat had the fruit been kept in a better storage-room.
TABLE V.--SHOWING THE RIPENING TIME OF GRAPES
=====================================================================
| WEEKS IN | | | | |
| COMMON | VERY | | MID- | | VERY
| STORAGE | EARLY | EARLY | SEASON | LATE | LATE
-------------------+----------+-------+-------+--------+------+------
Agawam | | | | | * |
America | | | * | | |
Barry | 28 | | | * | |
Beacon | 7 | | | * | |
Bell | 8 | | * | | |
Berckmans | 21 | | | * | |
Black Eagle | 18 | | | * | |
Brighton | 20 | | | * | |
Brilliant | 11 | | | * | |
Brown | 6 | | | * | |
Campbell Early | 12 | | * | | |
Canada | 17 | | | | * |
Canandaigua | 20 | | | | * |
Carman | 17 | | | * | |
Catawba | 21 | | | | | *
Champion | 6 | | * | | |
Chautauqua | 10 | | | | * |
Clevener | 13 | | | | * |
Clinton | 21 | | | | | *
Colerain | 8 | | | * | |
Columbian Imperial | 7 | | | | * |
Concord | 8 | | | * | |
Cottage | 5 | | * | | |
Creveling | 16 | | * | | |
Croton | 23 | * | | | |
Delago | 25 | | | | | *
Delaware | 15 | | * | | |
Diamond | 10 | | * | | |
Diana | 17 | | | | | *
Downing | | | | | * |
Dracut Amber | 9 | | * | | |
Dutchess | 23 | | | * | |
Early Ohio | | * | | | |
Early Victor | 11 | * | | | |
Eaton | 6 | | | | * |
Eclipse | 7 | * | | | |
Eldorado | 17 | * | | | |
Elvira | 18 | | | * | |
Empire State | 24 | | | | * |
Etta | 15 | | | | | *
Eumelan | 17 | | * | | |
Faith | 11 | | | * | |
Fern Munson | 11 | | | | | *
Gaertner | 17 | | | * | |
Geneva | 22 | | * | | |
Goethe | 18 | | | | | *
Gold Coin | 10 | | | | * |
Grein Golden | 12 | | | | * |
Hartford | 8 | | | * | |
Headlight | 8 | * | | | |
Helen Keller | 26 | | | | * |
Herbert | 27 | | | * | |
Hercules | 13 | | | | * |
Hicks | 10 | | | * | |
Hidalgo | 12 | | | * | |
Hosford | 6 | | | | * |
Iona | 13 | | | | * |
Isabella | 11 | | | * | |
Janesville | 13 | | | * | |
Jefferson | 18 | | | | | *
Jessica | 12 | | * | | |
Jewel | 12 | | * | | |
Kensington | 19 | | | | * |
King | | | * | | |
Lady Washington | 16 | | | | * |
Lindley | 27 | | | * | |
Lucile | 9 | | | * | |
Lutie | 4 | * | | | |
McPike | 7 | | | * | |
Manito | 7 | | | | * |
Martha | 10 | | | * | |
Massasoit | 16 | | | * | |
Maxatawney | 12 | | | * | |
Merrimac | 31 | | | * | |
Mills | 29 | | | | * |
Missouri Riesling | 6 | | | | * |
Montefiore | 9 | | | * | |
Moore Early | 6 | * | | | |
Moyer | 9 | | * | | |
Nectar | 10 | | * | | |
Niagara | 10 | | * | | |
Noah | 10 | | | * | |
Northern Muscadine | 9 | | | * | |
Norton | 7 | | | | | *
Oporto | 12 | | | * | |
Ozark | 11 | | | | * |
Peabody | | | | | * |
Perfection | 8 | | | * | |
Perkins | | | | | * |
Pierce | | | | | * |
Pocklington | | | * | | |
Poughkeepsie | 15 | | * | | |
Prentiss | 16 | | | | * |
Rebecca | 18 | | | * | |
Regal | 16 | | | | * |
Requa | 30 | | | * | |
Rochester | 7 | | | * | |
Rommel | 10 | | | * | |
Salem | 27 | | | | * |
Secretary | 25 | | | | * |
Senasqua | 13 | | | | * |
Stark-Star | 10 | | | | | *
Triumph | 15 | | | | | *
Ulster | 21 | | | | * |
Vergennes | 28 | | | | * |
Wilder | 11 | | | | * |
Winchell | 6 | * | | | |
Worden | 6 | | * | | |
Wyoming | 9 | | * | | |
=====================================================================
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.--Lindley (×1/2). Lucile (×1/2).]
CHAPTER XVII
GRAPE BOTANY
The grape-grower must know the gross structure and the habits of
growth of the plants properly to propagate, transplant, prune and
otherwise care for the grape. Certainly he must have knowledge of the
several species from which varieties come if he is to know the kinds
of grapes, understand their adaptations to soils and climates, their
relation to insects and fungi, and their value for table, wine,
grape-juice and other purposes. Fortunately, the botany of the grape
is comparatively simple. The organs of vine and fruit are distinctive
and easily discerned and there are no nearly related plants cultivated
for fruit with which the grape can possibly be confused. Botanists, it
is true, have dug pitfalls for those who seek exact knowledge as to
the names and characters of the many species, but, fortunately, each
of the cultivated species constitutes a natural group so distinct that
the grape-grower can hardly mistake one for another in either fruit or
vine.
PLANT CHARACTERS AND GROWTH HABITS OF THE GRAPE
A grape plant is a complex organism with its many separate parts
especially developed to do one or a few kinds of work. The part of a
plant devoted to one or a group of functions is called an organ. The
chief organs of the plant are the root, stem, bud, flower, leaf, fruit
and seed. Flowers and leaves, it is true, develop from buds and the
seeds are parts of the fruits, but for descriptive purposes the vine
may well be divided into the parts named. These chief organs are
further divided as follows:
_The root._
_Root-crown_: The region of the plant in which root and stem
unite.
_Tap-root_: The prolongation of the stem plunging vertically
downward.
_Rootlets_: The ultimate divisions of the root; usually of one
season's growth.
_Root-tips_: The extreme ends of the rootlets.
The roots of some species of the grape are soft and succulent as those
of _V. vinifera_, while the same organs in other species, as in most
American grapes, are hard and fibrous. They may also be few or
numerous, deep or shallow, spreading or restricted, fibrous or
non-fibrous. The structure of the root thus becomes important in
distinguishing species.
_The stem._
_Stem or trunk_: The unbranched main axis of the plant above
ground.
_Branches or arms_: Main divisions of the trunk.
_Head_: The region from which branches arise.
_Old wood_: Parts of the vine older than one year.
_Canes_: Wood of the current season.
_Spurs_: Short pieces of the bases of canes; usually one or two
nodes with a bud each.
_Renewal spurs_: Spurs left to bear canes the following year.
_Shoots_: Newly developed succulent stems with their leaves.
_Fruit-shoots_: Flower and fruit-bearing shoots.
_Wood-shoots_: Shoots which bear leaves only.
_Laterals_: Secondary shoots arising from main shoots.
_Water sprouts_: Shoots arising from adventitious buds.
_Suckers_: Shoots arising from below ground.
_Nodes_: Joints in the stem from which leaves are or may be borne.
_Internodes_: The part between two nodes.
_Diaphragm_: The woody tissue which interrupts the pith at the
node.
_Bloom_: The powdery coating on the cane.
_Tendril_: The coiled, thread-like organ by which the vine grasps
an object and clings to it.
Species of grapes have very characteristic vines. A glance at a vine
enables one to tell the European grape from any of the American
grapes; so, also, one is able to distinguish most of the American
species by the aspect of the vine. Many varieties of any species of
grape are readily told by the size and habits of the plant. Size of
vine is rather more variable than other gross characters because of
the influence of environment, such as food, moisture, light, isolation
and pests; yet, size in a plant or the parts of a plant is a very
reliable character when proper allowances are made for environment.
The degree of hardiness is a very important diagnostic character in
determining both species and varieties of grapes and very largely
indicates their value for the vineyard. Thus, the varieties of the
European grape are less hardy than the peach, while our American
Labruscas and Vulpinas are as hardy as the apple. The range of
varieties as to hardiness falls within that of the species, and
cultivated varieties hardier than the wild grape are not found. Grapes
are designated in descriptions of varieties and species as hardy,
half-hardy and tender.
Habit of growth varies but little with changing conditions and is thus
an important means of distinguishing species and varieties and not
infrequently stamps the variety as fit or unfit for the vineyard.
Habit of growth gives aspect to the vine. Thus, a vine may be upright,
drooping, horizontal, stocky, straggling, spreading, dense or open.
The vine may grow rapidly or slowly and may be long-lived or
short-lived; the trunk may be short and stocky or long and slender.
These several characters largely determine whether a vine is
manageable in the vineyard. Productiveness, age of bearing and
regularity of bearing are distinctive characters with cultivated
grapes. The care given the vine influences these characters; yet all
are helpful in identifying species and varieties and all must be
considered by the grape-grower.
Immunity and susceptibility to diseases and insects are most valuable
diagnostic characters of species and varieties of grapes. Thus,
species differ widely in resistance to phylloxera, the grape-louse, to
the grape leaf-hopper, the flea-beetle, berry-moth, root-worm,
powdery-mildew, downy-mildew, anthracnose and other insect and fungous
troubles of this fruit.
The structure of the bark is an important distinguishing character for
some species, but is of little importance in identifying the variety
and has no economic value to the fruit-grower. In most species of
grapes, the bark has distinct lenticels and on the old wood separates
in long thin strips and fibers; but in two species from southeastern
North America, the bark bears prominent lenticels and never shreds.
Smoothness, color and thickness are other attributes of the bark to be
noted.
Canes of different species vary greatly in total length and in length
of internodes. They vary also in size, in number and in color, while
the shape in some species is quite distinctive, being in some round,
in others angular and in still others flattened. The direction of
growth in canes, whether sinuous, straight or zigzag, is an important
character. Nodes and internodes are indicative characters in some
species, being more or less prominent, angular or flattened, while the
internodes are long or short.
The diaphragm distinguishes several species of grapes. The cane
contains a large pith and this in most species is interrupted by woody
tissue, forming a diaphragm at the nodes. In the Rotundifolia grapes
the diaphragm is absent, while in several other American species it is
very thin and in still others quite thick. The character of the
diaphragm is best observed in year-old canes. In studying the
diaphragm, notice should be taken also of the pith, which is very
variable in size.
Young shoots of the grape offer a ready means of distinguishing
species and varieties through their color and the amount and
character of the pubescence. Shoots may be glabrous, pubescent or
hairy and even spiny.
The tendril is one of the organs most used in determining species and
varieties of grapes. In some species, as _V. Labrusca_, there is a
tendril or an inflorescence opposite nearly every leaf, continuous
tendrils. All other species have two leaves with a tendril opposite
each and a third leaf without a tendril, intermittent tendrils. To
study this organ it is necessary to have vigorous, healthy, typical
canes. Tendrils may be long or short, stout or slender; simple,
bifurcated or trifurcated; or smooth, pubescent or warty.
The number of inflorescences borne by species is an important
character in some cases. All species, excepting _V. Labrusca_, average
two inflorescences to a cane, but _V. Labrusca_ may bear from three to
six inflorescences, each in the place of a tendril opposite the leaf.
_The bud._
_Bud_: An undeveloped shoot.
_Fruit-bud_: A bud in which a shoot bearing flowers originates.
_Wood-bud_: A bud in which a shoot bearing only leaves originates.
_Latent bud_: A bud which remains dormant for one or more seasons.
_Adventitious bud_: A bud arising elsewhere than the normal
position at a node.
_Eye_: A compound bud.
_Main bud_: The central bud of an eye.
_Secondary bud_: The lateral bud of an eye.
Buds of different species of grapes vary greatly in time of opening as
they do somewhat in varieties, so that the time the buds begin to
swell is a fine mark of distinction. The angle at which the bud stands
out from the branch is of some value in determining species.
Differences in color, size, shape, position and amount of pubescence
of buds must all be noted in describing grapes. The scales of the buds
vary more or less in size and in thickness.
_The flower._
_Staminate_: Having stamens and not pistils; a male flower.
_Pistillate_: Having pistils and not stamens; a female flower.
_Dioecious_: Said when the stamens are on one plant and the
pistils on another.
_Polygamous_: Said when flowers on a plant are in part perfect
(having both stamens and pistils) while others are
staminate or pistillate.
_Hermaphrodite_: Said of a flower having both stamens and pistils.
_Fertile_: Said of a flower capable of bearing seed without pollen
from another flower.
_Sterile_: Said of a flower without or with abortive pistils.
_Perfect_: Said of a flower having both stamens and pistils.
_Imperfect_: Said of a flower wanting either stamens or pistils.
_Peduncle_: The stalk of a flower-cluster.
_Pedicel_: The stalk of each particular flower.
The time of bloom is an easy mark of distinction between several
species of grapes and helps to distinguish varieties in a species as
well. Most species of grapes bear fertile flowers on one vine and
sterile flowers on another and are, therefore, polygamous-dioecious.
Sterile vines bear male flowers with abortive pistils so that, while
they never produce fruits themselves, they usually assist in
fertilizing others. Fertile flowers are capable of ripening fruits
without cross-pollination. Vines with female flowers only are seldom
found. In most species of the grape, plants with sterile flowers and
those with complete flowers are found mixed in the wild state, but
usually only the fertile plants have been selected for cultivation.
Plants raised from seeds of any of the species, however, furnish many
sterile vines.
[Illustration: FIG. 53. The grape flower. I. Opening bud showing the
way in which the cap becomes loosened at the base. II. Diagrammatic
illustration of grape stamens.]
The degree of fertility of blossoms is also a fine mark of distinction
in species and varieties of the grape. Fertile vines are of two kinds
in most species. The flowers on one kind are perfect hermaphrodites,
while in the other kind the stamens are smaller and shorter than the
pistil and eventually bent down and curved under. The two kinds of
stamens are shown in Figs. 53 and 54. These may be called imperfect
hermaphrodites since they are seldom as fruitful as the perfect
hermaphrodites unless fertilized from another plant. Examined with a
microscope, it is found that self-sterile plants usually bear abortive
pollen and that the percentage of abortive pollen grains varies
greatly in different varieties. The upright or depressed stamen does
not always indicate the condition of the pollen, since there are many
instances in which upright stamens bear impotent pollen and
occasionally the depressed stamens bear perfect pollen.
[Illustration: FIG. 54. Grape flowers. _Left_, upright stamens of
Delaware; _right_, depressed stamens of Brighton.]
_The leaf._
_Blade_: The expanded portion of the leaf.
_Lobe_: The more or less rounded division of the leaf.
_Sinus_: The recess or bay between two lobes.
_Petiole_: The leaf-stalk.
_Petiolar sinus_: The sinus about the petiole.
_Basal sinuses_: The two sinuses toward the base of the blade.
_Lateral sinuses_: The two sinuses toward the apex of the blade.
The size, shape and color of the leaves are quite distinctive of
species and more or less so of varieties, if allowances are made for
variation due to environment. The lobing of leaves is a very uniform
character in most species, some having lobes and others having entire
leaves. The upper surface of the leaf in some species is smooth,
glossy and shiny and in others is rough and dull. The lower surface
shows similar variations and has, besides, varying amounts of
pubescence, down and bloom. In some species the down resembles
cobwebs. The number, size and shape of the lobes are important in
distinguishing both varieties and species, as are also the petiolar,
basal and lateral sinuses. As in most plants, the margins of the
leaves, whether serrate, dentate or crenate, are often distinguishing
characters. The petiole in different species varies from short to long
and from stout to slender. Lastly, the time at which the leaves fall
is often a good distinguishing mark.
_The fruit._
_Peduncle and pedicel_: Defined as in flower.
_Brush_: The end of the pedicel projecting into the fruit.
_Base_: The point of attachment of bunch or berry.
_Apex_: The point opposite the base.
_Bloom_: The powdery coating on the fruit.
_Pigment_: The coloring matter in the skin.
_Quality_: The combination of characters that makes grapes
pleasant to the palate, sight, smell and touch.
_Foxiness_: The rancid taste and smell of some grapes which are
similar to the effluvium of a fox.
Of all organs the fruit is most responsive to changed conditions and
hence most variable. Yet the fruits furnish most valuable characters
for determining both species and varieties. Size, shape, compactness
and the number of clusters on a shoot must be noted. Coming to the
berry, size, shape, color, bloom, adherence of stigma to the apex and
adhesion of fruit to the pedicel are all of value. Difference in
adherence of the skin to the pulp separates European from all American
grapes. The thickness, toughness, flavor and pigment of the skin have
more or less value. The color, firmness, juiciness, aroma and flavor
of the flesh, as well as its adherence to seed and skin, are valuable
marks in describing grapes. All species and varieties are well
distinguished by the time of ripening and by keeping quality. The
color of the juice is a plain and certain dividing line between some
species and many varieties.
_The seed._
_Beak_: The narrow prolonged base of the seed.
_Hilum_: The scar left where the seed was attached to the
seed-stalk.
_Chalaza_: The place where the seed-coats and kernel are
connected.
_Raphe_: The line or ridge which runs from the hilum to the
chalaza.
Seeds are accounted of much value in determining species. The size and
weight of seed differ greatly in different species, as they do also in
varieties of any one species. Thus, of native grapes, Labrusca has the
largest and heaviest seeds and Vulpina has the smallest seed, while
those of Æstivalis are of medium size and weight. The shape and color
of seed offer distinguishing marks, while the size, shape and position
of the raphe and chalaza furnish very certain marks of distinction in
some species.
THE GENUS VITIS
The genus Vitis belongs to the vine family (Vitaceæ) in which most
botanists also put the wood-vines (Ampelopsis), of which Virginia
creeper is the best-known plant. The genus Cissus, to which belong
many southern climbers, is combined with Vitis by some botanists.
Vitis is separated from Ampelopsis and Cissus by marked differences in
several organs, of which, horticulturally at least, those in the
fruit best serve to distinguish the group. Species of Vitis, with
possibly one or two exceptions, bear pulpy edible fruits; species of
Ampelopsis and Cissus bear fruits with pulp so scant that the berries
are inedible. Vitis is further distinguished as follows: The plants
are climbing or trailing, rarely shrubby, with woody stems and mostly
with coiling, naked-tipped tendrils. The leaves are simple, palmately
lobed, round-dentate or heart-shaped-dentate. The stipules are small,
falling early. The flowers are polygamo-dioecious (some plants with
perfect flowers, others staminate with at most a rudimentary ovary),
five-parted. The petals are separated only at the base and fall off
without expanding. The disk is hypogynous with five nectariferous
glands which are alternate with the stamens. The berry is globose or
ovoid, few-seeded and pulpy. The seeds are pyriform and beak-like at
the base.
SPECIES OF AMERICAN GRAPES
The number of species of grapes in the world depends on the arbitrary
limits set for a species of this fruit, and knowledge of the genus is
yet too meager to set these limits with certainty. Indeed, the men who
have made grape species have seldom been able to outline the habitats
of their groups with much certainty. In habitat, it should be said,
grapes are confined almost wholly to temperate and subtropical
regions. However, the grape-grower is not much concerned with species
of grapes other than those that have horticultural value. Of these, in
America, there are now ten more or less cultivated either for fruit or
for stocks. The following descriptions of these ten species are
adapted from the author's The Grapes of New York, published in 1908 by
the state of New York (Chapter IV, pages 107-156).
CONSPECTUS OF CULTIVATED SPECIES OF VITIS
_A._ Skin of mature berry separating freely from the pulp.
_B._ Nodes without diaphragms; tendrils simple.
1. _V. rotundifolia._
2. _V. Munsoniana._
_BB._ Nodes with diaphragms; tendrils forked.
_C._ Leaves and shoots glabrous at maturity and without
bloom; tendrils intermittent.
_D._ Leaves thin, light, bright green, generally glabrous
below at maturity except perhaps in the axils of the
veins with a long or at least a prominent point and
usually long and sharp teeth or the edge even-jagged.
_E._ Leaves broader than long; petiolar sinus usually wide
and shallow.
3. _V. rupestris._
_EE._ Leaves ovate in outline; petiolar sinus usually
medium to narrow.
4. _V. vulpina._
_DD._ Leaves thick, dull colored or grayish-green, often
holding some close, dull pubescence below at maturity,
shoots and leaves nearly always more or less pubescent
when young; the teeth mostly short.
5. _V. cordifolia._
6. _V. Berlandieri._
_CC._ Leaves rusty or white tomentose or glaucous blue below,
thick or at least firm.
_D._ Leaves flocculent or cobwebby or glaucous below when
fully grown.
7. _V. æstivalis._
8. _V. bicolor._
_DD._ Leaves densely tomentose or felt-like beneath
throughout the season; covering white or rusty white.
_E._ Tendrils intermittent.
9. _V. candicans._
_EE._ Tendrils mostly continuous.
10. _V. Labrusca._
_AA._ Skin and pulp of mature berry cohering. (Old World.)
11. _V. vinifera._
1. _Vitis rotundifolia_, Michx. Muscadine Grape. Bull Grape. Bullet
Grape. Bushy Grape. Bullace Grape. Scuppernong. Southern Fox Grape.
Vine very vigorous, sometimes, when without support, shrubby and
only three or four feet high; when growing in the shade often
sending down aërial roots. Wood hard, bark smooth, not scaling,
with prominent warty lenticels; shoots short-jointed, angled, with
fine scurfy pubescence; diaphragms absent; tendrils intermittent,
simple. Leaves small, broadly cordate or roundish; petiolar sinus
wide, shallow; margin with obtuse, wide teeth; not lobed; dense in
texture, light green color, glabrous above, sometimes pubescent
along veins below. Cluster small (6-24 berries), loose; peduncle
short; pedicels short, thick. Berries large, globular or somewhat
oblate, black or greenish-yellow; skin thick, tough and with a
musky odor; pulp tough; ripening unevenly and dropping as soon as
ripe. Seeds flattened, shallowly and broadly notched; beak very
short; chalaza narrow, slightly depressed with radiating ridges
and furrows; raphe a narrow groove. Leafing, flowering and
ripening fruit very late.
The habitat of this species is southern Delaware, west through
Tennessee, southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, Arkansas (except
the northwestern portions), to Grayson County, Texas, as a northern
and western boundary, to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf on the east
and south. It becomes rare as one approaches the western limit but is
common in many sections of the great region outlined above, being most
abundant on sandy, well-drained bottom lands and along river banks and
in swampy, thick woodlands and thickets. The climate most suitable for
Rotundifolia is that in which cotton grows, and it thrives best in the
lower portions of the cotton-belt of the United States.
The fruit of Rotundifolia is very characteristic. The skin is thick,
has a leathery appearance, adheres strongly to the underlying flesh
and is marked with lenticel-like russet dots. The flesh is more or
less tough but the toughness is not localized around the seed as in
the case of Labrusca. The fruit and most of the varieties of the
species are characterized by a strong, musky aroma and are lacking in
sugar and acid. Some varieties yield over four gallons of must to the
bushel. Wine-makers are divided in opinion as to its value for
wine-making, but at present the most promising outlook for
Rotundifolia varieties is as wine, grape-juice and culinary grapes.
Rotundifolia does not produce fruit suitable for shipping as dessert
grapes chiefly because the berries ripen unevenly and when ripe drop
from the cluster. The common method of gathering the fruit of this
species is to shake the vines at intervals so that the ripe berries
drop on sheets spread below the vines. The juice which exudes from the
point where the stem is broken off causes the berries to become
smeared and gives them an unattractive appearance. Owing, however, to
the tough skin, the berries do not crack as badly as other grapes
would under the same conditions, but nevertheless they are not adapted
to long-distance shipments. Under reasonably favorable conditions, the
vines attain great age and size and when grown on arbors, as they
often are, and without pruning, they cover a large area.
Rotundifolia is remarkably resistant to the attacks of all insects and
to fungal diseases. The phylloxera do not attack its roots and it is
considered as resistant as any other, if not the most resistant of all
American species. The vines are grown from cuttings only with
difficulty and this prevents the use of this species as a resistant
stock. However, under favorable circumstances, and with skillful
handling, this is a successful method of propagation. Under
unfavorable circumstances, or when only a few vines are desired, it is
better to depend on layers. As a stock upon which to graft other
vines, this species has not been a success. There is great difficulty
in crossing Rotundifolia with other species, but several Rotundifolia
hybrids are now on record.
2. _Vitis Munsoniana_, Simpson. Florida Grape. Everbearing grape. Bird
Grape. Mustang Grape of Florida.
Vine slender, usually running on the ground or over low bushes.
Canes angular; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, simple.
Leaves smaller and thinner than Rotundifolia and rather more
circular in outline; not lobed; teeth open and spreading; petiolar
sinus V-shaped; both surfaces smooth, rather light green. Cluster
with more berries but about the same size as in Rotundifolia.
Berry one-third to one-half the diameter, with thinner and more
tender skin; black, shining; pulp less solid, more acid and
without muskiness. Seeds about one-half the size of those of
Rotundifolia, similar in other respects. Leafing, flowering and
ripening fruit very late.
The habitat of _V. Munsoniana_ is central and southern Florida and the
Florida Keys. It extends south of the habitat of Rotundifolia and
blends into this species at their point of meeting. Munsoniana appears
to be a variation of Rotundifolia, fitted to subtropical conditions.
It is tender, not enduring a lower temperature than zero. In the
matter of multiplication, it differs from _V. rotundifolia_ in that it
can be propagated readily from cuttings. Like Rotundifolia it is
resistant to phylloxera.
3. _Vitis rupestris_, Scheele. Mountain Grape. Rock Grape. Bush Grape.
Sand Grape. Sugar Grape. Beach Grape.
A small, much branched shrub or, under favorable circumstances,
climbing. Diaphragm thin; tendrils few, or if present, weak,
usually deciduous. Leaves small; young leaves frequently folded on
midrib; broadly cordate or reniform, wider than long, scarcely
ever lobed, smooth, glabrous on both surfaces at maturity;
petiolar sinus wide, shallow; margin coarsely toothed, frequently
a sharp, abrupt point at terminal. Cluster small. Berries small,
black or purple-black. Seeds small, not notched; beak short,
blunt; raphe distinct to indistinct, usually showing as a narrow
groove; chalaza pear-shaped, sometimes distinct, but usually a
depression only. Leafing, blossoming and ripening early.
This species is an inhabitant of southwestern Texas, extending
eastward and northward into New Mexico, southern Missouri, Indiana and
Tennessee to southern Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Its
favorite places are gravelly banks and bars of mountain streams or the
rocky beds of dry watercourses. This species is rather variable both
in type and growth. It was introduced into France at about the same
time as Vulpina, and the French vineyardists selected the most
vigorous and healthy forms for grafting stock. These pass under the
various names of Rupestris Mission, Rupestris du Lot, Rupestris
Ganzin, Rupestris Martin, Rupestris St. George and others. In France,
these varieties have given particularly good results on bare, rocky
soils with hot, dry exposures. In California, Rupestris does not
flourish in dry locations, and as it suckers profusely and does not
take the graft as readily as Vulpina and Æstivalis, it is not largely
propagated.
The clusters of fruit are small, with berries about the size of a
currant and varying from sweet to sour. The berry is characterized by
much pigment under the skin. The fruit has a sprightly taste wholly
free from any disagreeable foxiness. Rupestris under cultivation is
said to be very resistant to rot and mildew of the foliage. The vine
is considered hardy in the Southwest. The attention of hybridizers was
attracted to this species over thirty years ago, and various hybrids
have been produced of great promise for grape-breeding. The root
system of Rupestris is peculiar in that the roots penetrate at once
deeply into the ground instead of extending laterally as in other
species. Like those of Vulpina, the roots are slender, hard and
resistant to phylloxera. The species is easily propagated by cuttings.
The vines bench-graft readily but are difficult to handle in field
grafting.
4. _Vitis vulpina_, Linn. (_V. riparia_, Michx.). Winter Grape. River
Grape. Riverside Grape. Riverbank Grape. Sweet-scented Grape.
Vine very vigorous, climbing. Shoots cylindrical or angled,
usually smooth, slender; diaphragms thin; tendrils intermittent,
slender, usually bifid. Leaves with large stipules; leaf-blade
large, thin, entire, three- or lower ones often five-lobed;
sinuses shallow, angular; petiolar sinus broad, usually shallow;
margin with incised, sharply serrate teeth of variable size; light
green, glabrous above, glabrous but sometimes pubescent on ribs
and veins below. Cluster small, compact, shouldered; peduncle
short. Berries small, black with a heavy blue bloom. Seeds two to
four, small, notched, short, plump, with very short beak; chalaza
narrowly oval, depressed, indistinct; raphe usually a groove,
sometimes distinct. Very variable in flavor and time of ripening.
Vulpina is the most widely distributed of any American species of
grape. It has been discovered in parts of Canada north of Quebec and
from thence southward to the Gulf of Mexico. It is found from the
Atlantic coast westward, most botanists say, to the Rocky Mountains.
Usually it grows on river banks, on islands or in upland ravines.
Vulpina has always been considered of great promise in the evolution
of American grapes. It can hardly be said that it has fulfilled
expectations, there probably being no pure variety of this species of
more than local importance, and the results of hybridizing it with
other species have not been wholly successful. Attention was early
turned to Vulpina because of the qualities presented by the vine
rather than those of the fruit, particularly its hardiness and vigor.
However, both of these qualities are rather variable, although it is
only reasonable to suppose that in such a widely distributed species,
plants found in a certain region would have adapted themselves to the
conditions there present; thus, it should be expected that the
northern plants would be more hardy than those from the South, and
that the western prairie forms would be more capable of resisting
drouth than those from humid regions. It is, consequently, impossible
to say what conditions best suit this species. It may be said,
however, that Vulpina is adapted to a great variety of soils and
locations; vines have withstood a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees
below zero and they show equal ability in withstanding the injurious
effects of high temperatures in the summer. On account of its habit of
early blooming, the blossoms sometimes suffer from late frosts in the
spring.
While Vulpina is not a swamp grape and is not found growing under
swampy conditions, it is fond of water. In the semi-arid regions
always, and in humid regions usually, it is found growing along the
banks of streams, in ravines, on the islands of rivers and in wet
places. It is not nearly so capable of withstanding drouth as
Rupestris. Vulpina likes a rather rich soil, but in France has been
found to do poorly on limestone land and calcareous marls. The French
tell us, however, that this is a characteristic of all our American
grapes, and that Vulpina is more resistant to the injurious effects of
an excess of lime than either Rupestris or Æstivalis.
The fruit of Vulpina is usually small, there being occasional
varieties of medium size or above. The clusters are of medium size
and, if judged from the standpoint of number of berries, might
frequently be called large. The flavor is usually sharply acid but
free from foxiness or any disagreeable wild taste. If eaten in
quantity, the acidity is likely to affect the lips and end of the
tongue. When the acidity is somewhat ameliorated, as in the case of
thoroughly ripe or even over-ripe and shriveled fruit, the flavor is
much liked. The flesh is neither pulpy nor solid and dissolves in the
mouth and separates readily from the seed. The must of Vulpina is
characterized by an average amount of sugar, varying considerably in
the fruit from different vines, and by an excess of acid.
Vulpina is very resistant to phylloxera, the roots are small, hard,
numerous and branch freely. The roots feed close to the surface and do
not seem to be well adapted to forcing their way through heavy clays.
Vulpina grows readily from cuttings and makes a good stock for
grafting, its union with other species being usually permanent. When
Vulpinas were first sent to France to be used as a stock in
reconstituting the French vineyards, it was found that many of the
vines secured from the woods were too weak in growth to support the
stronger-growing Viniferas. On this account the French growers
selected the more vigorous forms of the Vulpinas, to which they gave
varietal names, as Vulpina Gloire, Vulpina Grand Glabre, Vulpina
Schribner, Vulpina Martin and others. With these selected Vulpinas,
the graft does not outgrow the stock. Vulpina is less resistant to
black-rot than Æstivalis but somewhat more resistant than Labrusca.
The foliage is rarely attacked by mildew. One of the chief failings
of this species is the susceptibility of the leaves to the attack of
the leaf-hopper. The Vulpinas are generally late in ripening; the
fruit is better in quality in long seasons and should be left on the
vines as late as possible.
5. _Vitis cordifolia_, Michx. Winter Grape. Frost Grape. Fox Grape.
Chicken Grape. Heart-leaved Vitis. Possum Grape. Sour Winter Grape.
Vine very vigorous, climbing. Shoots slender; internodes long,
angular, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent; diaphragms thick;
tendrils intermittent, long, usually bifid. Leaves with short,
broad stipules; leaf-blade medium to large, cordate, entire or
indistinctly three-lobed; petiolar sinus deep, usually narrow,
acute; margin with coarse angular teeth; point of leaf acuminate;
upper surface light green, glossy, glabrous; glabrous or sparingly
pubescent below. Clusters medium to large, loose, with long
peduncle. Berries numerous and small, black, shining, little or no
bloom. Seeds medium in size, broad, beak short; chalaza oval or
roundish, elevated, very distinct; raphe a distinct, cord-like
ridge. Fruit sour and astringent and frequently consisting of
little besides skins and seeds. Leafing, flowering and ripening
fruit very late.
Owing to the fact that Cordifolia and Vulpina have been badly
confused, the limits of the habitat of this species are difficult to
determine. The best authorities give the northern limit as New York or
the Great Lakes. The eastern limit is the Atlantic Ocean and the
southern limit, the Gulf of Mexico. It extends westward, according to
Engelmann, to the western limits of the wooded portion of the
Mississippi Valley in the North, and, according to Munson, to the
Brazos River, Texas, in the South. It is found along creeks and river
banks sometimes mixed with Vulpina, having about the same soil
adaptations as that species. It is a very common species in the middle
states and frequently grows on limestone soils, but is not indigenous
to such soils.
Cordifolia makes a good stock for grafting, being vigorous and forming
a good union with most of our cultivated grapes. It is seldom used
for this purpose, however, on account of the difficulty of propagating
it by means of cuttings. For the same reason vines of it are seldom
found in cultivation.
6. _Vitis Berlandieri_, Planch. Mountain-Grape. Spanish Grape. Fall
Grape. Winter Grape. Little Mountain Grape.
Vine vigorous, climbing; shoots more or less angled and pubescent;
pubescence remaining only in patches on mature wood; canes mostly
with short internodes; diaphragms thick; tendrils intermittent,
long, strong, bifid or trifid. Leaves with small stipules;
leaf-blade large, broadly cordate, notched or shortly three-lobed;
petiolar sinus rather open, V- or U-shaped, margin with broad but
rather shallow teeth, rather dark glossy green above, grayish
pubescence below when young; becoming glabrous and even glossy
except on ribs and veins, when mature. Clusters large, compact,
compound, with long peduncle. Berries small, black, with thin
bloom, juicy, rather tart but pleasant tasting when thoroughly
ripe. Seeds few, small, short, plump, oval or roundish, with short
beak; chalaza oval or roundish, distinct; raphe narrow, slightly
distinct to indistinct. Leafing, flowering and ripening fruit very
late.
Berlandieri is a native of the limestone hills of southwest Texas and
adjacent Mexico. It grows in the same region with _V. monticola_, but
is less restricted locally, growing from the tops of the hills down
and along the creek bottoms of these regions. Its great virtue is that
it withstands a soil largely composed of lime, being superior to all
other American species in this respect. This and its moderate degree
of vigor have recommended it to the French growers as a stock for
their calcareous soils. The roots are strong, thick, and very
resistant to phylloxera. It is propagated by cuttings with comparative
ease, but its varieties are variable, some not rooting at all easily.
While the fruit of this species shows a large cluster, the berries are
small and sour, and Berlandieri is not regarded as having promise for
culture in America.
7. _Vitis æstivalis_, Michx. Blue Grape. Bunch Grape. Summer Grape.
Little Grape. Duck-shot Grape. Swamp Grape. Chicken Grape. Pigeon
Grape.
Vine very vigorous, shoots pubescent or smooth when young;
diaphragms thick; tendrils intermittent, usually bifid. Leaves
with short, broad stipules; leaf-blade large, thin when young but
becoming thick; petiolar sinus deep, usually narrow, frequently
overlapping; margin rarely entire, usually three- to five-lobed;
teeth dentate, shallow, wide; upper surface dark green; lower
surface with more or less reddish or rusty pubescence which, in
mature leaves, usually shows in patches on the ribs and veins;
petioles frequently pubescent. Clusters long, not much branched,
with long peduncle. Berries small, with moderate amount of bloom,
usually astringent. Seeds two to three, of medium size, plump,
smooth, not notched; chalaza oval, distinct; raphe a distinct
cord-like ridge. Leafing and ripening fruit late to very late.
The division of the original species has reduced the habitat
materially, confining it to the southeastern part of the United States
from southern New York to Florida and westward to the Mississippi
River. Æstivalis grows in thickets and openings in the woods and shows
no such fondness for streams as Vulpina, or for thick timber as
Labrusca, but is generally confined to uplands. Under favorable
circumstances, the vines grow to be very large. Æstivalis is
preëminently a wine grape. The fruit usually has a tart, acrid taste,
due to the presence of a high percentage of acid, but there is also a
large amount of sugar, the scale showing that juice from this species
has a much higher percentage of sugar than the sweeter-tasting
Labruscas. The wine made from varieties of Æstivalis is very rich in
coloring matter and is used by some European vintners to mix with the
must of European sorts in order to give the combined product a higher
color. The berries are destitute of pulp, have a comparatively thin,
tough skin and a peculiar spicy flavor. The berries hang to the bunch
after becoming ripe much better than do those of Labrusca.
This species thrives in a lighter and shallower soil than Labrusca and
appears to endure drought better, although not equaling in this
respect either Vulpina or Rupestris. The French growers report that
Æstivalis is very liable to chlorosis on soils which contain much
lime. The leaves are never injured by the sun and they resist the
attacks of insects, such as leaf-hoppers, better than any other
American species under cultivation. Æstivalis is rarely injured by
black-rot or mildew, according to American experience, but French
growers speak of its being susceptible to both. The hard roots of
Æstivalis enable it to resist phylloxera, and varieties with any great
amount of the blood of this species are seldom seriously injured by
this insect. An objection to Æstivalis, from a horticultural
standpoint, is that it does not root well from cuttings. Many
authorities speak of it as not rooting at all from cuttings, but this
is an over-statement of the facts, as many of the wild and cultivated
varieties are occasionally propagated in this manner, and some
southern nurseries, located in particularly favorable situations, make
a practice of propagating it by this method. Varieties of this species
bear grafting well, especially in the vineyard.
_Vitis æstivalis Lincecumii_, Munson. Post-oak Grape. Pine-wood Grape.
Turkey Grape.
Vine vigorous, sometimes climbing high upon trees, sometimes
forming a bushy clump from two to six feet high; canes
cylindrical, much rusty wool on shoots; tendrils intermittent.
Leaves very large, almost as wide as long; entire or three-,
five-, or rarely seven-lobed; lobes frequently divided; sinuses,
including petiolar sinus, deep; smooth above, and with more or
less rusty pubescence below. (The north-Texas, southwestern
Missouri and northern Arkansas form shows little or no pubescence
but has fine prickly spines at base of shoots and shows much blue
bloom on shoots, canes and the under side of the leaves.) Fruit
small to large, usually larger than typical Æstivalis, usually
black, with heavy bloom. Seeds larger than Æstivalis, pear-shaped;
chalaza roundish.
Lincecumii inhabits the eastern half of Texas, western Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri on high sandy land,
frequently climbing post-oak trees, hence the name, post-oak grape, by
which it is locally known.
Lincecumii has attracted considerable attention through the work of H.
Jaeger and T. V. Munson in domesticating it, both of whom considered
it one of the most, if not the most, promising form from which to
secure cultivated varieties for the Southwest. The qualities which
recommend it are: First, vigor; second, capacity to withstand rot and
mildew; third, hardiness and capacity to endure hot and dry summers
without injury; fourth, the large cluster and berry which were found
on certain of the wild vines. The fruit is characteristic because of
its dense bloom, firm, yet tender texture and peculiar flavor. The
cultivated varieties have given satisfaction in many sections of the
Central Western and Southern states. Like Æstivalis, it is difficult
to propagate from cuttings.
The north-Texas glaucous form of this variety mentioned in the
technical description above is the _V. æstivalis glauca_ of Bailey.
This is the type of Lincecumii that Munson has used in breeding work.
_Vitis æstivalis Bourquiniana_, Bailey. Southern Æstivalis.
Bourquiniana differs chiefly from the type in having thinner leaves;
the shoots and under side of the leaves are only slightly
reddish-brown in color; the pubescence usually disappears at maturity;
the leaves are more deeply lobed than is common in Æstivalis; and the
fruit is larger, sweeter and more juicy. Bourquiniana is known only in
cultivation. The name was given by Munson, who ranks the group as a
species. He includes therein many southern varieties, the most
important of which are: Herbemont, Bertrand, Cunningham and Lenoir,
grouped in the Herbemont section; and Devereaux, Louisiana and Warren,
in the Devereaux section. Munson has traced the history of this
interesting group and states that it was brought from southern France
to America over one hundred fifty years ago by the Bourquin family of
Savannah, Georgia. Many botanists are of the opinion that
Bourquiniana is a hybrid. The hybrid supposition is corroborated to a
degree by the characters being more or less intermediate between the
supposed parent species, and also by the fact that up to date no wild
form of Bourquiniana has been found. The only northern variety of any
importance supposed to have Bourquiniana blood is the Delaware, and in
this variety only a fraction of Bourquiniana blood is presumably
present. Bourquiniana can be propagated from cuttings more easily than
the typical Æstivalis but not so readily as Labrusca, Vulpina or
Vinifera. Many of the varieties of Bourquiniana show a marked
susceptibility to mildew and black-rot; in fact, the whole Herbemont
group is much inferior in this respect to the Norton group of
Æstivalis. The roots are somewhat hard, branch rather freely and are
quite resistant to phylloxera.
8. _Vitis bicolor_, Le Conte. Blue Grape. Northern Summer Grape.
Northern Æstivalis.
Vine vigorous, climbing; shoots cylindrical or angled, with long
internodes, generally glabrous, usually showing much blue bloom,
sometimes spiny at base; diaphragms thick; tendrils intermittent,
long, usually bifid. Leaves with short, broad stipules; leaf-blade
large; roundish-cordate, usually three-, sometimes on older growth
shallowly five-lobed, rarely entire; petiolar sinus variable in
depth, usually narrow; margin irregularly dentate; teeth
acuminate; glabrous above, usually glabrous below and showing much
blue bloom which sometimes disappears late in the season; young
leaves sometimes pubescent; petioles very long. Cluster of medium
size, compact, simple; peduncle long. Berries small, black with
much bloom, acid but pleasant tasting when ripe. Seeds small,
plump, broadly oval, very short beak; chalaza oval, raised,
distinct; raphe distinct, showing as a cord-like ridge.
Bicolor is readily distinguished from Æstivalis by the absence of the
reddish pubescence and by blooming slightly later. The habitat of
Bicolor is to the north of that of Æstivalis, occupying the
northeastern, whereas Æstivalis occupies the southeastern quarter of
the United States. Like Æstivalis, this species is not confined to
streams and river banks but frequently grows on higher land also. It
is found in north Missouri, Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin, Indiana,
southern Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York,
southwestern Ontario, New Jersey and Maryland and by some botanists is
reported as far south as western North Carolina and west Tennessee.
The horticultural characters of Bicolor are much the same as those of
Æstivalis. About the only points of difference are that it is much
hardier (some of the Wisconsin vines stand a temperature as low as 20
degrees below zero); it is said to be slightly less resistant to
mildew and more resistant to phylloxera. Like Æstivalis, Bicolor does
not thrive on limy soils and it is difficult to propagate from
cuttings. The horticultural possibilities of Bicolor are probably much
the same as those of Æstivalis, although many think it to be more
promising for the North. It is as yet cultivated but little. Its chief
defect for domestication is the small size of the fruit.
9. _Vitis candicans_, Englem. Mustang Grape.
Vine very vigorous, climbing; shoots and petioles densely wooly,
whitish or rusty; diaphragm thick; tendrils intermittent. Leaves
with large stipules; blade small, broadly cordate to
reniform-ovate, entire or in young shoots and on young vines and
sprouts usually deeply three- to five-, or even seven-lobed; teeth
shallow, sinuate; petiolar sinus shallow, wide, sometimes lacking;
dull, slightly rugose above, dense whitish pubescence below.
Clusters small. Berries medium to large, black, purple, green, or
even whitish, thin blue bloom or bloomless. Seeds usually three or
four, large, short, plump, blunt, notched; chalaza oval,
depressed, indistinct; raphe a broad groove.
The habitat of this grape extends from southern Oklahoma, as a
northern limit, southwesterly into Mexico. The western boundary is the
Pecos River. It is found on dry, alluvial, sandy or limestone bottoms
or on limestone bluff lands and is said to be especially abundant
along upland ravines. Candicans grows well on limestone lands,
enduring as much as 60 per cent of carbonate of lime in the soil. The
species blooms shortly before Labrusca and a week later than Vulpina.
It requires the long hot summers of its native country and will stand
extreme drouth but is not hardy to cold, 10 or 15 degrees below zero
killing the vine outright unless protected; and a lesser degree of
cold injuring it severely. The berries, which are large for wild
vines, have thin skins under which there is a pigment which gives
them, when first ripe, a fiery, pungent taste but which partly
disappears with maturity. The berries are very persistent, clinging to
the pedicel long after ripe. Candicans is difficult to propagate from
cuttings. Its roots resist phylloxera fairly well. It makes a good
stock for Vinifera vines in its native country, but owing to the
difficulty of propagation is seldom used for that purpose. In the
early days of Texas, it was much used for the making of wine but as it
is deficient in sugar, and as the must retains the acrid, pungent
flavor, it does not seem to be well adapted for this purpose. It is
not regarded as having great promise for southern horticulture and
certainly has none for the North.
10. _Vitis Labrusca_, Linn. Fox-Grape.
Vine vigorous, stocky, climbing; shoots cylindrical, densely
pubescent; diaphragms medium to thick; tendrils continuous,
strong, bifid or trifid. Leaves with long, cordate stipules;
leaf-blade large, thick, broadly cordate or round; entire or
three-lobed, frequently notched; sinuses rounded; petiolar sinus
variable in depth and width, V-shaped; margin with shallow,
acute-pointed, scalloped teeth; upper surface rugose, dark green,
on young leaves pubescent, becoming glabrous when mature; lower
surface covered with dense pubescence, more or less whitish on
young leaves, becoming dun-colored when mature. Clusters more or
less compound, usually shouldered, compact; pedicels thick;
peduncle short. Berries round; skin thick, covered with bloom,
with strong musky or foxy aroma. Seeds two to four, large,
distinctly notched, beak short; chalaza oval in shape, indistinct,
showing as a depression; raphe, a groove.
Labrusca is indigenous to the eastern part of North America, including
the region between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains. It
is sometimes found in the valleys and along the western slopes of the
Alleghanies. Many botanists say it never occurs in the Mississippi
Valley. In the first-named area it ranges from Maine to Georgia. It
has the most restricted habitat of any American species of
horticultural importance, being much exceeded in extent of territory
by _V. rotundifolia_, _V. æstivalis_ and _V. vulpina_.
Labrusca has furnished more cultivated varieties, either pure-breeds
or hybrids, than all other American species together. The reason for
this is partly, no doubt, that it is native to the portion of the
United States first settled and is the most common grape in the region
where agriculture first advanced to the condition at which fruits were
desired. This does not wholly account for its prominence, however,
which must be sought elsewhere. In its wild state, Labrusca is
probably the most attractive to the eye of any of our American grapes
on account of the size of its fruit, and this undoubtedly turned the
attention of those who were early interested in the possibilities of
American grape-growing to this species rather than to any other.
The southern Labrusca is quite different from the northern form and
demands different conditions for its successful growth; in the North,
at least two types of the species may be distinguished. Vines are
found in the woods of New England which resemble Concord very closely
in both vine and fruit, excepting that the grapes are much smaller in
size and more seedy. There is also the large-fruited, foxy Labrusca,
usually with reddish berries, represented by such cultivated varieties
as Northern Muscadine, Dracut Amber, Lutie and others. Labrusca is
peculiar amongst American grapes in showing black-, white- and
red-fruited forms of wild vines growing in the woods. Because of this
variability, it is impossible to give the exact climatic and soil
conditions best adapted to the species. It is reasonable to suppose,
however, that the ideal conditions for this species under cultivation
are not widely different from those prevailing where the species is
indigenous. In the case of Labrusca, this means that it is best
adapted to humid climates, and that the temperature desired varies
according to whether the variety comes from the southern or northern
form of the species.
The root system of Labrusca does not penetrate the soil deeply, but
the vine is said to succeed better in deep and clayey soils than
Æstivalis. It endures an excess of water in the soil, and, on the
other hand, requires less water for successful growing than Æstivalis
or Vulpina. In spite of its ability to withstand clayey soils, it
seems to prefer loose, warm, well-drained sandy lands to all others.
The French growers report that all varieties of this species show a
marked antipathy to a limestone soil, the vines soon becoming affected
with chlorosis when planted in soils of this nature. In corroboration
of this, it may be said that Labrusca is not often found wild in
limestone soils. The Labruscas succeed very well in the North and
fairly well in the Middle West as far south as Arkansas, where they
are raised on account of their fruit qualities, for here the vines are
not nearly so vigorous and healthy as are those of other species. In
Alabama, they are reported to be generally unsatisfactory, and in
Texas the vines are short-lived, unhealthy, and generally
unsatisfactory, particularly in the dry regions. There are some
exceptions to this, as for instance, in the Piedmont region of the
Carolinas, where, owing to elevation or other causes, the climate of a
southern region is semi-northern in its character.
The grapes of Labrusca are large and usually handsomely colored. The
skin is thick, covering a layer of adhering flesh, which gives the
impression of its being thicker than it actually is; the berry is
variable in tenderness, sometimes tough, but in many cultivated
varieties is so tender that it cracks in transportation. The skin of
this species usually has a peculiar aroma, generally spoken of as
foxy, and a slightly acid, astringent taste. Beneath the skin there is
a layer of juicy pulp, quite sweet and never showing much acidity in
ripe fruit. The center of the berry is occupied by rather dense pulp,
more or less stringy, with considerable acid close to the seeds. Many
object to the foxy aroma of this species, but, nevertheless, the most
popular American varieties are more or less foxy. Analyses show that
the fruit is usually characterized by a low percentage of sugar and
acid, the very sweet-tasting fox-grapes not showing as high a
sugar-content as some of the disagreeably tart Æstivalis and Vulpina
sorts. This, in addition to the foxiness which furnishes an excess of
aroma in the wine, has prevented Labrusca varieties from becoming
favorites with the wine-makers, but most of the grape-juice now
manufactured is made from them.
In addition to the characters enumerated, it may be said that Labrusca
submits well to vineyard culture, is fairly vigorous and generally
quite productive. It grows readily from cuttings and in hardiness is
intermediate between Vulpina, the hardiest of our American species,
and Æstivalis. The roots are soft and fleshy (for an American grape)
and in some localities subject to attacks of phylloxera. None of the
varieties of Labrusca has ever been popular in France on this account.
In the wild vines, the fruit is inclined to drop when ripe. This
defect is known as "shattering" or "shelling" among grape-growers and
is a serious weakness in some varieties. Labrusca is said to be more
sensitive in its wild state to mildew and black-rot than any other
American species, but the evidence on this point does not seem to be
wholly conclusive. In the South, and in some parts of the Middle West,
the leaves of all varieties of Labrusca sunburn and shrivel in the
latter part of the summer. The vines do not endure drouth as well as
Æstivalis or Vulpina and not nearly so well as Rupestris.
11. _Vitis vinifera_, Linn.
Vine variable in vigor, not so high climbing as most American
species; tendrils intermittent. Leaves round-cordate, thin,
smooth, and when young, shining, frequently more or less deeply
three-, five-, or even seven-lobed; usually glabrous but in some
varieties the leaves and young shoots are hairy and even downy
when young; lobes rounded or pointed; teeth variable; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow, usually overlapping. Berries very variable in
size and color, usually oval though globular. Seeds variable in
size and shape, usually notched at upper end and characterized
always by a bottle-necked, elongated beak; chalaza broad, usually
rough, distinct; raphe indistinct. Roots large, soft and spongy.
The original habitat of the species is not positively known. De
Candolle, as noted in the first part of this work, considered the
region about the Caspian Sea as the probable habitat of the Old World
grape. There is but little doubt that the original home of _V.
vinifera_ is some place in western Asia.
Neither American nor European writers agree as to the climate desired
by Vinifera, for the reason, probably that all of the varieties in
this variable species do not require the same climatic conditions.
There are certain phases of climate, however, that are well agreed on:
the species requires a warm, dry climate and is more sensitive to
change of temperature than American species. Varieties of this species
can be grown successfully in a wide variety of soils, being much less
particular as to soils than American sorts.
Certain characters of the fruit of this species are not found in any
American forms: First, the skin, which is attached very closely to the
flesh and which is never astringent or acid, can be eaten with the
fruit; second, the flesh is firm, yet tender, and uniform throughout,
differing in this respect from all American grapes which have a sweet,
watery and tender pulp close to the skin with a tough and more or less
acid core at the center; third, the flavor has a peculiarly sprightly
quality known as vinous; fourth, the berry adheres firmly to the
pedicel, the fruit seldom "shattering" or "shelling" from the cluster.
In the various hybrids that have been made between American and
Vinifera varieties, it is usually found that the desirable qualities
of Vinifera are inherited in about the same proportion as the
undesirable ones. The fruit is improved in the hybrid but the vine is
weakened; quality is usually purchased at the expense of hardiness and
disease-resisting power. Vinifera may be grown very readily from
cuttings.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.--Lutie (×1/2). Pocklington (×1/2).]
CHAPTER XVIII
VARIETIES OF GRAPES
Nature has expended her bounties in fullest measure for the vineyard.
More than 2000 varieties of grapes are described in American
viticultural literature, and twice as many more find mention in
European treatises on the vine. Few other fruits offer the novelties
given the grape in flavors, aromas, sizes, colors and uses. The
vineyard, then, to fulfill commercial potentialities, should supply
grapes throughout the whole season, and of the several colors and
flavors and for all uses. A prime requisite for a vineyard being
well-selected varieties, an assortment of all kinds and for all places
in America is here described.
ACTONI
(Vinifera)
Actoni is a table-grape of the Malaga type which ripens at Geneva, New
York, late in October, too late for the average season in the East but
worth trying in favorable locations. It is grown in California but is
not a favorite sort. The following brief description is made from
fruit grown at Geneva:
Clusters large, shouldered, tapering, loose; berries medium to
very large, long-oval to oval, clear green yellow; flesh crisp,
firm; flavor sweet; quality good.
AGAWAM
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
_Randall, Rogers No. 15_
The qualities commending Agawam are large size and attractive
appearance of bunch and berry; rich, sweet aromatic flavor; vigor of
vine; and capacity for self-fertilization. For a grape having its
proportion of European parentage, the vine is vigorous, hardy and
productive. The chief defects in fruit are a thick and rough skin,
coarse, solid texture of pulp and foxy flavor. The vine is susceptible
to the mildews and in many localities does not yield well. Although
Agawam ripens soon after Concord, it can be kept much longer and even
improves in flavor after picking. The vines prefer heavy soils, doing
better on clay than on sand or gravel. This is one of the grapes grown
by E. S. Rogers, Salem, Massachusetts. It was introduced as No. 15 but
in 1861 was given the name it now bears.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes thick, dark brown; nodes
enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
bifid to trifid. Leaves thick; upper surface light green, dull,
smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent, flocculent; lobes
lacking; terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; lateral
sinus very shallow; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers on plan of six,
nearly self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps until midwinter. Clusters medium to large,
short, broad, tapering, loose; pedicel short; brush very short,
pale green. Berries large, oval, dark purplish-red with thin
bloom, very persistent; skin thick, tough, adherent, astringent;
flesh pale green, translucent, tough, stringy, solid, foxy; good.
Seeds adherent, two to five, large, long, brown.
ALMERIA
(Vinifera)
This is one of the varieties commonly found in eastern markets from
Almeria and Malaga, Spain, although occasionally it may come from
California where the variety, or similar varieties confused with it,
is now grown. This sort is remarkable for its wonderful keeping
qualities; it is adapted only to hot interior regions. The Almeria
cultivated by the California Experiment Station is described as
follows:
"Vine vigorous; leaves of medium size, round and slightly or not
at all lobed, quite glabrous on both sides, teeth obtuse and
alternately large and small; bunches large, loose or compact,
irregular conical; berries from small to large, cylindrical,
flattened on the ends, very hard and tasteless."
AMERICA
(Lincecumii, Rupestris)
The notable qualities of America are vigor of growth and health of
foliage in vine, and persistence of berries, which have strongly
colored red juice, high sugar-content and excellent flavor. The grapes
wholly lack the foxy taste and aroma of Labrusca and the variety,
therefore, offers possibilities for breeding sorts lacking the foxy
flavor of Concord and Niagara. America has great resistance to heat
and cold. Also, it is said to be a suitable stock upon which to graft
Vinifera varieties to resist phylloxera. The vigor of the vine and the
luxuriance of the foliage make it an excellent sort for arbors.
America was grown by T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, from seed of Jaeger
No. 43 pollinated by a male Rupestris. It was introduced about 1892.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, dark
reddish-brown with heavy bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened;
tendrils intermittent, long, bifid. Leaves small, thin; upper
surface glossy, smooth; lower surface light green, hairy; lobes
lacking or faint, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep and
wide; teeth of average depth and width. Flowers self-sterile,
usually on plan of six, open late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season or later, keeps well. Clusters large, long,
broad, tapering, irregular, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel
short, slender with small warts; brush short, thick with red
tinge. Berries small, variable in size, round, purplish-black,
glossy with purplish-red pigment, astringent; flesh dull white
with faint red tinge, translucent, tender, melting, spicy, vinous,
sweet; good. Seeds free, two to five, long, pointed,
yellowish-brown.
AMINIA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Aminia is one of the best early grapes, its season being with or a
little after Moore Early. The grapes are of high quality and
attractive appearance, but the bunches are small, variable in size,
not well formed and the berries ripen unevenly. The vine is vigorous
but is neither as hardy nor as productive as a commercial variety
should be. In 1867 Isadora Bush, a Missourian, planted vines of Rogers
No. 39 from several different sources. When these came into bearing,
he distinguished three varieties. Bush selected the best of the three
and, with the consent of Rogers, named it Aminia. In spite of Bush's
care, there are two distinct grapes cultivated under this name.
Vine vigorous, precariously hardy, lacking in productiveness.
Canes rough, long, thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged; internodes
long; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid or bifid, persistent.
Leaves large; upper surface dull, smooth; lower surface light
green, pubescent; lobes three; terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus
deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus usually
lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow, wide.
Flowers open in mid-season, self-sterile; stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters small, broad, irregular,
conical, sometimes with a long shoulder, loose; pedicel long with
few warts; brush short, thick, brownish-red. Berries variable,
round, dull black with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick,
tender, adherent with purplish-red pigment, astringent; flesh
greenish, translucent, tender, solid, coarse, foxy; good. Seeds
adherent, one to six, very large.
AUGUST GIANT
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
August Giant is a hybrid between Labrusca and Vinifera in which the
fruit characters are those of the latter species. In appearance and
taste of berry, the variety resembles Black Hamburg. The vine is
usually vigorous and, considering its parentage, is very hardy. The
foliage is thick and luxuriant but subject to mildew. Vigor of vine,
beauty of foliage and the quality of the fruit make the variety
desirable for the amateur. It needs a long-maturing season. August
Giant was grown by N. B. White, Norwood, Massachusetts, in 1861, from
seed of an early, large-berried, red Labrusca pollinated by Black
Hamburg.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, subject to mildew. Canes long,
numerous, thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large,
thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface
pale green or bronzed, pubescent; lobes three, terminal one acute;
petiolar sinus deep, narrow, frequently closed and overlapping;
lateral sinus shallow or a notch; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers
open in mid-season, self-sterile; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters of average size, short,
broad, irregularly tapering, single-shouldered, loose; pedicel
long, thick with large warts; brush short, thick, green or with
brown tinge. Berries large, oval, purplish-red or black, dull with
thick bloom, firm; skin tough, adherent, astringent; flesh green,
translucent, tough, stringy; good. Seeds adherent, one to four,
large, blunt, light brown.
BACCHUS
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Bacchus is an offspring of Clinton which it resembles in vine and leaf
characters, but surpasses in quality of fruit and in productiveness of
vine. The special points of merit of the variety are: resistance to
cold, resistance to phylloxera, freedom from fungi and insects,
productiveness, ease of multiplication and capacity to bear grafts.
Its limitations are: poor quality for table use, inability to
withstand dry soils or droughts, and nonadaptability to soils
containing much lime. The variety originated with J. H. Ricketts,
Newburgh, New York, and was first exhibited by him in 1879.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes numerous,
dark brown with bloom at the nodes which are enlarged and
flattened; tendrils bifid. Leaves small; upper surface dark green,
glossy, smooth; lower surface dull green, smooth; lobes three,
terminal one acuminate; petiolar sinus shallow, narrow, sometimes
overlapping; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow, wide.
Flowers open early, self-sterile; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well, hangs long. Clusters small, slender,
uniform, cylindrical, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
slender with a few small warts; brush short, wine-colored. Berries
small, round, black, glossy, covered with thin bloom, hang well to
pedicels, firm; skin thin, adherent, contains much wine-colored
pigment, slightly astringent; flesh dark green, translucent,
fine-grained, tough, vinous, spicy; fair quality. Seeds clinging,
one to four, many abortive, large, short and wide, plump, sharply
pointed, brown.
BAKATOR
(Vinifera)
This is a Hungarian wine grape but its high quality and early season
make it a desirable table-grape in the East. It seems to be grown but
little on the Pacific slope. The following description is made from
fruit grown at Geneva, New York:
Vine medium in vigor, productive. Young leaves tinged red at
edges, upper surface glossy; mature leaves large, round, upper
surface dull, lower surface downy; lobes five, terminal lobe
acuminate; basal sinus deep, medium to narrow, closed to
overlapping; lower lateral sinus deep, variable in width; upper
lateral sinus deep, usually narrows; margins dentate, teeth
shallow to medium deep. Flowers appear late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit ripens at Geneva the first or second week in October and
keeps well in storage; clusters above medium in size, medium in
length, broad, frequently double-shouldered, tapering, medium to
loose; berries medium to small, oval, light red becoming dark when
fully ripe, with thick bloom; skin thin, tender, adherent to the
pulp; flesh greenish, juicy, tender, melting, vinous, sweet;
quality very good.
BARRY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Barry (Plate VII) is one of the best American black grapes, resembling
in berry and in flavor and keeping quality of fruit its European
parent, Black Hamburg. The appearance of berry and bunch is
attractive. The vine is vigorous, hardy and productive but susceptible
to mildew. The ripening season is just after that of Concord. For the
table, for winter keeping and for the amateur, this variety may be
highly recommended. Barry was dedicated in 1869, by E. S. Rogers, who
originated it, to Patrick Barry, distinguished nurseryman and
pomologist. The variety is grown in gardens throughout the grape
regions of eastern America.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive, susceptible to mildew. Canes
long, numerous, thick, dark brown with heavy bloom; nodes
flattened; shoots glabrous; tendrils intermittent, bifid or
trifid. Leaves large; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes one to three, terminus
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow,
narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers open in mid-season, self-sterile;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters short, very broad,
tapering, often subdividing into several parts, compact; pedicel
with small warts. Berries large, oval, dark purplish-black,
glossy, covered with heavy bloom, adherent; skin thin, tough,
adherent; flesh pale green, translucent, tender, stringy, vinous,
pleasant-flavored; good. Seeds adherent, one to five, large,
deeply notched, with enlarged neck, brown.
BEACON
(Lincecumii, Labrusca)
Another of T. V. Munson's hybrids is Beacon. It is not well adapted to
northern regions but does very well in the South. The vine is vigorous
and bears a handsome, compact mass of foliage which retains its color
and freshness through drouths and heat. Munson grew Beacon in 1887
from seed of Big Berry (a variety of Lincecumii) pollinated by
Concord, the vine bearing first in 1889.
Vine vigorous, precariously hardy, productive. Canes short,
slender, light brown. Leaves healthy, thick, dark green, sometimes
rugose; veins showing indistinctly through the slight pubescence
of the lower surface. Flowers open in mid-season, on plan of five
or six, self-fertile.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, usually high-shouldered, compact. Berries variable in
size, round, purplish-black, dull with heavy bloom, firm; skin
tough, adherent with a large amount of purplish-red pigment,
astringent; flesh tender, aromatic, spicy, vinous, mildly subacid;
good. Seeds free, large, broad, blunt, notched.
BERCKMANS
(Vulpina, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
In Berckmans we have the fruit of Delaware on the vine of Clinton. The
berry and bunch resemble Delaware in shape; the fruit is of the same
color; bunch and berry are larger; the grapes keep longer; the flesh
is firmer but the quality is not so good, the flesh lacking tenderness
and richness in comparison with Delaware. The vine of Berckmans is not
only more vigorous, but is less subject to mildew than that of
Delaware. The vine characters are not, however, as good as those of
Clinton. The variety is poorly adapted to some soils, and on these the
grapes do not color well. In spite of many good qualities, Berckmans
is but an amateur's grape. The name commemorates the viticultural
labors of P. J. Berckmans, a contemporary and friend of A. P. Wylie,
of Chester, South Carolina, who originated the variety. Berckmans came
from Delaware seed fertilized by Clinton, the seed having been sown in
1868.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, slender,
dark brown; nodes prominent, flattened; internodes short; shoots
glabrous; tendrils intermittent, long, bifid. Leaves small, thin;
upper surface light green, smooth; lower surface pale green,
glabrous; lobes one to three, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus
shallow, wide; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow.
Flowers open early, self-fertile; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens with Delaware. Clusters shouldered, compact, slender;
pedicel long, slender with few warts; brush short, light green.
Berries small, oval, Delaware-red, darker when well ripened,
covered with thin bloom, persistent; skin thin, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh pale yellowish-green, translucent, fine-grained,
tender, melting, vinous, sweet, sprightly; very good. Seeds free,
one to four, small, broad, blunt, brown.
BLACK EAGLE
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The fruit of Black Eagle is of the best, but the vine lacks in vigor,
hardiness and productiveness and is self-sterile. Bunch and berry are
large and attractive. The season is about with Concord. Black Eagle
has wholly failed as a commercial variety, and its several weaknesses
prevent amateurs from growing it widely. The variety originated with
Stephen W. Underhill, Croton-on-Hudson, New York, from seed of Concord
pollinated by Black Prince. It fruited first in 1866.
Vine vigorous, precariously hardy, unproductive. Canes rough,
thick, reddish-brown with light bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened
internodes long; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid.
Leaves thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth to rugose;
lobes five; terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep; lateral
sinus wide, narrowing towards top, deep. Flowers open in
mid-season, self-sterile; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, tapering,
single-or double-shouldered, compact; pedicel long, slender with
few warts; brush short, pale green. Berries variable in size,
oval, black, glossy with thick bloom; skin tender, thin, adherent
with wine-colored pigment; flesh pale green, translucent, tender,
vinous; good. Seeds free, one to four, large.
BLACK HAMBURG
(Vinifera)
Black Hamburg (Plate VI) is an old European sort, long the mainstay in
forcing-houses in Belgium, England and America and now popular out of
doors in California. It is an excellent table-grape but, while it
keeps well, its tender skin does not permit its being shipped far,
especially when grown out of doors. The vine is subject to disease.
The following description of the fruit is made from grapes grown in
the greenhouse:
Bunches very large, often a foot in length and weighing several
pounds; very broad at the shoulder and gradually tapering to a
point; compact, oftentimes too compact; berries very large, round
or slightly round-oval; skin rather thick; dark purple becoming
black at full maturity; flesh firm, juicy, sweet and rich; quality
very good or best. Season early in the forcing-house but rather
late out of doors.
BLACK MALVOISE
(Vinifera)
This variety is rather widely grown in California as an early
table-grape and might be worth trying in eastern grape regions. While
the fruit is not of the best quality, it is good. The following
description is compiled:
Vine vigorous, healthy and productive; wood long-jointed, rather
slender, light brown. Leaves of medium size, oval, evenly and
deeply five-lobed; basal sinus open, with nearly parallel sides;
upper surface smooth, almost glabrous; lower surface slightly
tomentose on the veins and veinlets. Bunches large, loose,
branching; berries large, oblong, reddish black with faint bloom;
flesh firm, juicy, crisp; flavor lacking in richness and
character; quality not high. Season early, keeping and shipping
but poorly.
BLACK MOROCCO
(Vinifera)
Black Morocco very generally meets the approval of grape-growers on
the Pacific slope without being a prime favorite for either home use
or commerce. The grapes are not high enough in quality for a home
vineyard, and, while they ship well, are hard to handle because of the
large size and rigidity of the bunches. Another fault is that the
vines are subject to root-knot. The chief asset of the variety is
handsome appearance of fruit. This variety is remarkable for the
number of second-crop bunches which it produces on the laterals. The
following description is compiled:
Vine very vigorous, productive; canes spreading, few. Leaves
medium to small, very deeply five-lobed; the younger leaves
truncate at base, giving them a semi-circular outline, with long,
sharp teeth alternating with very small ones; glabrous, or nearly
so, on both sides. Bunches very large, short, shouldered, compact
and rigid; berries very large, round, often misshapen from
compression; dull purple, lacking color in the center of the
bunch; flesh firm, crisp, neutral in flavor, lacking in richness;
quality rather low. Season late, keeping and shipping well.
BRIGHTON
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Brighton (Plate VIII) is one of the few Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids
which have attained prominence in commercial vineyards. It ranks as
one of the leading amateur grapes in eastern America and is among the
ten or twelve chief commercial sorts of this region. Its good points
are: for the fruit, high quality; for the vine, vigorous growth,
productiveness, adaptability to various soils and ability to withstand
fungi. Brighton has two serious defects which keep it from taking
higher rank as a commercial variety: it deteriorates in quality very
quickly after maturity, so that it cannot be kept for more than a few
days at its best, hence cannot well be shipped to distant markets; and
it is self-sterile to a more marked degree than any other
commonly-grown grape. Brighton is a seedling of Diana Hamburg
pollinated by Concord, raised by Jacob Moore, Brighton, New York. The
original vine fruited first in 1870.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive, subject to mildew. Canes long,
numerous, light brown; nodes enlarged, usually flattened;
internodes long; tendrils continuous, long, bifid. Leaves large,
thick; upper surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale
green, pubescent; lobes three when present, terminal one acute;
petiolar sinus intermediate in depth and width; lateral sinus
shallow; teeth narrow. Flowers open late, self-sterile; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit mid-season. Clusters large, long, broad, tapering, heavily
shouldered, loose; pedicel thick; brush pale green with brown
tinge, thick, short. Berries irregular, large, oval, light red,
glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, soft; skin thick, tender,
adherent, astringent; flesh green, transparent, tender, stringy,
melting, aromatic, vinous, sweet; very good. Seeds free, one to
five, broad, light brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.--Moore Early (×3/5).]
BRILLIANT
(Labrusca, Vinifera, Bourquiniana)
Brilliant is a cross between Lindley and Delaware. In cluster and size
of berry it resembles Lindley; in color and quality of fruit it is
about the same as Delaware, differing chiefly in having more
astringency in the skin. Its season is about with Delaware. The grapes
do not crack or shell, therefore ship well, and have very good keeping
qualities, especially on the vine where they often hang for weeks. The
vine is vigorous and hardy. The defects which have kept Brilliant from
becoming one of the standard commercial sorts are: marked
susceptibility to fungi, variability in size of cluster, unevenness in
ripening and unproductiveness. In favorable situations this variety
pleases the amateur, and the commercial grower often finds it
profitable. The seed which produced Brilliant was planted by T. V.
Munson, Denison, Texas, in 1883 and the variety was introduced in
1887.
Vine vigorous, hardy, rather unproductive. Canes long, numerous,
thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long;
tendrils intermittent, long, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface gray-green, downy;
obscurely three-lobed with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus
deep, narrow; basal and lateral sinuses obscure and shallow when
present; teeth intermediate in depth and width. Flowers open late,
self-fertile; stamens upright.
Fruit early mid-season, keeps well. Clusters medium, blunt,
cylindrical, usually shouldered, compact; pedicel short, thick
with a few small warts; brush short, thick, pale green with
reddish tinge. Berries round, dark red, glossy with thin bloom,
strongly adherent, firm; skin thin, tough, adherent; flesh pale
green, transparent, juicy, stringy, fine-grained, vinous, sweet;
good. Seeds clinging, one to four, large, broad, elongated, plump,
light brown.
BROWN
(Labrusca)
In spite of many encomiums in the past quarter century, Brown has not
received favorable recognition from fruit-growers. The quality is not
high, the berries shatter badly, and the vine is lacking in vigor.
Brown is a seedling of Isabella which came up in a yard at Newburgh,
New York, about 1884.
Vine hardy, productive. Canes short, slender, dark brown; tendrils
continuous. Leaves healthy, light green, glossy; veins well
defined, distinctly showing through the thick bronze of the lower
surface. Flowers open early, self-fertile stamens upright.
Fruit large, keeps well. Clusters small to medium, slender,
cylindrical or tapering, usually single-shouldered. Berries
intermediate in size, oval, black with thick bloom, drop soon
after ripening; skin adherent; flesh juicy, tough, fine-grained, a
little foxy, mild next the skin but tart at center; good. Seeds
short, blunt, light brown.
CAMPBELL EARLY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The meritorious qualities of Campbell Early (Plate IX) are: The grapes
are high in quality when mature; free from foxiness and from acidity
about the seeds; have small seeds which easily part from the flesh;
are early, ripening nearly a fortnight before Concord; bunch and berry
are large and handsome; and the vines are exceptionally hardy.
Campbell Early falls short in not being adapted to many soils; the
variety lacks productiveness; the grapes attain full color before they
are ripe and are, therefore, often marketed in an unripe condition;
the bunch is variable in size; and the color of the berry is not
attractive. George W. Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, grew this variety
from a seedling of Moore Early pollinated by a Labrusca-Vinifera
hybrid. It bore first in 1892.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes thick, dark reddish-brown,
surface roughened with small warts; nodes flattened; internodes
short; shoots pubescent; tendrils intermittent, short, bifid or
trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface green, glossy; lower
surface bronze, heavily pubescent; lobes three, usually entire,
terminal one acute; petiolar sinus shallow, wide; basal sinus
pubescent; lateral sinus wide or a notch; teeth shallow, narrow.
Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters usually large, long,
broad, tapering, single-shouldered; pedicel short, slender with
small warts; brush long, light wine color. Berries usually large,
round, oval, dark purplish-black, dull with heavy bloom,
persistent, firm; skin tough, thin, adherent with dark red
pigment, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, coarse,
vinous, sweet from skin to center; good. Seeds free, one to four,
light brown, often with yellow tips.
CANADA
(Vulpina, Labrusca, Vinifera)
Canada is considered the most desirable hybrid between Vulpina and
Vinifera. The variety shows Vinifera more than Vulpina parentage;
thus, in susceptibility to fungal diseases, in shape, color and
texture of foliage, in the flavor of the fruit and in the seeds, there
are marked indications of Vinifera; while the vine, especially in the
slenderness of its shoots and in the bunch and berry, shows Vulpina.
Canada has little value as a dessert fruit but makes a very good red
wine or grape-juice. Canada is a seedling of Clinton, a
Labrusca-Vulpina hybrid, fertilized by Black St. Peters, a variety of
Vinifera. Charles Arnold, Paris, Ontario, planted the seed which
produced Canada in 1860.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
slender, ash-gray, reddish-brown at nodes with heavy bloom; nodes
enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, short, trifid
or bifid. Leaves thin; upper surface light green, smooth; lower
surface pale green, hairy; terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus
deep, narrow; basal sinus variable in depth and width; lateral
sinus deep and narrow; teeth deep and wide. Flowers self-sterile,
early; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters long, slender, uniform,
cylindrical, compact; pedicel long, slender, smooth; brush short,
light brown. Berries small, round, purplish-black, glossy with
heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tough, adherent; flesh
dark green, very juicy, fine-grained, tender, spicy, pleasant
vinous flavor, agreeably tart; good. Seeds free, one to three,
blunt, light brown.
CANANDAIGUA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Canandaigua is worth attention because of the exceptionally good
keeping qualities of the grapes. The flavor is very good at picking
time but seems, if anything, to improve in storage. The vine
characters are those of Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids, and in these the
variety is the equal of the average cultivated hybrid of these two
species. The characters of the fruit, also, show plainly an admixture
of Vinifera and Labrusca so combined as to make the grapes very
similar to the best of such hybrids. Canandaigua is a chance seedling
found by E. L. Van Wormer, Canandaigua, New York, growing among wild
grapes. It was distributed about 1897.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, productive. Canes long, few,
reddish-brown, faint bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
semi-continuous, bifid, dehisce early. Leaves large, thin; upper
surface light green; lower surface gray-green. Flowers sterile or
sometimes partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps unusually well. Clusters variable in
size, usually heavily single-shouldered, loose to medium. Berries
large, oval, black, covered with thick bloom, persistent; skin
adherent, thin, tough; flesh firm, sweet and rich; good, improves
as season advances. Seeds long with enlarged neck.
CARMAN
(Lincecumii, Vinifera, Labrusca)
Carman is a grape having the characters of three species and hence is
of interest to grape improvers. It has not become popular with
growers, chiefly because the grapes ripen very late and are not of
high quality. The most valuable character of the variety is that of
long keeping, whether hanging on the vine or after harvesting. T. V.
Munson, Denison, Texas, raised Carman from seed of a wild post-oak
grape taken from the woods, pollinated with mixed pollen of Triumph
and Herbemont. It was introduced in 1892.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, rather productive. Canes long,
numerous, thick, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes long; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid. Leaves
large, thick; upper surface light green, glossy, older leaves
rugose; lower surface pale green, pubescent; terminal lobe acute;
petiolar sinus deep; basal sinus absent or shallow; lateral sinus
shallow when present. Flowers self-fertile or nearly so, open very
late; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters variable in size, tapering,
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender, smooth; brush
short, slender, wine-colored. Berries small, round, slightly
oblate, purplish-black, glossy, covered with heavy bloom,
persistent, firm; skin thin, tough, free; flesh yellowish-green,
tender, post-oak flavor, vinous, spicy; good to very good. Seeds
free, one to four, small, blunt, brown.
CATAWBA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
_Arkansas, Catawba Tokay, Cherokee, Fancher, Keller's White, Lebanon,
Lincoln, Mammoth Catawba, Mead's Seedling, Merceron, Michigan, Muncy,
Omega, Rose of Tennessee, Saratoga, Singleton, Tekomah, Tokay,
Virginia Amber._
Catawba has long been the standard red grape in the markets of eastern
America, chiefly because the fruit keeps well and is of high quality.
The vine is vigorous, hardy and productive, but the foliage and fruit
are susceptible to fungi. These two faults account for the decline of
Catawba in grape regions in the United States and for its growing
unpopularity. In botanical characters and in adaptations and
susceptibilities, the variety suggests Vinifera crossed with Labrusca.
The characters of Catawba seem readily transmissible to its offspring
and, besides having a number of pure-bred descendants which more or
less resemble it, it is a parent of a still greater number of
cross-breeds. As with Catawba, most of its progeny show Vinifera
characters, as intermittent tendrils, Vinifera color of foliage, a
vinous flavor wholly or nearly free from foxiness, and the
susceptibilities of Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids to certain diseases and
insects. Catawba was introduced by John Adlum, District of Columbia,
about 1823. Adlum secured cuttings from a Mrs. Scholl, Clarksburgh,
Montgomery County, Maryland, in the spring of 1819. Its further
history is not known.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes numerous, thick, dark
brown; nodes enlarged; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid.
Leaves large; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower
surface grayish-white, heavily pubescent; lobes sometimes three,
terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus often
lacking; lateral sinus narrow; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers
self-fertile, open late, stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, long, broad, tapering,
single-or sometimes double-shouldered, loose; pedicel with a few
inconspicuous warts; brush short, pale green. Berries of medium
size, oval, dull purplish-red with thick bloom, firm; skin thick,
adherent, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy,
fine-grained, vinous, sprightly, sweet and rich; very good. Seeds
free, frequently abortive, two, broad-necked, distinctly notched,
blunt, brown.
CHAMPION
(Labrusca)
_Beaconsfield, Early Champion, Talman's Seedling_
Champion is a favorite early grape with some growers, although the
poor quality of the fruit should have driven it from cultivation long
ago. The characters which have kept it in the market are earliness,
good shipping qualities, attractive appearance of fruit, and a
vigorous, productive, hardy vine. The hardiness of the vine and the
short season of fruit development make it a good variety for northern
climates. This grape is best in appearance of fruit, in quality and in
the quantity produced, on light sandy soils. The origin of Champion is
unknown. It was first grown about 1870 in New York.
Vine very vigorous, hardy and productive. Canes of average size,
dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; shoots
pubescent; tendrils continuous, long, bifid. Leaves large; upper
surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface dull gray, downy;
lobes usually three, often obscurely five, terminal one acute;
petiolar sinus deep; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, early;
stamens upright.
Fruit early, three weeks before Concord, season short. Clusters
medium in size, blunt, cylindrical, usually not shouldered,
compact; pedicel short with inconspicuous warts; brush white
tinged with bronze. Berries medium in size, round, dull black
covered with heavy bloom, soft; skin thick, tender, adherent,
astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained,
tender, foxy; poor in quality. Seeds adherent, one to five, broad,
long, blunt, light brown.
CHASSELAS GOLDEN
(Vinifera)
_Chasselas Dore, Fontainebleau, Sweetwater_
Several qualities have made Chasselas Golden a favorite grape wherever
it can be grown. The variety is adapted to widely differing
environments; the season of ripening is early; while not choicely
high, the quality of the grapes is good and they are beautiful, clear
green tinged with beautiful golden bronze where exposed to the sun.
Chasselas Golden is a popular variety on the Pacific slope and should
be one of the first Viniferas to be tried in the East. The following
description was made from fruit grown at Geneva, New York:
Vine medium in vigor, very productive; buds open in mid-season.
Young leaves tinged with red on both upper and lower surfaces,
thinly pubescent to glabrous; mature leaves medium to above in
size, slightly cordate; upper surface glabrous, lower surface
slightly pubescent along the veins; lobes five in number, terminal
lobe acuminate; basal sinus broad and rather deep; lower lateral
sinus variable, usually broad and sometimes deep; upper lateral
sinus broad and frequently deep; teeth large, obtuse to rounded.
Flowers late; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens early and keeps well in storage; clusters large,
long, broad, tapering, sometimes with a single shoulder,
compactness medium; berries medium to above, slightly oval, pale
green to clear yellow, with thin bloom; skin thin, tough,
adherent, slightly astringent; flesh greenish, translucent, firm,
juicy, tender, sweet; good.
CHASSELAS ROSE
(Vinifera)
Chasselas Rose is very similar to Chasselas Golden, differing chiefly
in smaller bunch and berry and slightly different flavor which is
possibly better. It is a standard sort in California and should be
planted in the East where the culture of Viniferas is attempted. The
description is made from fruit grown at Geneva, New York:
Vine of medium vigor, productive. Opening leaves tinged with red
on both surfaces, mature leaves small, round; upper surface medium
green, somewhat dull, smooth; lower surface glabrous; lobes three;
basal sinus medium in depth and of variable width; lateral sinus
deep, narrow; teeth shallow, wide, dentate. Flowers appear late;
stamens upright.
Fruit ripens the second week in October and is a good keeper
though it loses its flavor in storage; clusters above and below
medium, long, tapering to cylindrical, compact; berries medium in
size, roundish-oval, light red changed to violet-red by the bloom;
skin thin, astringent, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; quality good.
CHAUTAUQUA
(Labrusca)
In appearance of fruit, Chautauqua is very similar to Concord, its
parent, but the grapes ripen a few days earlier and are of better
quality, although they do not differ in these respects sufficiently to
make the variety much more than an easily recognized strain of
Concord. Chautauqua is a volunteer seedling of Concord, found near
Brocton, New York, by H. T. Bashtite about 1890.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, unproductive. Canes long, thick,
cylindrical; internodes long; tendrils continuous, trifid. Leaves
large, irregularly round, dark green; upper surface dark green;
lower surface tinged with bronze; leaf entire or faintly
three-lobed. Flowers semi-fertile, open in mid-season or earlier;
stamens upright.
Fruit early in mid-season. Clusters medium to large, broad,
sometimes single-shouldered, compact. Berries large, round or
slightly oval, purplish-black with abundant bloom, shatter badly;
skin thin, very astringent; flesh tough, vinous, sweet at skin,
acid at center; good to very good. Seeds few, free, broad, plump.
CLEVENER
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
This variety has long been grown in New Jersey and New York, and in
both states is highly esteemed as a wine-grape. The fruit is
remarkable in coloring very early and in ripening late. The vine is
hardy, very vigorous, succeeds in various soils, and since it bears
grafts well is an excellent sort upon which to graft varieties not
thriving on their own roots. Clevener is self-sterile and must be
planted with some other variety to set fruit well. In spite of its
good qualities, Clevener is hardly holding its own in commercial
vineyards, and it is not a desirable fruit for the amateur who wants a
table-grape. Clevener has been raised in the vicinity of Egg Harbor,
New Jersey, since about 1870, but its place and time of origin are
unknown.
Vine a rampant grower, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
thick, dark reddish-brown with heavy bloom; nodes enlarged;
tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves unusually large, dark green
with well-defined ribs showing through the thin pubescence of the
under surface; lobes wanting or faint; teeth deep, wide. Flowers
self-sterile, open very early; stamens reflexed.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters do not always fill well, small,
short, slender, irregularly tapering, often with a single
shoulder. Berries small, round or slightly flattened, black,
glossy, covered with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough,
thin, inclined to crack, adherent with much purplish-red pigment;
flesh reddish-green, juicy, tender, soft, fine-grained, aromatic,
spicy; good. Seeds free, notched, sharp-pointed, dark brown.
CLINTON
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
_Worthington_
Clinton (Plate X) came into prominence because of vigor, hardiness,
fruitfulness and immunity to phylloxera. A serious defect is that the
vines bloom so early that the blossoms are often caught by late frosts
in northern climates. Other defects are: the fruit is small and sour,
and the seeds and skins prominent. The fruit colors early in the
season but does not ripen until late, a slight touch of frost
improving the flavor. Clinton bears grafts well, making a quick and
firm union with Labrusca and Vinifera, and the vines are easily
propagated from cuttings. This variety has been used widely in
grape-breeding, and its blood can be traced in many valuable
varieties. The offspring of Clinton are usually very hardy, and this,
taken with its other desirable characters, makes it an exceptionally
good starting-point for breeding grapes for northern latitudes.
Clinton is an old sort, the Worthington, known as early as 1815,
renamed; it began to attract attention about 1840.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
slender, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; shoots smooth;
tendrils intermittent, sometimes continuous, bifid. Leaves hang
until late in the season, small, thin; upper surface dark green,
smooth; lower surface pale green, glabrous; petiolar sinus deep,
narrow, urn-shaped; basal and lateral sinuses shallow; teeth wide.
Flowers self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season. Clusters small, slender, cylindrical, uniform,
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, very slender, smooth;
brush tinged with red. Berries small, round, oval, purplish-black,
glossy, covered with thick bloom, adherent, firm; skin very
thin, tough, free from pulp with much wine-colored pigment,
astringent; flesh dark green, juicy, fine-grained, tough, solid,
spicy, sour, vinous. Seeds adherent, two, short, blunt, brownish.
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.--Muscat Hamburg (×2/3).]
COLERAIN
(Labrusca)
This is one of the numerous white seedlings of Concord and one of the
few with sufficient merit to be kept in cultivation. The vine has the
characteristic foliage and habit of growth of its parent, but the
fruit is earlier by a week, is of much higher quality and lacks the
foxiness of most Labruscas. The grapes are sprightly and vinous, and
neither seeds nor skin are as objectionable as in the parent. The
fruit hangs to the vine and keeps well, but owing to tender pulp does
not ship well. The variety is unproductive in some localities.
Colerain is worthy a place in home vineyards. David Bundy, Colerain,
Ohio, grew this variety from seed of Concord planted in 1880.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, unproductive. Canes slender, dark
reddish-brown; nodes flattened; internodes short, bifid. Leaves
thick; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower surface
bronze, downy; leaf not lobed, terminus acute; petiolar sinus
wide; basal and lateral sinus very shallow when present; teeth
shallow. Flowers self-fertile, opening in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit early. Clusters medium in size and length, slender, blunt,
tapering, irregular, strongly shouldered, compact; pedicel
slender, smooth; brush green. Berries round, light green, glossy
with thin bloom, persistent; skin unusually thin, tender,
adherent, unpigmented, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, soft, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds
free, one to three, small, broad, notched, short, plump, brown.
COLUMBIAN IMPERIAL
(Labrusca, Vulpina)
_Columbian, Jumbo_
Columbian Imperial is a Labrusca-Vulpina hybrid chiefly remarkable for
the great size of its reddish-black berries, although the vine is so
exceptionally healthy and vigorous as to give it prominence for these
characters as well. The variety has remarkably thick leathery leaves
which seem almost proof against either insects or fungi. The quality
of the fruit, however, is inferior, and the small clusters vary in
number of berries and these shell easily. The only value of the
variety is for exhibition purposes and for breeding to secure the
desirable characters named. The parentage of Columbian Imperial is
unknown. It originated with J. S. McKinley, Orient, Ohio, in 1885.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, unproductive. Canes long, numerous,
thick, dark reddish-brown, heavily pubescent, spiny; nodes
prominent; internodes short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid.
Leaves green, very thick; lower surface pale green shading into
bronze on older leaves with little pubescence; lobes three,
indistinct; teeth sharp, shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile;
stamens upright.
Fruit late. Clusters medium in size, sometimes shouldered;
peduncle slender; pedicel long; brush long, slender, green.
Berries very large, round, slightly oval, dull reddish-black with
faint bloom, firm; skin thick, tough, unpigmented; flesh juicy,
tough, sweet at the skin but acid at center; fair in quality.
Seeds adherent, large, plump, broad, blunt.
CONCORD
(Labrusca)
Concord (Plate XI) is the most widely known of the grapes of this
continent, and with its offspring, pure-bred and cross-bred, furnishes
75 per cent of the grapes of eastern America. The preëminently
meritorious character of Concord is that it adapts itself to varying
conditions; thus, Concord is grown with profit in every grape-growing
state in the Union and to an extent not possible with any
other variety. A second character which commends Concord is
fruitfulness--the vine bears large crops year in and year out. Added
to these points of superiority, are: hardiness; ability to withstand
the ravages of diseases and insects; comparative earliness; certainty
of maturity in northern regions; and fair size and handsome
appearance of bunch and berry. Concord also blossoms late in the
spring and does not suffer often from spring frosts, nor is the fruit
often injured by late frosts. The crop hangs well on the vine.
The variety is not, however, without faults: the quality is not high,
the grapes lacking richness, delicacy of flavor and aroma, and having
a foxy taste disagreeable to many; the seeds and skin are
objectionable, the seeds being large and abundant and difficult to
separate from the flesh, and the skin being tough and unpleasantly
astringent; the grapes do not keep nor ship well and rapidly lose
flavor after ripening; the skin cracks and the berries shell from the
stems after picking; and the vine is but slightly resistant to
phylloxera. While Concord is grown in the South, it is essentially a
northern grape, becoming susceptible to fungi in southern climates and
suffering from phylloxera in dry, warm soils.
The botanical characters of Concord indicate that it is a pure-bred
Labrusca. Seeds of a wild grape were planted in the fall of 1843 by E.
W. Bull, Concord, Massachusetts, plants from which fruited in 1849.
One of these seedlings was named Concord.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, thick, dark
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; shoots
pubescent; tendrils continuous, long, bifid, sometimes trifid.
Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth;
lower surface light bronze, heavily pubescent; lobes three when
present, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus variable; basal sinus
usually lacking; lateral sinus obscure and frequently notched;
teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps from one to two months. Clusters uniform,
large, wide, broadly tapering, usually single-shouldered,
sometimes double-shouldered, compact; pedicel thick, smooth; brush
pale green. Berries large, round, glossy, black with heavy bloom,
firm; skin tough, adherent with a small amount of wine-colored
pigment, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy,
fine-grained, tough, solid, foxy; good. Seeds adherent, one to
four, large, broad, distinctly notched, plump, blunt, brownish.
COTTAGE
(Labrusca)
In vine and fruit, Cottage resembles its parent, Concord, having,
however, remarkably large, thick, leathery leaves. It is noted also
for its strong, branching root system and canes so rough as to be
almost spiny. The fruit is better in quality than that of its parent,
having less foxiness and a richer, more delicate flavor. The crop
ripens from one to two weeks earlier than Concord. The good qualities
of the variety are offset by comparative unproductiveness and
unevenness in ripening. Cottage is recommended as an early grape of
the Concord type for the garden. This variety was grown from seed of
Concord by E. W. Bull, Concord, Massachusetts. It was introduced in
1869.
Vine vigorous, healthy, hardy. Canes rough, hairy, long, numerous,
dark brown; nodes enlarged; shoots very pubescent; tendrils
continuous, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green,
glossy, smooth or rugose; lower surface tinged with bronze,
pubescent; leaf entire with terminal acute; petiolar sinus deep
and wide; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open early;
stamens upright.
Fruit does not keep well. Clusters of medium size, broad,
cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
thick with a few small warts; brush dark red. Berries of medium
size, round, dull black with heavy bloom, drop badly from pedicel,
firm; skin thick, tender, adherent with dark purplish-red pigment,
astringent; flesh juicy, tough, solid, foxy; good. Seeds free, one
to four, large, broad, blunt, light brown.
CREVELING
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
_Bloom, Bloomburg, Catawissa, Columbia Bloom_
Creveling was long a favorite black grape for the garden, where, if
planted in good soil, it produces fine clusters of large, handsome,
very good grapes. Under any but the best of care, however, the vine is
unproductive and sets loose, straggling bunches. The variety is
markedly self-sterile. The origin of Creveling is uncertain. It was
introduced about 1857 by F. F. Merceron, Catawissa, Pennsylvania.
Vine vigorous, not hardy, often unproductive. Canes long,
numerous, thick, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes long; shoots glabrous; tendrils continuous, long,
trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green,
dull, rugose; lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes three, or
obscurely five, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep, closed,
overlapping; basal sinus very shallow; lateral sinus shallow,
narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers on plan of six, self-sterile, open
in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters long, broad, irregularly
tapering, single-shouldered, the shoulder often connected to the
cluster by a long stem, loose; brush thick, dark wine-color.
Berries large, oval, dull black, covered with heavy bloom,
persistent, firm; skin thick, tough, adherent with wine-colored
pigment, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy,
stringy, tender, coarse, foxy; good. Seeds free, one to five,
broad, notched, blunt, light brown.
CROTON
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
The fruit of Croton is a feast both to the eye and to the palate.
Unfortunately the vine is difficult to grow, being adapted to but few
soils and proving unfruitful, weak in growth, precariously tender and
subject to mildew and rot in unfavorable situations. The grapes have a
delicate, sweet Vinifera flavor with melting flesh which readily
separates from the few seeds. The crop hangs on the vines until frost
and keeps well into the winter. In spite of high quality of fruit,
Croton has never become widely distributed, wholly failing as a
commercial variety. It originated with S. W. Underhill, Croton Point,
New York, from a seed of Delaware pollinated by a European grape.
Fruits were first exhibited in 1868.
Vine vigorous, tender, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick,
dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; shoots
glabrous; tendrils intermittent, long, bifid. Leaves of medium
size, hang late; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower
surface pale green, pubescent; lobes five, terminal one blunt;
basal sinus narrow; lateral sinus deep and narrow; petiolar sinus
narrow, often closed and overlapping; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers
self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters uniform, very large, long,
slender, irregularly tapering with heavy shoulder, very loose;
pedicel long, thick with inconspicuous warts; brush green. Berries
irregular in size, round-elongated, yellowish-green with thin
bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin, tough, adherent, unpigmented;
flesh green, transparent, very juicy, melting, vinous, pleasant,
agreeably sweet; very good. Seeds free, one to three, elongated,
notched, sharply pointed.
CUNNINGHAM
(Bourquiniana)
_Long, Prince Edward_
Cunningham is cultivated very little in America, but in France, at one
time, was one of the best-known grapes, both as a direct producer and
as a stock for European varieties. It was much sought for by the
French as a stock for large Vinifera cions, the size of the vine
giving an opportunity for making a good graft. In the South, where the
variety originated, Cunningham is not largely grown, as there are
several other varieties of its type superior in fruit and vine. The
vine is a capricious grower and is particular as to soil and climate.
The grapes make a deep yellow wine of a very good quality but have
little value as table-grapes. Cunningham originated with Jacob
Cunningham, Prince Edward County, Virginia, about 1812.
Vine vigorous, spreading, productive. Canes large, long with stiff
reddish hairs at base; shoots showing considerable bloom; tendrils
intermittent, usually trifid. Leaves large, thick, round, entire
or lobed; smooth and dark green above, yellowish green below,
pubescent; petiolar sinus narrow, frequently overlapping.
Clusters of medium size, long, sometimes shouldered, very compact;
pedicel long, slender with small warts; brush short, light brown.
Berries small, purplish-black with thin bloom; skin thin, tough
with much underlying pigment; flesh tender, juicy, sprightly;
quality poor or but fair. Seeds two to five, oval.
CYNTHIANA
(Æstivalis, Labrusca)
_Arkansas, Red River_
There is controversy as to whether this variety differs from Norton.
The two ripen at separate times, and the fruits differ a little so
that they must be considered as distinct. Cynthiana is particular as
to soil and location, preferring sandy loams and does not thrive on
clays or limestones. While very resistant to phylloxera, this variety
is not much used as a resistant stock because it is not easily
propagated. The vines are resistant to mildew, black-rot, and
anthracnose and are strong, vigorous growers. The cycle of vegetation
for Cynthiana is long, the buds bursting forth early and the fruit
maturing very late. The variety has no value as a table-grape but in
the South is one of the best grapes for red wine. No doubt it will
prove one of the best southern sorts for grape-juice. Cynthiana was
received about 1850 by Prince, of Flushing, Long Island, from
Arkansas, where it was found growing in the woods.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes medium in length,
numerous, reddish-brown with thick bloom; nodes enlarged;
internodes short; shoots glabrous; tendrils intermittent or
continuous, bifid. Leaves thick, firm; upper surface dark green,
dull, rugose; lower surface tinged with blue, faintly pubescent,
cobwebby; lobes variable in number, terminal one acute; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow, closed, sometimes overlapping; basal sinus
shallow; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow; stamens
upright.
Fruit very late, keeps well. Clusters medium to small, long,
tapering, often single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
slender, with numerous warts; brush short, thick, wine-colored.
Berries small, round, black, covered with heavy bloom, persistent,
firm; skin thin, tough, adherent with purple pigment, astringent;
flesh dark green, translucent, juicy, tough, firm, spicy, tart;
poor in quality. Seeds adherent, one to six, small, short, blunt,
dark brown.
DELAWARE
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana, Vinifera)
_French Grape, Gray Delaware, Ladies' Choice, Powell, Ruff_
Delaware (Plate VII) is used wherever American grapes are grown as the
standard to gauge the quality of other grapes. Added to high quality
in fruit, the variety withstands climatic conditions to which all but
the most hardy varieties succumb, is adapted to many soils and
conditions, and bears under most situations an abundant crop. These
qualities make it, next to Concord, the most popular grape for garden
and vineyard now grown in the United States. Besides the qualities
named, the grapes mature sufficiently early to make the crop certain,
are attractive in appearance, keep and ship well and are more immune
than other commercial varieties to black-rot. Faults of the variety
are: small vine, slow growth, susceptibility to mildew, capriciousness
in certain soils and small berries. The first two faults make it
necessary to plant the vines more closely than those of other
commercial varieties. Delaware succeeds best in deep, rich,
well-drained, warm soils, but even on these it must have good
cultivation, close pruning and the crop must be thinned.
Delaware is grown North and South, westward to the Rocky Mountains. It
is now proving profitable in many southern locations as an early grape
to ship to northern markets. It is an especially desirable grape to
cultivate in small gardens because of its delicious, handsome fruit,
its compact habit of growth and its ample and lustrous green,
delicately formed leaves which make it one of the most ornamental of
the grapes. Delaware can be traced to the garden of Paul H. Provost,
Frenchtown, New Jersey, where it was growing early in the nineteenth
century, and from whence it was taken to Delaware, Ohio, in 1849 and
from there distributed to fruit-growers.
Vine weak, hardy, productive. Canes short, numerous, slender, dark
brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
short, bifid. Leaves small; upper surface dark green, dull,
smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes three to five
in number, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus
narrow and shallow when present; lateral sinus deep, narrow; teeth
shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters small, slender, blunt,
cylindrical, regular, shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender,
smooth; brush light brown. Berries uniform in size and shape,
small, round, light red, covered with thin bloom, persistent,
firm; skin thin, tough, adherent, unpigmented, astringent; flesh
light green, translucent, juicy, tender, aromatic, vinous,
refreshing, sweet; best in quality. Seeds free, one to four,
broad, notched, short, blunt, light brown.
DIAMOND
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Few other grapes surpass Diamond in quality and beauty of fruit. When
to its desirable fruit characters are added hardiness, productiveness
and vigor of vine, the variety is surpassed by no other green grape.
Diamond is a diluted hybrid between Labrusca and Vinifera and the
touch of the exotic grape is just sufficient to give the fruit the
richness in flavor of the Old World grape and not overcome the
refreshing sprightliness of the native fox-grapes. The Vinifera
characters are wholly recessive in vine and foliage, the plant
resembling closely its American parent, Concord. Diamond is well
established North and South and can be grown in as great a range of
latitude as Concord. Jacob Moore, Brighton, New York, grew Diamond
about 1870 from Concord seed fertilized by Iona.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes short, brown with a slight
red tinge; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils
intermittent, bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface light green,
dull, smooth; lower surface light bronze, downy; lobes three in
number, indistinct; petiolar sinus very shallow; teeth shallow.
Flowers self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters medium to short, broad, blunt,
cylindrical, often single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
thick with a few inconspicuous warts; brush slender, pale green.
Berries large, ovate, green with a tinge of yellow, glossy,
covered with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tough,
adherent, astringent; flesh pale green, transparent, juicy,
tender, melting, fine-grained, aromatic, sprightly; very good.
Seeds free, one to four, broad and long, sharp-pointed,
yellowish-brown.
DIANA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Diana (Plate XII) is a seedling of Catawba to which its fruit bears
strong resemblance, differing chiefly in having lighter color, in
being less pulpy and more juicy. The flavor resembles that of Catawba
but has less of the wild taste. The chief point of superiority of
Diana over Catawba is in earliness, the crop ripening ten days sooner,
making possible its culture far to the north. The defects of Diana
are: the vine is tender in cold winters; the grapes ripen unevenly;
the berries and foliage are susceptible to fungi; and the vine is a
shy bearer. Diana demands poor, dry, gravelly soil without much humus
or nitrogen. On clays, loams or rich soils, the vines make a rank
growth, and the fruits are few, late and of poor quality. The vine
needs to be long pruned and to have all surplus bunches removed,
leaving a small crop to mature. Diana is a satisfactory grape for the
amateur, and where it does especially well proves profitable for the
local market. Mrs. Diana Crehore, Milton, Massachusetts, grew Diana
from seed of Catawba, planted about 1834.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, often unproductive. Canes
pubescent, long, reddish-brown, covered with thin bloom; nodes
enlarged, flattened; internodes long; tendrils intermittent, long,
bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface light green, heavily
pubescent; lobes three to five, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus
deep, wide, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus shallow;
lateral sinus narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open in
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, broad, tapering,
occasionally shouldered, compact; pedicel covered with small
warts; brush slender, pale green. Berries medium in size, slightly
ovate, light red covered with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin
thick, tough, slightly adherent; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, tough, fine-grained, vinous, good. Seeds adherent, one to
three, light brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.--Niagara (×2/3).]
DOWNING
(Vinifera, Æstivalis, Labrusca)
Downing is well worthy a place in the garden because of the high
quality, handsome appearance and good keeping qualities of the grapes.
Added to these qualities of the fruits are fair vigor and health of
vine. When grown as far north as New York, the vine should be laid
down in the winter or receive other protection. In most seasons,
unremitting warfare must be kept up to check mildew. In appearance of
bunch and berry, Downing is distinct, the clusters being large and
well-formed and the berries having the oval shape of a Malaga. The
flesh, also, shows _Vitis vinifera_ in texture and quality, while
neither seeds nor skins are as objectionable as in pure-bred American
varieties. J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, first grew Downing
about 1865.
Vine tender to cold, unproductive. Canes short, few, slender, dark
green with an ash-gray tinge, surface covered with thin bloom,
often roughened with a few small warts; nodes much enlarged,
strongly flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, bifid
or trifid. Leaves small, round, thick; upper surface dark green,
glossy, rugose; lower surface dark green, glabrous; lobes one to
five, terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus narrow, closed and
overlapping; basal sinus shallow and narrow when present; lateral
sinus shallow, narrow; teeth wide, deep. Flowers open late;
stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps until spring. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, sometimes loosely shouldered; pedicel slender,
covered with numerous warts; brush long, slender, green. Berries
large, markedly oval, dark purplish-black, glossy, covered with
light bloom, strongly persistent, firm; skin thick, tender,
adherent; flesh green with a yellow tinge, translucent, very
juicy, tender, fine-grained, vinous, mild; very good in quality.
Seeds free, one to three, notched, long, brown.
DRACUT AMBER
(Labrusca)
Dracut Amber is representative of the red type of Labrusca. The fruit
has no particular merit, its thick skin, coarse pulp, seeds and foxy
taste all being objectionable. However, the vine is very hardy,
productive, and ripens its fruit early so that this variety becomes
valuable in locations where a vigorous, hardy, early grape is wanted.
Asa Clement, Dracut, Massachusetts grew Dracut Amber from seed planted
about 1855.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, dark
brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, long, bifid
or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, dull,
smooth; lower surface pale green, cobwebby; lobes three to five
with terminal one obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus
shallow, wide; teeth shallow. Flowers on plan of six,
semi-fertile, mid-season.
Fruit early, season short. Clusters short, broad, cylindrical,
irregular, rarely shouldered, compact; pedicel short, covered with
warts; brush long, light yellowish-green. Berries medium to large,
oval, dull pale red or dark amber, covered with thin bloom, soft;
skin very thick, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh green,
translucent, juicy, tough, very foxy; inferior in quality. Seeds
adherent, two to five, large, broad, light brown.
DUTCHESS
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana? Æstivalis?)
Dutchess (Plate XIII) is not grown largely in commercial vineyards
because of several faults, as: the vine is tender to cold; the berries
do not ripen evenly; berries and foliage are susceptible to fungi; and
in soils to which it is not adapted, berries and bunches are small. In
spite of these defects, Dutchess should not be discarded by the
grape-lover, for there are few grapes of higher quality. The grapes
are sweet and rich, yet do not cloy the appetite; although of but
medium size, they are attractive, being a beautiful amber color with
distinctive dots; the flesh is translucent, sparkling, fine-grained
and tender; the seeds are small, few and part readily from the pulp;
the skin is thin, yet tough enough for good keeping; and the bunches
are large and compact when well grown. The variety is self-fertile
and, therefore, desirable when only a few vines are wanted. The
clusters are especially fine when bagged. A. J. Caywood, Marlboro, New
York, grew Dutchess from seed of a white Concord seedling pollinated
by mixed pollen of Delaware and Walter. The seed was planted in 1868.
Vine vigorous, an uncertain bearer. Canes dark brown with light
bloom, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils intermittent, short, bifid or trifid. Leaves
irregular in outline; upper surface pale green, pubescent; leaf
entire with terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus
shallow when present; lateral sinus medium in depth or a mere
notch. Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, long,
slender, tapering with a prominent single shoulder; pedicel
slender, smooth; brush amber-colored. Berries of medium size,
round, pale yellow-green verging on amber, some showing bronze
tinge with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin sprinkled with small
dark dots, thin, tough, adherent; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet, of pleasant flavor;
quality high. Seeds free, one, two or occasionally three, small,
short, sharp-pointed, brown.
EARLY DAISY
(Labrusca)
The qualities of Early Daisy render the variety more than commonplace.
Its earliness commends it, the ripening period being eight or ten days
earlier than Champion or Moore Early, making it one of the very
earliest varieties. For a grape maturing at its season, it both keeps
and ships well. Early Daisy would seem to be as desirable as Hartford
or Champion. The variety originated with John Kready, Mount Joy,
Pennsylvania, in 1874, as a seedling of Hartford.
Vine vigorous, hardy, produces fair crops. Canes of medium length,
numerous, slender, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves small, light green; upper
surface rugose; lower surface slightly pubescent, cobwebby; lobes
wanting or faintly three; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; teeth
shallow, narrow. Flowers nearly self-sterile.
Fruit early. Clusters small to medium, often blunt at ends,
cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
slender, smooth; brush reddish, slender. Berries of medium size,
round, dull black, covered with heavy bloom, persistent; skin
tough, purplish-red pigment; flesh tough, solid, aromatic, tart at
the skin, acid at center; inferior in flavor and quality. Seeds
numerous, adherent, of average size, dark brown.
EARLY OHIO
(Labrusca)
Early Ohio is remarkable, chiefly, in being one of the earliest
commercial grapes. The fruit resembles that of Concord, of which it is
probably a seedling. Notwithstanding many defects, Early Ohio is grown
somewhat commonly, although its culture is on the wane. The variety
was found in 1882 by R. A. Hunt, Euclid, Ohio, between rows of
Delaware and Concord.
Vine weak, tender, usually unproductive. Canes short, slender,
brown with a red tinge; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils continuous, short, bifid. Leaves intermediate in
size; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale
green tinged with bronze, pubescent; lobes wanting or one to
three, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus shallow, wide; basal
sinus usually absent; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth
shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit very early, does not keep well. Clusters medium in size,
tapering; pedicel slender with a few small warts; brush slender,
tinged with red. Berries variable in size, round, purplish-black,
glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin adherent,
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tough, aromatic; poor
in quality. Seeds adherent, one to four, notched, brown with
yellowish-brown tips.
EARLY VICTOR
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana?)
Early Victor is highest in quality of early black grapes. It is
especially pleasing to those who object to the foxiness so marked in
Hartford and Champion. Were the season but a few days earlier and
bunch and berry a little larger, Early Victor would be the best grape
to start the grape season. The vines are hardy, healthy, vigorous and
productive, with growth and foliage resembling Hartford, which is
probably one of its parents, Delaware being the other. The bunches are
small, compact, variable in shape and the berries are about the size
and shape of those of Delaware. Its season is that of Moore Early or a
little later, although, like many black grapes, the fruit colors
before it is ripe and is often picked too green. Unfortunately the
fruit is susceptible to black-rot and shrivels after ripening. John
Burr, Leavenworth, Kansas, first grew Early Victor about 1871.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
slender, dark brown, surface pubescent; nodes enlarged; internodes
long; tendrils continuous, bifid, sometimes trifid. Leaves thick;
upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface white, heavily
pubescent; lobes three to five, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus
intermediate in depth and width; basal sinus shallow and wide when
present; lateral sinus narrow. Flowers semi-sterile, open in
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit very early, does not keep well. Clusters small, variable in
shape, cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel
short, covered with numerous small warts; brush wine-colored or
pinkish-red. Berries small, round, dark purplish-black, dull with
heavy bloom, persistent; skin thin, tough, adherent, contains much
red pigment, astringent; flesh greenish-white, opaque,
fine-grained, aromatic, vinous; good. Seeds adherent, one to four,
broad, notched, blunt, dark brown.
EATON
(Labrusca)
Eaton (Plate XIV) is a pure-bred seedling of Concord which it
surpasses in appearance but does not equal in quality of fruit. The
flesh is tough and stringy, and though sweet at the skin, is acid at
the seeds and has the same foxiness that characterizes Concord, but
with more juice and less richness, so that it is well described as a
"diluted" Concord. The grape-skin is very similar to that of Concord,
and the fruit packs, ships and keeps about the same, perhaps not quite
as well because of the greater amount of juice. The season is a few
days earlier than Concord. The vine is similar in all characters to
that of its parent. The grapes ripen unevenly, the flowers are
self-sterile, and in some locations the vine is a shy bearer. The
variety has not found favor with either grower or consumer. Eaton
originated with Calvin Eaton, Concord, New Hampshire, about 1868.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes thick, light
brown with blue bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large,
round, thick; upper surface dark green; lower surface tinged with
bronze, heavily pubescent; lobes three, terminal one acute;
petiolar sinus shallow, wide; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral
sinus shallow, narrow, often notched; teeth shallow. Flowers
semi-sterile, early; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season. Clusters large, short, broad, blunt, sometimes
double-shouldered, compact; pedicel long, thick, smooth; brush
slender, pale green. Berries large, round, black with heavy bloom,
persistent, firm; skin tough, adherent, purplish-red pigment,
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tough, stringy, foxy;
fair in quality. Seeds adherent, one to four, broad, notched,
plump, blunt.
ECLIPSE
(Labrusca)
Eclipse (Plate XV) is a seedling of Niagara and, therefore, a
descendant of Concord which it resembles, differing chiefly in earlier
fruit which is of better quality. Unfortunately, the bunches and
berries are small. The vines are hardly surpassed by those of any
other variety, being hardy, healthy and productive, qualities that
should commend it for commercial vineyards. The ripe fruit hangs on
the vines for some time without deterioration, and the grapes do not
crack in wet weather. The crop ripens several days earlier than that
of Concord. Eclipse originated with E. A. Riehl, Alton, Illinois,
from seed planted about 1890.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes medium in length, dark
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged; tendrils continuous, long, bifid.
Leaves large; upper surface dark green; lower surface white with a
bronze tinge, heavily pubescent; lobes wanting or three with
terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus
usually lacking; lateral sinus narrow, often notched; teeth
shallow, narrow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters of medium size, broad, tapering,
frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, thick,
covered with small warts; brush long, pale green. Berries, large,
oval, dull black with abundant bloom, persistent, firm; skin
tender, slightly adherent, astringent; flesh pale green,
translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained, foxy, sweet; good. Seeds
free, one to four, short, broad, distinctly notched, blunt, brown.
EDEN
(Rotundifolia, Munsoniana?)
Eden is of value as a general-purpose grape for the South and is
interesting as one of the few supposed hybrids with _V. rotundifolia_.
It is probably a hybrid between the species named and _V. Munsoniana_,
another southern wild grape. The vine is exceedingly vigorous and
productive and thrives on clay soils, whereas most other Rotundifolias
can be grown successfully only on sandy lands. Eden was found some
years ago on the premises of Dr. Guild, near Atlanta, Georgia.
Vine very vigorous, productive, healthy and bearing a dense canopy
of foliage. Canes darker in color than most other Rotundifolias.
Leaves of medium size and thickness, longer than wide; petiolar
sinus wide; marginal teeth rounded; leaf-tip blunt. Flowers
perfect.
Fruit early, distinct first and second crops, ripens uniformly.
Clusters large, loose, bearing from five to twenty-five berries
which adhere fairly well to the pedicels. Berries round, one-half
inch in diameter, dull black, faintly specked; skin thin, tender;
flesh soft, juicy, pale green, sprightly; good in quality.
ELDORADO
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The fruit of Eldorado is delicately flavored, with a distinct aroma
and taste and ripens about with that of Moore Early--a time when there
are few other good white grapes. The vines inherit most of the good
qualities of Concord, one of its parents, excepting ability to set
large crops. Even with cross-pollination, Eldorado sometimes fails to
bear and is not worth growing unless planted in a mixed vineyard. The
clusters are so often small and straggling under the best conditions
that the variety cannot be recommended highly to the amateur; yet its
delightful flavor and its earliness commend it. J. H. Ricketts,
Newburgh, New York, grew Eldorado about 1870 from seed of Concord
fertilized by Allen's Hybrid.
Vine vigorous, hardy, an uncertain bearer. Canes long, few, thick,
flattened, bright reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
tendrils intermittent, rarely continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves
large to medium, irregularly round, dark green; upper surface
rugose on older leaves; lower surface tinged with brown,
pubescent; lobes wanting or faintly three; petiolar sinus deep;
teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters do not always set perfectly and
are variable in size, frequently single-shouldered; pedicel short,
slender, smooth; brush short, yellow. Berries large, round,
yellowish-green changing to golden yellow, covered with thin
bloom; flesh tender, foxy, sweet, mild, high flavored; good to
very good in quality. Seeds intermediate in size and length,
blunt, yellowish-brown.
ELVIRA
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Although it has never attained popularity in the North, Elvira (Plate
XVI), after its introduction into Missouri about forty years ago,
reached the pinnacle of popularity as a wine-grape in the South. The
qualities which commended it were: great productiveness; earliness,
ripening in the North with Concord; exceedingly good health, being
almost free from fungal diseases; great vigor, as shown by a strong,
stocky growth and ample foliage; and almost perfect hardiness even as
far north as Canada. Its good qualities are offset by two defects:
thin skin which bursts easily, thus wholly debarring it from distant
markets; and flavor and appearance not sufficiently good to make it a
table-grape. Elvira originated with Jacob Rommel, Morrison, Missouri,
from seed of Taylor.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes numerous, dark
brown; nodes flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous,
trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thin; upper surface light green,
pubescent, hairy; lobes wanting or one to three with terminus
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow,
often notched; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open early;
stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, does not keep well. Clusters short, cylindrical,
usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel smooth; brush short,
greenish-yellow with brown tinge. Berries medium in size, round,
green with yellow tinge, dull with thin bloom, firm; skin very
thin, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh green, juicy,
fine-grained, tender, foxy, sweet; fair in quality. Seeds free,
one to four, medium to large, blunt, plump, dark brown.
EMPEROR
(Vinifera)
Emperor is one of the standard shipping grapes of the Pacific slope,
being one of the mainstays of the interior valleys. On the coast and
in southern California, it is irregular in bearing, and on the coast
the fruits often fail to ripen. It is chiefly grown in the San Joaquin
Valley. It could hardly be expected to ripen even in the most favored
grape regions in the East. The following brief description is
compiled:
Vine strong, healthy and productive. Leaves very large, with five
shallow lobes; teeth short and obtuse; light green in color;
glabrous above, wooly beneath. Bunches very large, loose,
sometimes inclined to be straggling, long-conical. Berries large,
dull purple, oval; flesh firm and crisp; skin thick; flavor and
quality good. Ripens late and keeps and ships well.
EMPIRE STATE
(Vulpina, Labrusca, Vinifera)
Empire State (Plate XVII) competes with Niagara and Diamond for
supremacy among green grapes. The variety is as vigorous in growth, as
free from parasites, and on vines of the same age is as productive,
but is less hardy, and the grapes are not as attractive in appearance
as those of the other varieties named. In particular, the clusters are
small in some localities, a defect which can be overcome only by
severe pruning or by thinning. The quality is very good, approaching
the flavor of the Old World grapes, its slight wild taste suggesting
one of the Muscats. Empire State ripens early, hangs long on the vine
and keeps well after picking without losing flavor. This grape
originated with James H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, bearing fruit
first in 1879.
Vine vigorous, somewhat tender. Canes short, few, slender,
brownish; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
bifid. Leaves small; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth or
somewhat rugose; lower surface tinged with bronze, heavily
pubescent; lobes three to five when present, terminal one
acuminate; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and
overlapping; basal sinus variable in depth and width; lateral
sinus deep, narrow, often enlarged at base; teeth deep, wide.
Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel
slender with small warts; brush short, light green. Berries medium
or small, round, pale yellowish-green, covered with thin bloom,
persistent, firm; skin thick, adherent to the pulp, slightly
astringent; flesh pale yellowish-green, translucent, juicy,
fine-grained, tender, agreeably flavored; good to very good. Seeds
adherent, one to four, small, broad, notched, short, blunt, plump,
brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.--Salem (×2/3).]
ETTA
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
In appearance, taste and texture of fruit, Etta is very similar to
Elvira, of which it is a seedling. The small, yellow clusters which
characterize Elvira are reproduced in Etta, which differs chiefly in
having a shoulder quite as large as the main bunch itself and in
having a better flavor, lacking the slight foxiness of Elvira. The
vine is very vigorous, hardy, and is productive to a fault. The fruit
ripens with that of Catawba. The tendency of Elvira to crack and
overbear influenced the originator of that variety, Jacob Rommel,
Morrison, Missouri, to try for a grape without these faults, and the
result was Etta from seed of Elvira. The fruit was first exhibited in
1879.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, light
to dark brown; tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves large, thick;
upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale
green, somewhat cobwebby. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens
upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters small, short, broad, irregularly
cylindrical, usually with a short, single shoulder but sometimes
so heavily shouldered as to form a double bunch, very compact.
Berries small, round, pale green, dull with thin bloom, shattering
when over-ripe, firm; skin thin, tender; flesh juicy,
fine-grained, tough, stringy, slightly foxy, mild; fair in
quality. Seeds free, long, blunt, brown.
EUMELAN
(Labrusca, Vinifera, Æstivalis)
_Washington_
The good qualities of Eumelan are: vines above the average in vigor,
hardiness and productiveness; clusters and berries well formed, of
good size and handsome color; flesh tender, dissolving into wine-like
juice under slight pressure; and pure flavor, rich, sweet, vinous. The
season is early, yet the fruit keeps much better than that of most
other grapes maturing with it and becomes, therefore, a mid-season
and late grape. The defects of the variety are susceptibility to
mildew, self-sterile flowers and difficulty in propagation. The latter
character has greatly hindered its culture, as the vines can be
secured only at extra expense and nurserymen are loath to grow the
variety at all. Eumelan may be recommended to amateur growers. It is a
chance seedling which grew from seed, about 1847, in the yard of a Mr.
Thorne, Fishkill Landing, New York.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes numerous, covered with
bloom; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
long, trifid or bifid. Leaves large; upper surface dark green,
glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, smooth; lobes usually
three with terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep, variable in
width; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow;
teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps until late winter. Clusters long, slender,
tapering, often with a long, loose, single shoulder; pedicel
short, slender with a few small warts; brush short, stubby, pale
green. Berries of medium size, round, black, glossy with thin
bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, adherent with wine-colored
pigment, astringent; flesh dark green, juicy, fine-grained,
tender, stringy, spicy and aromatic, sweet; good. Seeds adherent,
one to four, large, wide, blunt, plump, brown.
FAITH
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Although spoken of as a desirable grape in some regions, Faith is of
little value in most localities. The fruit is unattractive in
appearance, and the quality is not high. If the variety has any
preëminently good character, it is productiveness. The blossoms put
forth so early that they often suffer from spring frosts. Faith is of
the same breeding as Etta and from the same originator, Jacob Rommel,
Morrison, Missouri, both having come from seed of Elvira.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
thick, cylindrical; nodes prominent; internodes long; tendrils
continuous, bifid. Leaves large, dark green; upper surface dark
green, dull; lower surface grayish-green, thinly pubescent; lobes
wanting or faint; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers self-sterile to
partly self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters medium in size, variable
in length, usually slender, often heavily single-shouldered,
loose; pedicel short, slender, warty; brush pale green, slender.
Berries small, round, dull green, frequently with a yellow tinge
changing to pale amber, with abundant bloom, persistent, soft;
skin thin, adherent, astringent; flesh juicy, tender, agreeably
flavored; fair to good in quality. Seeds numerous, broad, dark
brown.
FEHER SZAGOS
(Vinifera)
This variety succeeds rather well at Geneva, New York, bearing fruits
of excellent quality. It has two defects, dull color of the berries
and irregular bunches. It is worth trying in the East. Feher Szagos is
said to make a very good raisin in California and usually appears in
lists of table-grapes for that state.
Vines vigorous, somewhat uncertain bearers. Opening leaves
pubescent, red along the edges and a tinge of red on the upper
surface. Flowers have upright stamens. Fruit usually ripens the
first week in October and does not keep well in storage; clusters
large to medium, broad, loose, frequently irregular because of
poor setting of fruit; berries large, oval to elliptical, rather
dull green, with thin bloom; skin thick, tender, neutral; flesh
greenish, translucent, juicy, meaty, tender, sweet; quality of the
best; seeds free.
FERN MUNSON
(Lincecumii, Vinifera, Labrusca)
_Admirable, Fern, Hilgarde, Munson's No. 76_
Fern Munson is a southern grape not adapted to northern regions, 40°
north latitude being its limit of adaptation. The fruits show some
very good characters, as attractive appearance, agreeable quality and
unobjectionable seeds and skin. The vines are vigorous and
productive, but the foliage is not healthy although very abundant.
This variety originated with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, from seed
of Post-oak with mixed pollen. The seed was planted in 1885, and the
variety was introduced by the originator in 1893.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark
brown with a faint red tinge; tendrils intermittent, bifid. Leaves
large, thick; upper surface rugose and heavily wrinkled; lower
surface dull, pale green with a bronze tinge, faintly pubescent.
Flowers semi-fertile, open very late; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, irregularly tapering,
usually single-shouldered, often with many abortive fruits.
Berries large, round, slightly flattened, dark purplish-black,
glossy, covered with thin bloom, strongly persistent, firm; skin
thin, tough, astringent; flesh juicy, tough, firm, fine-grained,
vinous, briskly subacid; good. Seeds adherent, broad.
FLAME TOKAY
(Vinifera)
This is the leading shipping grape of the Pacific slope where it is
everywhere grown under the name "Tokay," with several modifying terms,
as "Flame," "Flame-colored" and "Flaming." The fruit is not especially
high in quality nor attractive in appearance, but it ships and keeps
well, qualities making it popular in commercial vineyards. The
description is compiled.
Vine very vigorous, luxuriant in growth of canes, shoots and
leaves; very productive; wood dark brown, straight with long
joints. Leaves dark green with a brown tinge; lightly lobed.
Bunches very large, sometimes weighing eight or nine pounds,
moderately compact; shouldered. Berries large, oblong, red when
mature, covered with lilac bloom; flesh firm, crisp, sweet;
quality good. Season late, keeps and ships well.
FLOWERS
(Rotundifolia)
Flowers is a late, dark-colored Rotundifolia very popular in the
Carolinas. The variety is noted for its vigorous and productive
vines, its large fruit-clusters and grapes that cling in the cluster
unusually well for a variety of this species. The crop ripens in North
Carolina in October and November. The fruit is valuable only for wine
and grape-juice, having little to recommend it for dessert purposes.
Flowers was found in a swamp near Lamberton, North Carolina, more than
a hundred years ago by William Flowers. Improved Flowers, probably a
seedling of Flowers, was found near Whiteville, North Carolina, about
1869. It differs from its supposed parent in having a more vigorous
and productive vine and larger clusters, the berries of which cling
even more tenaciously.
Vine vigorous, healthy, upright, open, very productive. Canes
long, slender, numerous. Leaves variable but average medium in
size, longer than broad, pointed, cordate, thick, dark green,
smooth, leathery; margins sharply serrate; flowers perfect.
Fruit very late, keeps well. Clusters, large, consisting of ten to
twenty-five berries. Berries large, round-oblong, purple or
purplish-black, clinging well to the cluster-stem; skin thick,
tough, faintly marked with dots; pulp white, lacking in juice,
hard, sweetish, austere in flavor; poor for a table-grape but
excellent for grape-juice.
GAERTNER
(Vinifera, Labrusca)
The berries and clusters of Gaertner are large and handsomely colored,
making a very showy grape. The plant is vigorous, productive and as
hardy as any of the hybrids between Labrusca and Vinifera. In view of
these qualities, Gaertner has not received the attention it deserves,
probably because it is more capricious as to soils than some others of
its related hybrids. As a market grape, the variety has the faults of
ripening unevenly and of shipping poorly. The fruit keeps well and
this, with the desirable qualities noted, makes it an excellent grape
for the home vineyard. Gaertner is often compared with Massasoit, the
two varieties being very similar in fruit characters, but Gaertner is
of distinctly better quality than Massasoit. The variety originated
with E. S. Rogers, Salem, Massachusetts. It was first mentioned about
1865.
Vine vigorous, hardy except in severe winters, productive. Canes
long, dark reddish-brown, surface covered with thin bloom;
tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size,
round; upper surface dark green; lower surface pale green,
pubescent. Flowers self-sterile, open late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, matures unevenly, keeps only fairly well.
Clusters medium in size, short, cylindrical, usually with a single
shoulder but sometimes double-shouldered, loose with many abortive
fruits. Berries large, round-oval, light to dark red, glossy,
covered with bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender; flesh pale
green, juicy, fine-grained, tough, stringy, agreeably vinous; good
to very good. Seeds free, large, broad, distinctly notched, brown.
GENEVA
(Vinifera, Labrusca)
Geneva is surpassed by so many other grapes of its season in quality
that it has never become popular, although it has much to recommend
it. The vine is vigorous and productive, although not quite hardy, and
the berries and clusters are attractive; the fruit is nearly
transparent and there is so little bloom that the grapes are a
lustrous green or iridescent in sunlight; the berries cling well to
the stem and the fruit keeps exceptionally well. Geneva originated
with Jacob Moore, Brighton, New York, from seed planted in 1874 from a
hybrid vine fertilized by Iona.
Vine vigorous, healthy, productive. Canes covered with thin bloom;
tendrils intermittent or continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves
medium in size; upper surface light green, dull; lower surface
grayish-white, pubescent; lobes three to five, acute; petiolar
sinus, shallow, wide; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-sterile
or partly fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, ships well and keeps into the winter. Clusters
large, blunt at the ends, usually not shouldered, with many
abortive fruits; pedicel long, slender, smooth; brush long, green.
Berries large, oval, dull green changing to a faint yellow with
thin bloom; skin thick, tough, unpigmented; flesh pale green,
tender, soft, vinous, sweet at skin but tart at center; fair to
good. Seeds of medium size and length.
GOETHE
(Vinifera, Labrusca)
Of all Rogers' hybrids, Goethe shows Vinifera characters most,
resembling in appearance the White Malaga of Europe, and not falling
far short of the best Old World grapes in quality. But the variety is
difficult to grow, especially where the seasons are not long enough
for full maturity. The vine is vigorous to a fault; it is fairly
immune to mildew, rot and other diseases; and, where it succeeds, the
vines bear so freely that thinning becomes a necessity. Added to high
quality, which makes it an excellent table-grape, Goethe keeps well.
Goethe was first mentioned in 1858 under the name of Rogers' No. 1.
Vine vigorous, hardy. Canes short, dark brown; nodes enlarged,
flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous or intermittent,
long, bifid to trifid. Leaves irregularly round, thin; upper
surface light green, glossy; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
leaf usually not lobed, terminus broadly acute; petiolar sinus
narrow, closed and overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking;
lateral sinus shallow, often a notch; teeth shallow, narrow.
Flowers partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters short, broad, tapering,
frequently single-shouldered, usually two bunches to shoot;
pedicel long, thick with numerous conspicuous warts; brush long,
slender, yellowish-brown. Berries very large, oval, pale red
covered with thin bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender, adherent,
faintly astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, tender with
Vinifera flavor; very good. Seeds adherent, one to three, large,
long, notched, blunt, brown.
GOLD COIN
(Æstivalis, Labrusca)
In the South, where alone it thrives, Gold Coin is a handsome market
variety of very good quality. The vines are productive and are
unusually free from attacks of fungal diseases. The variety
originated with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, from seed of Cynthiana
or Norton pollinated by Martha and was introduced by the originator in
1894.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes slender, numerous;
tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, trifid or bifid.
Leaves medium in size; upper surface light green, slightly rugose;
lower surface pale green, tinged with bronze, heavily pubescent.
Flowers self-fertile; stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps long. Clusters medium to small,
usually single-shouldered. Berries large, round-oval,
yellowish-green with a distinct trace of reddish-amber, with thin
bloom, usually persistent; skin covered with small, scattering
brown dots, thin, tough; flesh faintly aromatic, tart from skin to
center; good. Seeds free, numerous, medium in size.
GREEN EARLY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Green Early is a white grape coming in season with Winchell, which
surpasses it in most characters, quality in particular. Green Early
was found in 1885, growing by the side of a ditch near a Concord
vineyard, on land belonging to O. J. Green, Portland, New York.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes variable in length and
thickness, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent,
bifid or trifid. Leaves variable in size, medium green; upper
surface dark green, glossy; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
lobes wanting or faintly five; teeth shallow, narrow; stamens
upright.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters variable in size, length
and breadth, sometimes single-shouldered, variable in compactness.
Berries large, oval, light green tinged with yellow, with thin
bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin, tender, inclined to crack;
flesh tough and aromatic, sweet at skin but acid at center; fair
in quality. Seeds medium in size, length and breadth,
sharp-pointed.
GREIN GOLDEN
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Grein Golden is very similar to Riesling, but the vine is much
stronger in growth. For a variety of the Taylor group, both cluster
and berry are large and uniform, which, with the attractive color of
the berries, make it a most handsome fruit. The flavor, however, is
not at all pleasing, being an unusual commingling of sweetness and
acidity very disagreeable to most palates. The quality of the fruit
condemns it for table use, although it is said to make a very good
white wine. Nicholas Grein, Hermann, Missouri, first grew Grein Golden
about 1875.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, slender,
dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long;
tendrils intermittent, trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green,
lightly pubescent; lobes lacking or one to three with terminus
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus usually lacking;
lateral sinus shallow, wide, obscure; teeth deep. Flowers
self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season. Clusters large, long, broad, tapering,
irregular, often heavily single-shouldered, loose; pedicel with a
few inconspicuous warts; brush slender, pale green. Berries
uniform in size, large, round, golden yellow, glossy with thin
bloom, persistent; skin very thin, tender; flesh green,
translucent, very juicy, tender, vinous; good. Seeds free, one to
four, broad, plump, light brown.
GROS COLMAN
(Vinifera)
_Dodrelabi_
Gros Colman has the reputation of being the handsomest black
table-grape grown. It is one of the favorite hot-house grapes in
England and eastern America and is commonly grown out of doors in
California. The variety is remarkable for having the largest berries
of any round grape, borne in immense bunches, and for the long-keeping
qualities, although the tender skins sometimes crack. The following
description is compiled:
Vine vigorous, healthy and productive; wood dark brown. Leaves
very large, round, thick, but slightly lobed; teeth short and
blunt; glabrous above, wooly below. Bunches very large, short,
well filled but rather loose; berries very large, round, dark
blue; skin thick but tender; flesh firm, crisp, sweet and good;
quality not of the highest. Season late and the fruits keep long.
HARTFORD
(Labrusca)
The vine of Hartford may be well characterized by its good qualities,
but the fruit is best described by its faults, because of which the
variety is passing out of cultivation. The plants are vigorous,
prolific, healthy and the fruit is borne early in the season. The
canes are remarkable for their stoutness and for the crooks at the
joints. The bunches are not unattractive, but the quality of the fruit
is low, the flesh being pulpy and the flavor insipid and foxy. The
berries shell badly on the vine and when packed for shipping, so that
the fruit does not ship, pack or keep well. The grapes color long
before ripe, and the flowers are only partly self-fertile, so that in
seasons when there is bad weather during blooming time the clusters
are loose and straggling. The original vine of Hartford was a chance
seedling in the garden of Paphro Steele, West Hartford, Connecticut.
It fruited first in 1849.
Vine vigorous, very productive. Canes long, dark brown, covered
with pubescence; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short;
tendrils continuous, long, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface pale green, thinly
pubescent; lobes variable; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal
sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth
shallow. Flowers partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit early. Clusters medium in size, long, slender, tapering,
irregular, often with a long, large, single shoulder, loose;
pedicel short with a few small warts; brush greenish. Berries
medium in size, round-oval, black, covered with bloom, drop badly;
skin thick, tough, adherent, contains much purplish-red pigment,
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, firm, stringy, foxy;
poor in quality. Seeds free, one to four, broad, dark brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.--Triumph (×3/5).]
HAYES
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
In 1880, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded a certificate
of merit to Hayes for high quality in fruit. This brought it
prominently before grape-growers and for a time it was popular, but
when better known several defects became apparent. The vine is hardy
and vigorous, but the growth is slow and the variety is a shy bearer.
Both bunches and berries are small, and the crop ripens at a time, a
week or ten days earlier than Concord, when there are many other good
green grapes. Excellent though it is in quality, the variety is hardly
worth a place in any vineyard. John B. Moore, Concord, Massachusetts,
is the originator of Hayes. It is a seedling of Concord out of the
same lot of seedlings as Moore Early. It was first fruited in 1872.
Vine variable in vigor and productiveness, hardy and healthy.
Canes numerous, slender; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves uniform in
size; upper surface dark green; lower surface pubescent; lobes one
to three; teeth shallow, small. Flowers almost self-sterile, open
medium late; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters variable in size and length,
often single-shouldered; pedicel long, slender; brush small, pale
green. Berries medium in size, round, greenish-yellow, covered
with thin bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender with a few small
reddish-brown dots; flesh fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet at
the skin, agreeably tart at center, mild; good. Seeds few, of
average size, short, plump, brown.
HEADLIGHT
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
Headlight is more desirable for southern than for northern vineyards,
yet it is worthy of trial in the North. Its meritorious characters
are: productiveness, outyielding Delaware, with which it competes;
disease-resistant foliage and vines; more than average vigor of vine;
high quality of fruit, being almost the equal of Delaware in flavor
and having tender, melting pulp which readily parts from the seeds;
and earliness, ripening before Delaware and hanging on the vines or
keeping after being picked for some time without deterioration. The
originator of Headlight, T. V. Munson, states that the variety came
from seed of Moyer fertilized by Brilliant. The seed was planted in
1895 and the grape was introduced in 1901.
Vine vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes short, few in number,
slender, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils
continuous, short, bifid, very persistent. Leaves small, thick;
upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green,
pubescent; lobes one to three with terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus
intermediate in depth and width; basal sinus usually lacking;
lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers
self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters small, short, tapering,
frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender,
covered with a few small warts; brush yellowish-brown. Berries
small, round, dark red with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin
tough, adherent, astringent; flesh green, translucent, very juicy,
tender, fine-grained, vinous, sweet; very good. Seeds free, one to
three, small, light brown.
HERBEMONT
(Bourquiniana)
_Bottsi, Brown French, Dunn, Herbemont's Madeira, Hunt, Kay's
Seedling, McKee, Neal, Warren, Warrenton_
In the South, Herbemont holds the same rank as Concord in the North.
The vine is fastidious as to soil, requiring a well-drained warm soil,
and one which is abundantly supplied with humus. Despite these
limitations, this variety is grown in an immense territory, extending
from Virginia and Tennessee to the Gulf and westward through Texas.
The vine is remarkably vigorous, being hardly surpassed in this
character by any other of our native grapes. The fruits are
attractive because of the large bunch and the glossy black of the
small berries, and are borne abundantly and with certainty in suitable
localities. The flesh characters of the fruit are good for a small
grape, neither flesh, skin nor seeds being objectionable in eating;
the pulp is tender, juicy, rich, sweet and highly flavored. The ample,
lustrous green foliage makes this variety one of the attractive
ornamental plants of the South. Herbemont is known to have been in
cultivation in Georgia before the Revolutionary War, when it was
generally called Warren and Warrenton. In the early part of the last
century, it came to the hands of Nicholas Herbemont, Columbia, South
Carolina, whose name it eventually took.
Vine very vigorous. Canes long, strong, bright green, with more or
less purple and heavy bloom; internodes short; tendrils
intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, round, entire, or
three to seven-lobed, nearly glabrous above and below; upper
surface clear green; lower surface lighter green, glaucous.
Flowers self-fertile.
Fruit very late. Clusters large, long, tapering, prominently
shouldered, compact; pedicels short with a few large warts; brush
pink. Berries round, small, uniform, reddish-black or brown with
abundant bloom; skin thin, tough; flesh tender, juicy; juice
colorless or slightly pink, sweet, sprightly. Seeds two to four,
small, reddish-brown, glossy.
HERBERT
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
In all that constitutes a fine table-grape, Herbert (Plate XVIII) is
as near perfection as any American variety. For a Vinifera-Labrusca
hybrid, the vine is vigorous, hardy and fruitful, ranking in these
respects above many pure-bred Labruscas. While the fruit ripens with
Concord, it keeps much later and packs and ships better. The variety
is self-sterile and must be set near other varieties. Herbert is
deserving attention from commercial growers who supply a
discriminating market, and its many good qualities give it high place
as a garden grape. The variety is one of Rogers' hybrids, named
Herbert in 1869.
Vine very vigorous, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark
brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; tendrils
intermittent, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, round; upper
surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green with
some pubescence; leaf entire, terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus
deep, narrow, closed, overlapping; basal and lateral sinuses
lacking; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, broad, tapering, two
to three clusters per shoot, heavily single-shouldered, loose;
pedicel thick with small russet warts; brush yellowish-green.
Berries large, round-oval, flattened, dull black, covered with
thick bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained; very good. Seeds adherent, three to six, large,
broad, notched, long with swollen neck, blunt, brown with yellow
tips.
HERCULES
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Hercules is characterized by very large berries, fruit handsomely
colored and cluster large and well-formed. The flavor, while not of
the best, is good. Added to the desirable qualities of the fruit, the
vines are hardy, vigorous and productive. These good characters,
however, cannot make up for the several defects of the variety. The
grapes drop and crack badly and the pulp is tough and adheres too
firmly to the seed for a dessert grape, so that the variety is
worthless except for breeding purposes. Hercules was introduced by G.
A. Ensenberger, Bloomington, Illinois, about 1890; its parentage is
unknown.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes long, dark
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long;
tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves large; upper surface light
green, glossy, smooth; lower surface grayish-green, pubescent;
lobes one to three, terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow;
basal sinus usually absent; lateral sinus shallow; teeth shallow.
Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters very large, broad,
tapering, one to three clusters per shoot, compact; brush pale
green. Berries very large, round, black, glossy with heavy bloom,
firm; skin adherent, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy,
very tough, coarse, stringy, foxy; fair in quality. Seeds
adherent, one to five, large, broad, deeply notched, blunt, brown.
HICKS
(Labrusca)
Hicks is a remarkably good grape and were it not that the fruit is
almost identical with that of Concord, ripening with it or a little
earlier, it would have a place in the viticulture of the country.
However, since it was introduced some years ago and has not found
great favor with growers, it seems that it cannot make headway against
Concord, with which it must compete. In many localities the vines are
more prolific than those of Concord and of stronger growth. Hicks was
introduced in 1898 by Henry Wallis, Wellston, Missouri, who states
that it is a chance seedling sent from California about 1870 to
Richard Berry, a nurseryman of St. Louis County, Missouri.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes medium to long,
numerous, reddish-brown, covered with thin bloom; tendrils
continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface
dark green, glossy; lower surface white, changing to a heavy
bronze, strongly pubescent. Flowers self-fertile, open early;
stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, broad,
tapering, often single-shouldered. Berries large, round,
purplish-black with heavy bloom, shatter when over-ripe, firm;
skin tender with dark wine-colored pigment; flesh green, juicy,
tough, fine-grained, faintly foxy; good. Seeds adherent, large,
short, broad, blunt, brown.
HIDALGO
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
The grapes of Hidalgo are rich, sweet, delicately flavored, and with
color, size and form of berry and bunch so well combined as to make
the fruits singularly handsome. The skin is thin but firm and the
variety keeps and ships well. The vines, however, are doubtfully
hardy, variable in vigor and not always fruitful. While Hidalgo may
not prove of value for the commercial vineyard, in favorable
situations it may give a supply of choice fruit for the amateur. The
parentage of Hidalgo, as given by its originator, T. V. Munson, is
Delaware, Goethe and Lindley. The variety was introduced by the
originator in 1902.
Vine variable in vigor, hardiness and productiveness. Canes thick,
dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
intermittent or continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large,
irregularly round, thick; upper surface light green, dull, rugose;
lower surface pale green, bronzed, heavily pubescent; lobes three
when present; petiolar sinus narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus wanting; lateral sinus shallow, narrow;
teeth very shallow, narrow. Flowers semi-fertile, open after
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, long,
slender, cylindrical, often blunt, not shouldered, one to two
bunches per shoot, compact; pedicel long, slender with small
warts; brush yellowish-green with brown tinge. Berries large,
oval, greenish-yellow, glossy with thin bloom, persistent, firm;
skin thin, tough, adherent, astringent; flesh green, transparent,
juicy, tender, melting, aromatic, sweet; very good to best. Seeds
free, two to four, large, plump, light brown.
HIGHLAND
(Vinifera, Labrusca)
Few varieties of black grapes equal Highland in appearance and quality
of fruit. When given good care under favorable conditions, the bunches
are unusually large and handsome in appearance, sometimes attaining a
weight of two pounds, and bear beautiful bluish-black berries with the
fine flavor and tender texture of Jura Muscat, one of its parents. The
flesh is solid, firm and the fruit keeps and ships well. The vine is
vigorous, productive to a fault but is doubtfully hardy. Where the
climate is temperate and the season long enough for the vine and
fruit of Highland to develop, this is one of the choicest grapes for
the amateur. The variety originated about the close of the Civil War
with J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, from seed of Concord
fertilized by Jura Muscat.
Vine variable in vigor, productive, healthy. Canes long, numerous,
dark brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged; internodes long;
tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large; upper
surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface grayish-green,
pubescent; lobes one to five, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus
deep, variable in width; basal sinus shallow, narrow; lateral
sinus a notch; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open in
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, long, broad, tapering,
usually single-shouldered, usually two bunches per shoot; pedicel
long, thick, smooth; brush green with yellow tinge. Berries large,
round-oval, purplish-black, dull with heavy bloom, persistent,
firm; skin tough, free; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender,
vinous; good. Seeds free, one to six, large, long, notched, brown.
HOPKINS
(Rotundifolia)
Hopkins is named by grape-growers in the South Atlantic states as the
best early Rotundifolia grape. Its season in North Carolina begins
early in August, nearly a month before any other. It is, also, one of
the best in quality and for quality and earliness should be in every
home vineyard in the region in which it grows. Hopkins was found near
Wilmington, North Carolina, about 1845, by John Hopkins.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, slender,
upright. Leaves of medium size, variable, cordate, longer than
broad, thick, leathery, smooth, dark green; margins sharply
serrate. Flowers self-fertile.
Fruit very early. Clusters large, containing from four to ten
berries. Berries large, dark purple or almost black, round-oblong,
shelling badly; skin thick, tough, faintly marked with dots; pulp
white, tender, juicy with a sweet, pleasant flavor; one of the
best of the Rotundifolias in quality.
HOSFORD
(Labrusca)
Hosford is an offspring of Concord, differing from the parent chiefly
in the greater size of bunch and berry and in being less fruitful. The
variety is surpassed by Worden and Eaton, of the same type, and is
probably not worth cultivation. It is claimed by some that Hosford is
identical with Eaton but there are noticeable differences in both vine
and fruit characters. The vine looks very like that of Concord except
that the indentations along the margins of the leaves are deeper.
Hosford originated in the garden of George Hosford, Ionia, Michigan,
about 1876, as a chance seedling growing between two Concord vines.
Vines lacking in vigor, hardy, unproductive. Canes short, few in
number, slender; nodes enlarged; internodes very short; tendrils
continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size; upper surface
light green, rugose; lower surface grayish-white to bronze,
heavily pubescent; lobes faint; petiolar sinus wide; teeth small,
sharp. Flowers shallow, semi-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit mid-season, does not keep well. Clusters large, tapering,
slightly shouldered, compact; pedicel short with small warts;
brush slender, green. Berries large, round-oval, dull black with
abundant bloom, persistent; skin thick, tender; flesh pale green,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds few,
large, broad, blunt, plump, brown.
HYBRID FRANC
(Vinifera, Rupestris)
Hybrid Franc is the best-known cross between Rupestris and Vinifera.
It is one of the few varieties used in Europe as a resistant stock now
recommended for a direct producer. The vines are hardy, vigorous and
very productive. The fruit is fit only for wine or grape-juice, being
too acid to eat out of hand. The coloring matter in the fruit is very
intense and might be used in giving color to grape products. The
variety is of French origin.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes numerous, thick, light
brown with blue bloom; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils
intermittent, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves small, thin; upper
surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower surface green, hairy
along ribs and large veins; lobes three to five with terminal one
acute; petiolar sinus narrow, sometimes closed and overlapping;
lateral sinus a notch. Flowers semi-fertile, open early; stamens
upright.
Fruit mid-season, does not keep well. Clusters medium in size,
short, cylindrical, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel long,
slender with few small warts; brush short, wine-colored. Berries
small, oblate, black, glossy with thick bloom, persistent, firm;
skin thin, tender with very dark wine-colored pigment; flesh green
with reddish tinge, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender,
spicy, tart; fair in quality. Seeds free, one to five, small,
short, light brown.
IDEAL
(Labrusca, Vinifera, Bourquiniana)
Ideal is a handsome seedling of Delaware, from which it differs
chiefly in being larger in bunch and berry, attaining in both of these
characters nearly the size of Catawba. In Kansas and Missouri, this
variety is highly recommended, not only for the high quality of the
fruit, ranking with Delaware in quality, but because of vigorous,
healthy, productive vines. But farther north the vines are
precariously hardy and not sufficiently fruitful, healthy nor vigorous
to warrant high recommendation. Ideal originated with John Burr,
Leavenworth, Kansas, from seed of Delaware, about 1885.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, productive; tendrils
intermittent, bifid or trifid. Canes long, numerous, slender, dark
brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long. Leaves large,
variable in color; lobes three to five; petiolar sinus deep, wide;
teeth deep, narrow; upper surface light green, dull; lower surface
pale green, pubescent.
Fruit early mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, broad, heavily
shouldered; pedicel thick; brush green. Berries large, round,
dark red with thin bloom, usually persistent, firm; skin thick,
tough, adherent; flesh green, tender, aromatic, sweet next the
skin, acid at the center; good to very good. Seeds adherent,
large, plump, brown.
IONA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
In flavor, the fruit of Iona (Plate XIX) has a rare combination of
sweetness and acidity, pure, delicate and vinous. The flesh is
transparent, melting, tender, juicy and of uniform consistency quite
to the center. The seeds are few and small and part readily from the
flesh. The color is a peculiar dark-red wine with a tint of amethyst,
variable and not always attractive. The bunch is large but loose, with
berries varying in size and ripening unevenly. The fruit may be kept
until late winter. The vine characters of Iona are not as good as
those of the fruit. To do well, the vine must have a soil exactly
suited to its wants, seemingly thriving best in deep, dry, sandy or
gravelly clays. Iona responds especially well when trained against
walls or buildings, attaining under such conditions rare perfection.
The vines are doubtfully hardy and in many parts of the North must
have winter protection; they are not vigorous and are inclined to
overbear, to remedy which they must have close pruning. In localities
in which mildew and rot thrive, the variety is badly attacked by these
diseases. Iona originated with C. W. Grant, Iona Island, New York,
from seed of Diana planted in 1885.
Vine weak, doubtfully hardy, unproductive. Canes short, light
brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface light green, dull, smooth;
lower surface grayish-green, heavily pubescent; lobes three to
five with terminal one acute; petiolar sinus of medium depth and
width; basal sinus shallow; lateral sinus shallow, wide; teeth
shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters medium in size, sometimes
double-shouldered, slender, tapering, loose; brush pale green.
Berries uniform, oval, round, dull, light and dark red with thin
bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, adherent, slightly
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender,
melting, vinous; very good. Seeds free, one to four, small, broad,
plump, brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.--Vergennes (×2/3).]
ISABELLA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
_Alexander, Black Cape, Christie's Improved Isabella, Conckling's
Wilding, Constantia, Dorchester, Gibb's Grape, Hensell's Long Island,
Payne's Early, Helene, Woodward_
Isabella (Plate XX) is now of little more than historical interest, it
having been one of the mainstays of American viticulture. In
appearance, the fruit of Isabella is fully as attractive as that of
any black grape, the clusters being large and well formed and the
berries glossy black with thick bloom. The flavor is good, but the
thick skin and muskiness in taste are objectionable. The grapes keep
and ship well. Isabella is surpassed in vine characters by many other
kinds, notably Concord, which has taken its place. The lustrous green,
ample foliage which remains late in the season, and the vigor of the
vine, make this variety an attractive ornamental, well adapted for
growing on arbors, porches and trellises. The origin of Isabella is
not known. It was obtained by William Prince, Flushing, Long Island,
about 1816 from Mrs. Isabella Gibbs, Brooklyn, New York.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes short, numerous with heavy
pubescence, thick, light brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid.
Leaves thick; upper surface dark green, smooth, glossy; lower
surface whitish-green, heavily pubescent; lobes three when present
with terminal lobe obtuse; petiolar sinus shallow, narrow, often
closed, overlapping; basal sinus usually wanting; lateral sinus
shallow, narrow, frequently notched; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers
self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, cylindrical,
frequently single-shouldered; pedicel slender, smooth; brush
long, yellowish-green. Berries medium to large, oval, black with
heavy bloom, persistent, soft; skin thick, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained,
tender, meaty, some foxiness, sweet; good. Seeds one to three,
large, broad, distinctly notched, short, brown with yellow tips.
ISABELLA SEEDLING
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Isabella Seedling is an early, vigorous, productive offspring of
Isabella. In fruit characters it greatly resembles its parent, but
ripens its crop earlier and has a more compact bunch. Like that of its
parent, the fruit is of good quality and keeps remarkably well. This
seedling is now grown more than Isabella and, while not of any
considerable commercial importance, is far more deserving attention as
a market grape than some of the poorly flavored kinds more generally
grown. There are several varieties under this name. Two are mentioned
by Warder; one of Ohio and one of New York origin. The Isabella
Seedling here described originated with G. A. Ensenberger,
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1889.
Vine vigorous, healthy, hardy, productive. Canes long, thick, dark
brown, often with a red tinge, with thin bloom; nodes prominent,
flattened; internodes long; tendrils intermittent or continuous,
bifid. Leaves healthy, large, thick; upper surface green, dull;
lower surface pale green or grayish-green, occasionally with a
tinge of bronze, pubescent. Flowers self-fertile; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, usually single-shouldered, loose, compact. Berries
large, oval, often pear-shaped, dull black with thick bloom,
persistent, soft; skin thick with some red pigment; flesh pale
green, juicy, tender, coarse, vinous; good. Seeds numerous, free,
large, broad, notched, dark brown.
ISRAELLA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Israella came from C. W. Grant contemporaneously with Iona and was
heralded as the earliest good grape in cultivation. For several years
after its introduction, it was widely tried but was almost everywhere
discarded because of the poor quality and unattractive appearance of
the fruit and lack of vigor, hardiness and productiveness in the vine.
Grant grew Israella from seed of Isabella planted in 1885.
Vine lacking in vigor, unproductive. Canes slender, dark brown;
nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous,
bifid. Leaves large; upper surface light green, dull, rugose;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes one to five, faint;
petiolar sinus deep, narrow; teeth shallow, sharp; stamens
upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, of medium length and
breadth, tapering, often single-shouldered, compact, frequently
with many abortive fruits. Berries of medium size, round-oval,
black or purplish-black with thin bloom, inclined to drop, soft;
skin thick, tough with a large amount of purplish-red pigment;
flesh pale green, juicy, stringy, mild, sweet from skin to center;
fair in quality. Seeds free, medium in size, notched, blunt, light
brown, often covered with grayish warts.
IVES
(Labrusca, Æstivalis)
_Ives' Madeira, Ives' Seedling, Kittredge_
Ives has a high reputation as a grape for making red wine, being
surpassed only by Norton for this purpose. The vine is hardy, healthy,
vigorous and fruitful. The fruit is poor in quality, colors long
before ripe, has a foxy odor, and the flesh is tough and pulpy. The
bunches are compact, with well-formed, jet-black grapes, which make
them attractive. The vine is easily propagated and is adapted to any
good grape soil, but is so rampant in growth that it is difficult to
manage. The variety is not widely cultivated. Ives was grown by Henry
Ives from seed planted in 1840 in his garden in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, thick,
reddish-brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves
large; upper surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface pale
green, pubescent; lobes three to five when present with terminal
one acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus shallow; lateral sinus narrow; teeth
shallow.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, tapering,
frequently single-shouldered, compact, often with numerous
abortive berries; pedicel slender with numerous small warts; brush
short, slender, pale with a reddish-brown tinge. Berries oval,
jet-black with heavy bloom, very persistent, firm; skin tough,
adherent, wine-colored pigment, astringent; flesh pale green,
translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tough, foxy; good. Seeds
adherent, one to four, small, often abortive, broad, short, blunt,
plump, brown.
JAMES
(Rotundifolia)
James is one of the largest of the Rotundifolia grapes and probably
the best general-purpose variety of this species. The vine is noted
for vigor and productiveness. It cannot be grown north of Maryland. It
thrives in sandy loam soils with clay subsoil. The variety was found
by B. W. M. James, Pitt County, North Carolina. It was introduced
about 1890 and was placed on the grape list of the American
Pomological Society fruit catalog in 1899.
Vine vigorous, healthy, productive. Canes slender, numerous, long,
slightly trailing. Leaves of medium size, thick, smooth, leathery,
cordate, as broad as long, with a serrate margin. Flowers open
late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit ripens late, hangs on the vine for three weeks, keeps well.
Clusters small, containing from four to twelve berries, irregular,
loose. Berries large, three-fourths to one and one-fourth inches
in diameter, round, blue-black, marked with specks; skin thick,
tough. Pulp juicy, sweet; good in quality.
JANESVILLE
(Labrusca, Vulpina)
Endowed with a constitution enabling it to withstand cold to which
most other grapes succumb, Janesville has made a place for itself in
far northern localities. Moreover, the grapes ripen early, being about
the first to color although they are not ripe until some time after
coloring. The vine also is healthy, vigorous and productive. The
fruit, however, is worthless when better sorts can be grown. The
clusters and berries are small, the grapes are pulpy, tough, seedy,
have a thick skin and a disagreeable acid taste. Janesville was grown
by F. W. Loudon, Janesville, Wisconsin, from chance seed planted in
1858.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes spiny, numerous,
dark brown; nodes flattened; internodes long; tendrils
intermittent or continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves small,
thin; upper surface glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green,
lightly pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute;
petiolar sinus narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal and
lateral sinuses lacking; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open
very early; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters small, short, cylindrical,
usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender,
covered with small, scattering warts; brush dark wine color.
Berries round, dull black with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin
thick, tough, adherent with dark wine-colored pigment, astringent;
flesh pale reddish-green, translucent, juicy, tough, coarse,
vinous, acid; fair in quality. Seeds adherent, one to six, large,
broad, angular, blunt, dark brown.
JEFFERSON
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Jefferson (Plate XXI) is an offspring of Concord crossed with Iona,
and resembles Concord in vigor, productiveness and healthiness of
vine, and Iona in color and quality of fruit. The vine produces its
fruit two weeks later than Concord and is not as hardy, faults that
debar it from taking high rank as a commercial grape. Fortunately the
vines yield readily to laying down for winter protection so that even
in commercial plantations it is not difficult to prevent winter
injury. The bunches of Jefferson are large, well-formed, compact with
berries of uniform size and color. The flesh is firm yet tender, juicy
with a rich, vinous flavor and a delicate aroma which persists even
after the berries have dried into raisins. The fruit ships and keeps
well, the berries adhering to the cluster and the fruit retaining its
freshness into late winter. Jefferson is widely distributed and is
well known by viticulturists in eastern America. It is not particular
as to localities, if the season be long and the climate temperate, and
thrives in all soils. The variety originated with J. H. Ricketts,
Newburgh, New York; it fruited first in 1874.
Vine vigorous, healthy, doubtfully hardy, productive. Canes short,
numerous, light to dark brown; nodes enlarged, round; internodes
short; tendrils intermittent, short, bifid or trifid. Leaves
healthy; upper surface light green, older leaves rugose; lower
surface pale green, strongly pubescent; leaf usually not lobed
with terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually absent; lateral sinus shallow,
often a mere notch; teeth regular, shallow. Flowers self-fertile,
open late; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, cylindrical,
usually single-shouldered, sometimes double-shouldered, compact;
pedicel short, slender with a few inconspicuous warts; brush long,
slender, pale yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, oval, light
and dark red, glossy with thin bloom, persistent, very firm; skin
thick, tough, free, slightly astringent; flesh light green,
translucent, juicy, coarse-grained, tender, vinous; good to best.
Seeds free, one to four, broad, short, blunt, plump, brown.
JESSICA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Jessica is an early, hardy, green grape. The fruit is sweet, rich,
sprightly and almost free from foxiness, but is unattractive and does
not keep well. The clusters and berries are small, and the clusters
are too loose for a good grape. Jessica may be commended for earliness
and hardiness and is, therefore, desirable, if at all, in northern
regions. William H. Read, Port Dalhousie, Ontario, grew Jessica from
seed planted some time between 1870 and 1880.
Vine medium in vigor, healthy, hardy, productive. Canes long,
thick, dark brown with red tinge; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous or intermittent, bifid or
trifid. Leaves small; upper surface dark green, glossy, often
rugose; lower surface pale green, very pubescent; lobes three;
petiolar sinus narrow; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers
self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit very early. Clusters small, slender, tapering, usually
single-shouldered. Berries small, round, light green, often tinged
with yellow, covered with thin bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin,
adherent, faintly astringent; flesh pale green, transparent,
juicy, tender, soft, sprightly, sweet; good. Seeds adherent,
medium to broad, notched, brown.
JEWEL
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana, Vinifera)
The notable characters of Jewel are earliness and high quality in
fruit; although, as compared with Delaware, its parent, the vine is
vigorous, healthy and hardy. In form and size of bunch and berry,
Jewel closely resembles Delaware, but the grapes are deep black in
color. The flesh characters and flavor of the fruit are much like
those of Delaware, the pulp being tender yet firm, and the flavor
having the same rich, sprightly, vinous taste found in the parent. The
seeds are few and small. The skin is thin but tough, and the grapes
ship well, keep long, do not shell, and although early, hang until
frost. Jewel is a most excellent grape, worthy the place among black
grapes that Delaware has among red varieties. In particular, it is
recommended for earliness and for localities in the North where
standard varieties do not ripen. John Burr, Leavenworth, Kansas, grew
Jewel from seed of Delaware planted about 1874.
Vine vigorous, healthy, hardy, productive. Canes slender, light
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short;
tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves scant, thick; upper surface
light green, dull, rugose; lower surface tinged with bronze,
heavily pubescent; lobes three when present with terminus acute;
petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus
shallow, wide; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in
mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit early. Clusters small, slender, cylindrical,
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender; brush short,
wine-colored. Berries medium in size, round, dark purplish-black,
dull with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tough,
adherent, wine-colored pigment; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, sprightly, vinous, sweet; very good.
Seeds adherent, one to four, frequently one-sided, blunt, light
brown.
KENSINGTON
(Vinifera, Vulpina)
Kensington has several very meritorious fruit and vine characters. The
vine resembles that of Clinton, its Vulpina parent, in vigor,
hardiness, growth and productiveness, but the fruit has many of the
characters of the European parent, Buckland Sweetwater. The grapes are
yellowish-green, large, oval and borne in loose clusters of medium
size. In quality the fruit of Kensington is not equal to that of
Buckland Sweetwater but is much better than that of Clinton. The flesh
is tender and juicy with a rich, sweet, vinous flavor. The hardiness
of the vine and the high quality of the fruit should make Kensington a
favorite green grape in northern gardens. This variety was grown by
William Saunders, London, Ontario. It was sent out some time between
1870 and 1880.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, slender, light
brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils
persistent, intermittent or continuous, long, bifid or trifid.
Leaves thin; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower
surface pale green, pubescent, hairy; lobes wanting or one to
three with terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus
shallow when present; lateral sinus shallow, usually a notch;
teeth deep and wide. Flowers self-fertile, open early, stamens
upright.
Fruit mid-season. Clusters large, cylindrical, often heavily
single-shouldered, loose, frequently with many undeveloped
berries; pedicel long and slender with small, inconspicuous warts;
brush short, pale green. Berries variable in size, oval,
yellowish-green, glossy with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin
thin, tough, adherent, faintly astringent; flesh green,
transparent, juicy, tender, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds free, two
to four, wrinkled, large, long, broad, sharp-pointed,
yellowish-brown.
KING
(Labrusca)
King is similar to Concord, compared with which the vine is more
vigorous and prolific, time of ripening and length of season the same,
the clusters are one-fourth larger, the grapes are more persistent,
the pulp is more tender, the flavor nearly the same but more
sprightly, the seeds fewer in number, the wood harder and of shorter
joints and the pedicels larger. King was found in the Concord vineyard
of W. K. Munson, Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1892. The vine was set for
Concord and is supposed to be a bud-sport of that variety.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes large, dark
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, slightly flattened; internodes
short; tendrils continuous or intermittent, trifid or bifid.
Leaves unusually large, thick; upper surface green, dull; lower
surface grayish-white changing to slight bronze, pubescent; lobes
three when present, terminal one acute; teeth shallow, narrow.
Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, broad,
irregularly tapering, usually single-shouldered, compact. Berries
large, round, black with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick,
tough, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green, very juicy, tough,
stringy and with some foxiness; good. Seeds adherent, few, large,
short, broad, lightly notched if at all, blunt, plump, light
brown.
LADY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The vine of Lady is much like that of Concord, its parent, although
not quite so vigorous nor productive, but ripens its fruit fully two
weeks earlier. The fruit is much superior to that of Concord in
quality, being richer, sweeter and less foxy. The grapes hang on the
vines well but deteriorate rapidly after picking. The term,
"ironclad," used by grape-growers to express hardiness and freedom
from disease, is probably as applicable to Lady as to any other of the
Labrusca grapes. The foliage is dense and of a deep glossy green,
neither scalding under a hot sun nor freezing until heavy frosts,
making it an attractive ornament in the garden. Lady is deservedly
popular as a grape for the amateur and should be planted for near-by
markets. It succeeds wherever Concord is grown, and because of its
early ripening is especially adapted to northern latitudes where
Concord does not always mature. Although the fruit ripens early, the
buds start late, often escaping late spring frosts. When Lady was
first heard of, it was in the hands of a Mr. Imlay, Muskingum County,
Ohio. George W. Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, introduced it in 1874.
Vine vigorous, hardy, medium in productiveness, healthy. Canes
short, slender, dark reddish-brown; nodes flattened; internodes
short; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in
size; upper surface light green, glossy, rugose; lower surface
pale green, pubescent; lobes one to five with terminal one
acuminate; petiolar sinus shallow, wide; lateral sinus variable in
depth and width; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open in
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters small, short, slender,
cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel thick,
smooth; brush slender, long, greenish-white. Berries large, round,
light green, often with a tinge of yellow, glossy with thin bloom,
persistent, firm; skin covered with small, scattering, dark dots,
thin, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh greenish-white,
translucent, juicy, tender, aromatic; very good. Seeds free, few,
broad, light brown.
LADY WASHINGTON
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Lady Washington is in many respects a most excellent grape but falls
short in quality and does not excel in vine characters. The grapes
make a good appearance, keep and ship well and are tender, juicy and
sweet. The vines are luxuriant, hardy, for a grape with Vinifera
blood, and healthy although slightly susceptible to mildew. As an
exhibition grape, few green varieties show better when grown with care
than Lady Washington. In the West and Southwest, the variety is said
to succeed better than any other Concord seedling. Lady Washington is
another of J. H. Ricketts' fine seedlings, this variety having come
from seed of Concord fertilized by Allen's Hybrid. It was introduced
in 1878.
Vine vigorous, productive. Canes long, few, thick, dark brown;
nodes greatly enlarged, variable in shape; internodes long;
tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick;
upper surface dark green, older leaves strongly rugose, glossy;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; leaf entire with terminal
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, frequently closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually wanting; lateral sinus shallow;
teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large,
broad, irregularly cylindrical, single-shouldered, frequently
double-shouldered, loose; pedicel short with numerous conspicuous
warts; brush very short, greenish. Berries variable in size,
round-oblate, yellow-amber, glossy with thin bloom, persistent;
skin thin, tender, adherent; flesh pale green, transparent, juicy
and tender, stringy, aromatic, sweet; very good. Seeds free, one
to four, broad, brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXX.--Winchell (×2/3).]
LENOIR
(Bourquiniana)
_Alabama, Black El Paso, Black July, Black Spanish, Blue French,
Burgundy, Cigar Box Grape, Devereaux, Jack, Jacques, July Sherry,
Longworth's Ohio, MacCandless, Ohio, Springstein, Warren_
Lenoir is a tender southern grape which has been used largely in
France and California as a resistant stock and a direct producer. The
fruit is highly valued for its dark red wine and is very good for
table use. The vine is very resistant to phylloxera and withstands
drouth well. The origin of Lenoir is unknown. It was in cultivation in
the South as long ago as the early part of the last century. Nicholas
Herbemont states in 1829 that its name was given from a man named
Lenoir who cultivated it near Stateburg, South Carolina.
Vine vigorous, thrifty, semi-hardy, productive. Canes numerous,
with some bloom at the nodes; tendrils intermittent. Leaves from
two to seven-lobed, usually five, with characteristic bluish-green
color above and pale green below.
Clusters variable, medium to very large, tapering, usually
shouldered. Berries small, round, dark bluish-purple, nearly black
with lilac bloom; skin thick, tough; flesh juicy, tender, sweet,
very rich in coloring matter.
LIGNAN BLANC
(Vinifera)
_White July, Luglienga, Joannenc_
At Geneva, New York, Lignan Blanc ripens first of all grapes, native
or European. It is not of highest quality but is better than any other
early grape and makes a valuable addition to the home vineyard. It is
a favorite grape in Europe and is rather commonly grown in California.
This variety offers excellent material for hybridization with native
grapes.
Vine vigorous, medium productive; buds open early; opening leaves
light green, glossy, tinged with red along the edges, thinly
pubescent. Leaves medium in size, roundish, somewhat dull green,
slightly rugose; lower surface glabrous; blade thick; lobes
usually five though sometimes three; petiolar sinus medium in
depth, wide; lower lateral sinus medium in depth, narrow; upper
lateral sinus shallow, narrow; margin dentate; teeth long, narrow.
Flowers appear early for a Vinifera; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens the first of September and is a good keeper; clusters
above medium in size, tapering, medium compact; berries medium to
large, oval, yellowish-green, with thin bloom; skin thin, tender,
neutral; flesh greenish-white, firm, juicy, meaty, sweet; quality
good.
LINDLEY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
By common consent, Lindley (Plate XXII) is the best of the red grapes
originated by Rogers in his crosses between Labrusca and Vinifera. The
bunches are of only medium size and are loose, but the berries are
well-formed, of uniform size and an attractive dark red color. The
flesh is firm, fine-grained, juicy, tender with a peculiarly rich
aromatic flavor. The skin is thick and tough but is not objectionable
in fruit fully ripe. The fruit keeps and ships well, and the berries
neither crack nor shatter. The vine is vigorous, hardy for a Vinifera
hybrid, healthy but, as with most of its kind, susceptible to mildew.
The chief defects of Lindley are self-sterility, precariousness in
bearing and lack of adaptation to many soils. Lindley is a general
favorite in the garden. In 1869 Rogers gave this grape its name in
honor of John Lindley, the English botanist.
Vine vigorous, usually hardy, susceptible to mildew. Canes very
long, dark reddish-brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, usually
flattened; internodes long, thick; tendrils continuous, long,
bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface light green,
dull, slightly rugose; lower surface grayish-white, pubescent;
obscurely three-lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep,
narrow, often closed and overlapping; teeth shallow. Flowers
self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters long, broad,
cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered, the shoulder being
connected to the bunch by a long stem, loose; pedicel short,
slender, smooth; brush short, pale green. Berries large,
round-oval, dark-red with faint bloom; skin tough, adherent,
unpigmented, strongly astringent; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous; good to best. Seeds adherent,
two to five, notched, brown.
LUCILE
(Labrusca)
In vigor, health, hardiness and productiveness, Lucile (Plate XXII) is
not surpassed by any native grape. Unfortunately, the fruit characters
are not so desirable. The size, form and color of bunches and berries
are good, making a very attractive fruit, but the grapes have an
obnoxious, foxy taste and odor and are pulpy and seedy. Lucile is
earlier than Concord, the crop ripening with that of Worden or
preceding it a few days. For an early variety, the fruit keeps well
and in spite of thin skin ships well. The vine thrives in all grape
soils. Lucile may be recommended where a hardy grape is desired and
for localities in which the season is short. J. A. Putnam, Fredonia,
New York, grew Lucile. The vine fruited first in 1890. It is a
seedling of Wyoming, which it resembles in fruit and vine and
surpasses in both.
Vine vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes long, light brown;
nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous,
bifid or trifid. Leaves large, firm; upper surface light green,
glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent; leaf with
terminus acute; petiolar sinus shallow, narrow, sometimes closed
and overlapping; basal sinus usually absent; lateral sinus a notch
when present; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, open early;
stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, usually single-shouldered, very compact; pedicel
short, thick with few, small, inconspicuous warts; brush light
brown. Berries large, round, dark red with thin bloom, persistent,
firm; skin thin, tender, astringent; flesh pale green,
translucent, juicy, tough, stringy, foxy; fair in quality. Seeds
adherent, one to four, small, broad, short, blunt, dark brown.
LUTIE
(Labrusca)
Lutie (Plate XXIII) is chiefly valuable for its vine characters. The
vines are vigorous, hardy, healthy and fruitful, although scarcely
equaling Lucile in any of these characters. Pomologists differ widely
as to the merits of the fruit, some claiming high quality for it and
others declaring that it is no better than a wild Labrusca. The
difference of opinion is due to a peculiarity of the fruit; if eaten
fresh, the quality, while far from being of the best, is not bad, but
after being picked for several days it develops so much foxiness of
flavor and aroma that it is scarcely edible. Lutie is a seedling found
by L. C. Chisholm, Spring Hill, Tennessee. It was introduced in 1885.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes short, slender,
dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils
continuous, short, bifid. Leaves medium in size; upper surface
dark green, rugose; lower surface bronze or whitish-green,
pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar
sinus deep, wide; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow and
narrow when present; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-fertile,
early; stamens upright.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters medium in size, short,
broad, blunt, cylindrical, usually not shouldered, compact;
pedicel short with small, scattering warts; brush slender, pale
green. Berries large, round, dark red, dull with thin bloom, drop
badly from pedicel, firm; skin tender, adherent, astringent; flesh
pale green, translucent, juicy, tough, foxy; fair in quality.
Seeds adherent, one to four, large, broad, short and blunt, dark
brown.
MALAGA
(Vinifera)
Malaga is one of the favorite table-grapes in California and also a
popular grape to ship to eastern markets. In some parts of southern
California, where the Muscats do not thrive, it is much grown, and in
the San Joaquin Valley it is rather largely used in making raisins. It
requires a long season and probably could not be grown in eastern
regions except in the most favored localities. The description is
compiled.
Vine very vigorous, healthy and productive; wood reddish-brown,
short-jointed. Leaves of medium size, smooth, leathery; light
glossy green above, lighter below; deeply lobed. Bunches very
large, long, loose, shouldered, sometimes scraggly; stem long and
flexible; berries very large, oval, yellowish-green, covered with
light bloom; skin thick; flesh firm, crisp, sweet and rich;
quality good. Season late, keeps and ships well.
McPIKE
(Labrusca)
McPike is noteworthy because of the large size of the berries and
bunches. It is very similar to its parent, Worden, differing in
having fewer but larger berries, grapes not as high in flavor and
fewer and smaller seeds. Because of the thin, tender skin, the berries
crack badly. The grapes shell more or less, and the vines are less
productive than those of Worden. The faults named debar it from
becoming a commercial grape and it is not high enough in quality to
make it of value for the amateur. This variety originated with H. G.
McPike, Alton, Illinois, from seed of Worden planted in 1890.
Vine vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes of medium length,
dull reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes very
short; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick;
upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower surface
grayish-white, heavily pubescent; leaf entire with terminus acute;
petiolar sinus deep; basal and lateral sinuses lacking. Flowers
nearly self-fertile.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters variable in size, broad,
irregularly tapering, usually not shouldered; pedicel long, thick,
smooth; brush long, slender, green with brown tinge. Berries
unusually large, round, purplish-black with heavy bloom, firm;
skin cracks, adherent to pulp, astringent; flesh pale green,
translucent, juicy, tender, stringy, vinous; fair to good. Seeds
adherent, one to four, short, broad, blunt, plump, light brown.
MARION
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
_Black German, Marion Port_
Marion so closely resembles Clinton in botanical and horticultural
characters as to be clearly of the same type. The vine is vigorous and
hardy, but hardly sufficiently productive, and is susceptible to
mildew and leaf-hoppers. The fruit is pleasantly sweet and spicy,
although not high enough in quality for a table-grape, but makes a
very good dark red wine. The fruit colors early but ripens late, hangs
well on the vines and improves with a touch of frost. Marion was
brought to notice by a Mr. Shepherd, Marion, Ohio, about 1850.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes very long, dark
reddish-brown, covered with bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes very long; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent,
long, bifid. Leaves very large; upper surface dark green, glossy;
lower surface pale green, smooth; leaf entire, terminus acuminate;
petiolar sinus very deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping;
basal and lateral sinuses usually lacking; teeth shallow, wide.
Flowers self-sterile, open very early; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters medium in size, short,
slender, cylindrical, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
slender with a few inconspicuous warts; brush very short,
wine-colored. Berries small, round, black, glossy with heavy
bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tough, adherent with much
wine-colored pigment, astringent; flesh dark green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tough, sprightly, spicy, tart; fair in
quality. Seeds adherent, one to five, medium in size, broad,
short, very plump, brown.
MARTHA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Martha was at one time a popular green grape, but the introduction of
superior varieties has reduced its popularity until now it is but
little grown. It is a seedling of Concord and resembles its parent,
differing chiefly as follows: fruit green, a week earlier, bunch and
berry smaller, flavor far better, being sweeter, more delicate and
less foxy. The vine of Martha is a lighter shade of green, is less
robust, and the blossoms open a few days earlier than those of
Concord. One of the defects of Martha, and the chief cause of its
going out of favor, is that it does not keep nor ship well. The
variety is still being planted in the South but is generally abandoned
in the North. Samuel Miller, Calmdale, Pennsylvania, grew Martha from
seed of Concord; it was introduced about 1868.
Vine hardy, productive, susceptible to attacks of mildew. Canes
long, dark reddish-brown, surface with thin bloom, roughened;
nodes enlarged, slightly flattened; tendrils continuous, or
intermittent, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface light
green; lower surface light bronze, heavily pubescent; lobes
wanting or faint; petiolar sinus shallow, very wide; teeth
irregular. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit early mid-season. Clusters medium in size, tapering,
single-shouldered, loose; pedicel short, slender; brush very
short, green. Berries medium in size, round, light green with thin
bloom, persistent; skin thin, very tender, adherent; flesh pale
green, juicy, tough, fine-grained, slightly foxy; very good. Seeds
few in number, adherent, broad, blunt, dark brown.
MASSASOIT
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Massasoit is distinguished as the earliest of Rogers' hybrids,
ripening with Delaware. The grapes have the peculiarity of being best
before full maturity, developing, after ripening, a degree of foxiness
which impairs the quality. In shape and size of berry and bunch, there
is a striking resemblance to Isabella, but the color is that of
Catawba. The texture of the fruit is especially good, firm but tender
and juicy, while the flavor is rich and sweet. The vine is vigorous,
hardy and productive but subject to mildew and rot. Massasoit is worth
a place in the home vineyard and as an early grape of fine quality for
local markets.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, very productive, subject to rot and
mildew. Canes long, thick, dark brown with reddish tinge; nodes
enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, long, trifid or bifid.
Leaves variable in size; upper surface light green, dull, smooth;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes three to five with
terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus shallow,
narrow, obscure; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open late;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters variable in size, broad,
cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered; pedicel slender with a
few indistinct warts; brush pale green. Berries large, round-oval,
dark brownish-red, dull with thin bloom, very persistent, firm;
skin thin, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green,
translucent, juicy, fine-grained, soft, stringy, foxy; good to
very good. Seeds adherent, one to five, large, broad, distinctly
notched, plump, blunt.
MAXATAWNEY
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
While at one time very popular, grape-growers now seldom hear of
Maxatawney. It is a southern grape, ripening its fruit in the North
only occasionally. The variety is interesting historically as being
the first good green grape and as showing unmistakable Vinifera
characters, another example of the fortuitous hybridization which gave
so many valuable varieties before artificial hybridization of Vinifera
with native grapes had been tried. In 1843, a man living in
Eagleville, Pennsylvania, received several bunches of grapes from
Maxatawney. The seeds of these grapes were planted and one grew, the
resulting plant being the original vine of Maxatawney.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, variable in productiveness. Canes
medium in length, slender, reddish; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves large, dark
green, thick; lower surface grayish-white with tinge of bronze,
heavily pubescent; lobes three to five; petiolar sinus narrow;
teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters small to medium, short, slender,
cylindrical, occasionally with a small, single shoulder, compact;
pedicel long, slender, warty; brush long, yellow. Berries variable
in size, oval, pale red or dull green with amber tinge, with thin
bloom, persistent; skin tough, astringent; flesh tender, foxy;
good to very good. Seeds free, few, large, very broad, blunt.
MEMORY
(Rotundifolia)
Memory is one of the best of the Rotundifolia grapes for the garden
and local markets, its fruits being especially good for dessert. As
yet, however, the variety has not been widely distributed even in
North Carolina where it originated. The vine is given credit for being
the most vigorous grower and the most productive of the grapes of its
species. Memory is probably a seedling of Thomas, which it much
resembles, having been found in a vineyard of Thomas grapes near
Whiteville, North Carolina, by T. S. Memory, about 1868.
Vine very vigorous, healthy, productive. Leaves large, longer than
broad, thick, smooth with coarsely serrate margins. Flowers
perfect.
Fruit ripens in September in North Carolina; clusters large, with
from four to twelve berries which hang unusually well for a
variety of V. Rotundifolia. Berries very large, round-oblong, deep
brownish-black, almost jet black; skin thick; flesh tender, juicy,
sweet; good to best.
MERRIMAC
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Merrimac is often accredited as the best black grape among Rogers'
hybrids, but an analysis of the characters of the several black
varieties grown by Rogers shows that it is surpassed by Wilder,
Herbert and possibly Barry. The vine is strong in growth, productive,
hardy and exempt from fungal diseases; but the grapes are not high in
quality, and flesh, skin and seed characters are such that the fruit
is not as pleasant to eat as the other black varieties named. Merrimac
is worthy a place in collections for the sake of variety. Rogers gave
this variety the name Merrimac in 1869.
Vine vigorous, usually hardy, productive. Canes slender, dark
brown, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
short; tendrils intermittent, short, bifid. Leaves large, thin;
upper surface very light green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale
green, pubescent and cobwebby; lobes three with terminal one
obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow,
narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters variable in size,
broad, tapering; pedicel slender, covered with numerous
inconspicuous warts; brush wine-colored. Berries large, round,
black, glossy with abundant bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick,
tough, adherent, astringent; flesh light green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, stringy; good. Seeds adherent, one to
five, broad, long, with enlarged neck, brown.
MILLS
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The bunches and berries of Mills are large and well-formed; the
berries are firm and solid, with the skin adherent as in Viniferas;
the flesh is juicy and parts readily from the seeds; the flavor is
rich, sweet and vinous; and the grapes are hardly surpassed in keeping
quality. But when the fruit characters of Mills have been praised,
nothing further can be said in its favor. The vines are neither
vigorous, hardy nor fruitful and are very subject to mildew; neither
wood nor roots ripen well in the North in average seasons; and the
variety is a most difficult one for nurserymen to grow. Mills is of
doubtful commercial value, but for the garden it is possible that the
grower may be able to graft it to advantage on some variety with
better vine characters. William H. Mills, Hamilton, Ontario, grew
Mills about 1870 from seed of Muscat Hamburg fertilized by Creveling.
Vine medium in vigor, hardiness and productiveness. Canes long,
thick, light brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface
dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface pale green, cobwebby;
lobes three to five with terminus acute; petiolar sinus
intermediate in depth and width; basal and lateral sinuses deep
and wide; teeth deep. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, slender,
cylindrical, often double-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender
with numerous, small warts; brush long, wine-colored. Berries
large, oval, jet-black with abundant bloom, persistent, firm; skin
thick, tough, adherent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy,
rich, tender, sprightly, vinous, sweet; very good to best. Seeds
free, one to three, large, brown.
MISH
(Rotundifolia)
Mish is a favorite Rotundifolia in North Carolina, being planted
extensively in some parts of that state. Its outstanding characters
are vigor and productiveness in vine and high quality in the fruit.
Mish is named by many as the best all-round Rotundifolia, being of
value for dessert, wine and grape-juice. The variety was found by W.
M. Mish, about 1846, near Washington, North Carolina.
Vine very vigorous, productive, healthy, open in growth; canes
somewhat trailing. Leaves large, round, thick, smooth, leathery
with coarsely dentate margin. Flowers perfect.
Fruit late, does not ripen uniformly, keeps and ships well.
Clusters of medium size with from six to fifteen berries which
cling well to the pedicel. Berries of medium size, round-oval,
deep reddish-black with numerous conspicuous dots; skin thin,
cracking in wet weather; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, exceptionally
well flavored; very good to best.
MISSION
(Vinifera)
Of all grapes, Mission has probably played the most important part in
the vineyards of California. Grown from the earliest times at the old
missions, its source or its name has never been determined. Its
viticultural value for table and wine-press was early appreciated by
California grape-growers, and its culture rapidly spread to every
county in the state adapted to grape-growing. With vines vigorous,
healthy and productive, bearing grapes of delicious quality, Mission
is a mainstay on the Pacific slope, surpassed by few vineyard
varieties for general usefulness. The description is compiled.
Vine vigorous, healthy, productive; wood short-jointed,
grayish-brown, dull, dark. Leaf medium to large, slightly oblong,
with large, deeply-cut compound teeth; basal sinus widely opened,
primary sinuses narrow and shallow; smooth on both sides with
scattered tomentum below, bright green above, lighter below. Bunch
divided into many small, distinct lateral clusters, shouldered,
loose, sometimes very loose; berries of medium size, purple or
almost black with heavy bloom; skin thin; flesh firm, crisp,
juicy, sweet, rich and delicious. Seeds rather large and
prominent; season late.
MISSOURI RIESLING
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Missouri Riesling attains perfection only in the South. The vines are
hardy, vigorous, productive and healthy in the North, as a rule, but
the fruit is lacking in quality. In the South, Missouri Riesling is a
beautiful fruit when well grown and has many good qualities of fruit
and vine. It originated with Nicholas Grein, Hermann, Missouri, about
1870, probably from seed of Taylor.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes very long, numerous,
thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged; internodes long; tendrils
continuous, long, trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green,
thinly pubescent; lobes five with terminal one acuminate; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus shallow, wide; lateral sinus deep,
wide; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit late, does not keep nor ship well. Clusters short,
cylindrical, single-shouldered; pedicel long with few small warts;
brush green. Berries of medium size, round, yellowish-green
changing to light red with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin
sprinkled with small brown dots, thin, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained, lacking in aroma, mild; fair in quality. Seeds
adherent, one to four, surface rough, dark brown.
MONTEFIORE
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Montefiore is extensively grown in Missouri and the Southwest but is
almost unknown in the North and East. It is reported as succeeding in
the Lake District of Ohio and, with the exception that it is uncertain
in bearing and not always productive, it grows well in sections of New
York. While it is essentially a wine-grape, yet it is pleasing in
taste and texture of fruit and is far better in quality than many of
the coarser Labruscas commonly cultivated. It keeps and ships well
and presents an attractive appearance. Jacob Rommel, Morrison,
Missouri, grew this variety about 1875 from seed of Taylor fertilized
by Ives.
Vine vigorous and hardy. Canes long, thick, dark brown with thin
bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; tendrils
continuous, long, bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface light green,
dull, smooth; lower surface grayish-white, pubescent; lobes three
when present with terminus acute; petiolar sinus wide; basal sinus
lacking; lateral sinus shallow when present; teeth deep. Flowers
semi-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters small, short, tapering,
single-shouldered, the shoulder being connected to the bunch by a
long stem, compact; pedicel short, slender, smooth; brush red.
Berries small, oval, often compressed, black, glossy with abundant
bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tough, adherent, astringent;
flesh green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, melting,
vinous, sweet; fair to good. Seeds free, one to five, small,
broad, faintly notched, short, plump, brown.
MOORE EARLY
(Labrusca)
Moore Early (Plate XXIV) is the standard grape of its season. Its
fruit cannot be described better than as an early Concord. The vines
are readily distinguishable from those of Concord, differing chiefly
in being less productive. To grow the variety satisfactorily, the soil
must be rich, well-drained and loose, must be frequently cultivated,
and the vines should be pruned severely. The bunches of Moore Early
are not as large as those of Concord and are less compact; the berries
shell rather more easily, and the skin cracks more readily. The flesh
characters and the flavor are essentially those of Concord, although
the quality is not as high as in the older variety. The quality is,
however, much higher than that of Champion and Hartford, its chief
competitors, and varieties which it should replace. Moore Early is by
no means an ideal grape for its season, but until something better is
introduced it will probably remain the best early commercial sort.
Captain John B. Moore, Concord, Massachusetts, originated this
variety from seed of Concord, planted about 1868.
Vine vigorous, hardy, unproductive. Canes short, dark
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short;
tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface dark green, dull; lower surface tinged with bronze,
heavily pubescent; leaf usually not lobed, terminus acute;
petiolar sinus wide; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus a notch
when present; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers fertile, open in
mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early, does not keep well. Clusters medium in size, length,
and breadth, cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, loose;
pedicel short, thick, smooth; brush short, pale green. Berries
large, round, purplish-black, firm; skin tender, adherent; flesh
green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tough with slight
foxiness; fair to good. Seeds one to four, large, broad, plump,
blunt, brown with yellow tinge at tips.
MOSCATELLO
(Vinifera)
_Moscatello Nero. Black Muscat_
Beautiful in appearance and having a delicate Muscat taste and aroma,
this variety is one of the good table-grapes of the Pacific slope.
Unfortunately it ripens so late that it is hardly worth trying in the
East. The variety has the reputation of being very productive. The
description is compiled.
Vine vigorous, healthy, very productive. Leaves of medium size,
with deep upper and shallow lower sinuses; glabrous above,
slightly downy below, very hairy on the veins, with long, sharp
teeth. Bunch large to very large, long, loose, conico-cylindrical,
winged; berries very large, borne on long slender pedicels, dark
purple, almost black; skin thin but tough; flesh rather soft,
juicy; flavor sweet, rich, aromatic, musky; quality very good.
Season late, does not keep well.
MOYER
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
_Jordan, Moyer's Early Red_
Moyer is almost a counterpart of its parent, Delaware. Were it not
that the variety is from one to two weeks earlier than Delaware, and
somewhat hardier, hence better adapted for cold regions, it could have
no place in viticulture. Compared with Delaware, the vine is hardly as
vigorous and is less productive, but is freer from rot and mildew. The
bunches are much like those of Delaware but have the fault of setting
fruit imperfectly even when cross-pollination is assured; the berries
are a little larger, of much the same color and of like flavor, rich,
sweet, with pure vinousness and without a trace of foxiness. The fruit
keeps well, ships well and does not crack nor shell. Moyer is well
established in Canada, proving perfectly hardy wherever Concord is
grown, possibly standing even more cold. W. H. Read, Port Dalhousie,
Ontario, raised the original vine of Moyer, about 1880, from seed of
Delaware fertilized by Miller's Burgundy.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, unproductive. Canes numerous,
slender, dull, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened;
internodes short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid.
Leaves small; upper surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower
surface pale green or with faint blue tinge, heavily pubescent;
lobes two to five with terminus acute; petiolar sinus shallow;
basal sinus shallow when present; lateral sinus shallow, narrow;
teeth very shallow, narrow. Flowers self-sterile, open early;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well but loses color if kept too long. Clusters
small, short, slender, tapering, sometimes single-shouldered;
pedicel short with small warts; brush yellowish-green. Berries
small, oblate, dark red with faint bloom, persistent, firm; skin
tough, free, astringent; flesh translucent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained, vinous; good to very good. Seeds free, one to four,
broad, short, very blunt, brown with yellow tinge at tips.
MUSCATEL
(Vinifera)
_White Frontignan_
This old and standard sort is rather commonly grown in some of the
grape regions of California to follow Chasselas Golden. It might be
tried with some show of success in favored grape regions in the East.
The description is compiled.
Vine of medium size, vigorous, healthy; canes strong, spreading,
reddish-brown with short internodes. Leaves of medium size, thin,
five-lobed; glabrous except on the lower sides of the well-marked
ribs where a few hairs show. Bunches long, cylindrical, regular,
compact; berries round, golden-yellow becoming amber; flavor
sweet, rich, aromatic, peculiar; quality very good. Season late
mid-season, keeps and ships well.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.--Worden (×2/3).]
MUSCAT HAMBURG
(Vinifera)
Muscat Hamburg (Plate XXV) is an old European grape well known in some
parts of America in greenhouse graperies, since it is one of the best
for forcing. All who know the beautiful fruits of this variety grown
in forcing-houses will want to test it out of doors, where at the
Geneva, New York, Experiment Station, they have done well, many
clusters attaining a weight of a pound and a half to two pounds. The
accompanying plate, the fruit much less than half natural size, shows
what a fine grape Muscat Hamburg is. One is struck with wondering
admiration at a vine laden with these grapes growing alongside
Concord, Niagara or Delaware. The quality is delectable, the
quintessence of the flavors and aromas which make the grape a favorite
fruit. The grapes keep long and retain their form, size, color and
rich, delicate flavor almost to the end. This variety is a treasure to
the amateur; and the professional who wants another grape for local
markets should try grafting over a few vines of some native to this
sort, following the directions given in Chapter X in caring for the
vines.
Vines vigorous, tender, need protection during the winter; canes
long, numerous, slender to medium, light brown, darker at the
nodes which are enlarged and flattened. Leaves medium to large,
intermediate in thickness; upper surface light green, dull; lower
surface pale green, faintly pubescent, densely hairy.
Fruit ripens in October, ships and keeps well; clusters very
large, long, broad, tapering, single or double-shouldered. Berries
large, firm, oval, very dark purplish-red, covered with lilac
bloom, very persistent; skin thick, adheres strongly to the pulp;
flesh pale green, translucent, meaty, very juicy, tender, vinous,
musky, sweet, rich; very good to best; seeds separating easily
from the pulp, large.
MUSCAT OF ALEXANDRIA
This is possibly the leading table- and raisin-grape of the Pacific
slope. From the literature or from a visit to vineyards, one cannot
make out whether one or several varieties are grown under the name.
Probably there are several strains grown under the distinctive name
"Muscat" which applies to these sweet, light yellow, musky grapes.
This is one of the standard sorts to force indoors but requires too
long a season for out of doors in the East. The following description
is compiled:
Vine short, straggling, bushy, sometimes forming a bush rather
than a vine, very productive; wood gray with dark spots,
short-jointed. Leaf round, five-lobed; bright green above, lighter
green below. Bunches long and loose, shouldered; berry oblong,
light yellow and transparent when fully mature, covered with white
bloom; flesh firm, crisp; flavor sweet and very musky; quality
good. Season late, the laterals producing a second and sometimes
even a third crop.
NIAGARA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Niagara (Plate XXVI) is the leading American green grape, holding the
rank among grapes of this color that Concord maintains among black
varieties. It is, however, a less valuable grape than Concord, and it
is doubtful whether it should be ranked much higher than several other
green grapes. In vigor and productiveness, when the two grapes are on
equal footing as to adaptability, Niagara and Concord rank the same.
In hardiness of root and vine, Niagara falls short of Concord; it
cannot be relied on without winter protection where the thermometer
falls below zero. Niagara has much of the foxiness of the wild
Labrusca, distasteful to many palates. Both bunches and berries of
Niagara are larger than those of Concord and are better formed, making
a handsomer fruit if the colors are liked equally well. The fruit
shells as badly as that of Concord and does not keep longer. Both vine
and fruit of Niagara are more susceptible to fungal diseases than
those of Concord, especially to black-rot, which proves a veritable
scourge with this variety in unfavorable seasons. Niagara was produced
by C. L. Hoag and B. W. Clark, Lockport, New York, from seed of
Concord fertilized by Cassady planted in 1868.
Vine vigorous, lacking in hardiness, very productive. Canes long,
thick, reddish-brown deepening in color at the nodes which are
enlarged and slightly flattened; internodes long, thick; tendrils
continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper
surface glossy, dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green,
pubescent; lobes three to five with terminus acute; petiolar sinus
of medium depth and width; basal sinus shallow, wide, often
toothed; lateral sinus wide, frequently toothed; teeth shallow,
variable in width. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters large, long, broad,
tapering, frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel thick
with a few, small, inconspicuous warts; brush pale green, long.
Berries large, oval, pale yellowish-green with thin bloom,
persistent, firm; skin thin, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh
light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, foxy; good.
Seeds free, one to six, deeply notched, brown.
NOAH
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Noah is little grown at present outside of Missouri, where it is still
planted somewhat. Noah and Elvira are often confused but there are
very marked differences. The clusters of Elvira are smaller, the
berries are more foxy in taste, and the skins are more tender and
crack more readily than do those of Noah. The large, dark, glossy
green leaves make the vines of this variety very handsome. As with
Elvira and other varieties of this group, Noah is of little value in
the North. It originated with Otto Wasserzieher, Nauvoo, Illinois,
from seed of Taylor planted in 1869.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, productive. Canes long, thick,
dark brown, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large; upper surface dark
green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, thinly pubescent;
leaf usually not lobed with terminus acuminate; petiolar sinus
deep, wide; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus very shallow when
present; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers semi-fertile, open early;
stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, does not ship nor keep well. Clusters
variable in size, cylindrical, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel
short with a few small warts; brush short, brown. Berries small,
round, light green tinged with yellow, dull with thin bloom, firm;
skin adherent to pulp; flesh yellowish-green, translucent, juicy,
tough, fine-grained, vinous, sprightly; good. Seeds adherent, one
to four, dark brown.
NORTHERN MUSCADINE
(Labrusca)
That this variety, together with Lucile, Lutie and other grapes with
the foxy taste strongly marked, has not become popular, in spite of
good vine characters, is evidence that the American public do not
desire such grapes. In appearance of fruit, Northern Muscadine is much
like Lutie, the two being distinguished from other grapes by an
unmistakable odor. A serious defect of the fruit is that the berries
shatter badly as soon as they reach maturity. Taken as a whole, the
vine characters of this variety are very good and offer possibilities
for the grape-breeder. The variety originated at New Lebanon, New
York, and was brought to notice by D. J. Hawkins and Philemon Stewart
of the Society of Shakers about 1852.
Vine vigorous, productive, healthy, hardy. Canes slender, dark
brown, heavily pubescent; tendrils continuous, bifid, dehisce
early. Leaves large, round, thick; upper surface dull, rugose;
lower surface dark bronze, heavily pubescent. Flowers
self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early mid-season, does not keep well. Clusters medium in
size, short, occasionally single-shouldered, compact. Berries
large, oval, dark amber with thin bloom, drop badly from the
pedicel; skin tough, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, soft, very foxy, sweet; poor in
quality. Seeds free, numerous, large, broad, faintly notched,
long, brown.
NORTON
(Æstivalis, Labrusca)
Norton is one of the leading wine-grapes in eastern America, the fruit
having small value for any other purpose than wine or, possibly,
grape-juice. The vine is hardy but requires a long, warm season to
reach maturity so that it is seldom grown successfully north of the
Potomac. Norton thrives in rich alluvial clays, gravels or sands, the
only requisite seemingly being a fair amount of fertility and soil
warmth. The vines are robust; very productive, especially on fertile
soils; as free, or more so, from fungal diseases as any other of our
native grapes; and are very resistant to phylloxera. The bunches are
of but medium size and the berries are small. The grapes are pleasant
eating when fully ripe, rich, spicy and pure-flavored but tart if not
quite ripe. The variety is difficult to propagate from cuttings and to
transplant, and the vines do not bear grafts well. The origin of
Norton is uncertain, but it has been under cultivation since before
1830, when it was first described.
Vine very vigorous, healthy, half-hardy, productive. Canes long,
thick, dark brown with abundant bloom; nodes much enlarged;
internodes long; tendrils intermittent, occasionally continuous,
long, bifid, sometimes trifid. Leaves large, irregularly round;
upper surface pale green, dull, rugose; lower surface pale green,
pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and overlapping; basal sinus
usually absent; lateral sinus shallow or a mere notch when
present. Flowers self-fertile, late; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters medium in size, short, broad,
tapering, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender with a few
warts; brush dull, wine-colored. Berries small, round-oblate,
black, glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin, free
with much dark red pigment; flesh green, translucent, juicy,
tender, spicy, tart. Seeds free, two to six, small, brown.
OPORTO
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
Oporto was at one time in demand as a wine grape because its wine
resembled in color and flavor that from Oporto. The variety is now
scarcely known, being inferior in most of its horticultural characters
to others of its species, but might be valuable in breeding for some
of its characters. The vine is very hardy, unusually free from fungal
diseases, is very resistant to phylloxera and has been used in France
as a phylloxera-resistant grafting-stock. The juice is very thick and
dark, a deep purple, hence suitable for adding color to wine or
grape-juice. The origin of Oporto is unknown. It was brought into
cultivation about 1860 by E. W. Sylvester, Lyons, New York.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, healthy, variable in productiveness.
Canes long, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
long, diaphragm thin; tendrils continuous, bifid. Stamens
reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, ships and keeps well. Clusters small,
cylindrical, often single-shouldered. Berries medium in size,
round, black, glossy with abundant bloom, persistent, firm; skin
very thin, tender, with much dark wine-colored pigment; flesh
white, sometimes with purple tinge, juicy, fine-grained, solid,
sweet, spicy; fair quality. Seeds free, numerous, small, broad,
faintly notched, sharply pointed, plump, dark brown.
OTHELLO
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca)
_Arnold's Hybrid, Canadian Hamburg, Canadian Hybrid_
In France, Othello does remarkably well as a direct producer and is
used also for a resistant stock. While most of its characters are
spoken of in the superlative by the French, in America the variety is
not so highly esteemed because of susceptibility to fungi. Moreover,
the fruit matures so late that it could never become a valuable
variety for the North. It is in no sense a table-grape but makes a
well-colored, pleasant wine. Charles Arnold, Paris, Ontario, grew
Othello from seed of Clinton fertilized by Black Hamburg and planted
in 1859.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, brown; nodes
enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent,
bifid or trifid. Leaves of average size; upper surface light
green, dull and smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent; lobes
three to five with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep, very
narrow, frequently closed and overlapping; basal sinus shallow,
narrow; lateral sinus deep; teeth deep, wide; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps fairly well. Clusters large, long, broad,
tapering, frequently with a loose single shoulder, compact;
pedicel long, slender with numerous small warts; brush short,
wine-colored. Berries large, oval, black, glossy with abundant
bloom, very persistent; skin thin, tough, adherent with red
pigment; flesh dark green, very juicy, fine-grained, tough,
sprightly; low in quality. Seeds free, one to three, neck
sometimes swollen, brown.
OZARK
(Æstivalis, Labrusca)
Ozark belongs to the South and to Missouri in particular. Its merits
and demerits have been threshed out by the Missouri grape-growers with
the result that its culture is somewhat increasing. It is a grape of
low quality, partly, perhaps, from over-bearing, which it habitually
does unless the fruit is thinned. The vine is healthy and a very
strong grower, but is self-sterile, which is against it as a market
sort. In spite of self-sterility and low quality, Ozark is a promising
variety for the country south of Pennsylvania. Ozark originated with
J. Stayman, Leavenworth, Kansas, from seed of unknown source. The
variety was introduced about 1890.
Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, thick with thin
bloom, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes
long; tendrils intermittent, usually bifid. Leaves dense, large;
upper surface light green; lower surface pale green, thinly
pubescent, cobwebby; lobes three to five; petiolar sinus deep,
narrow; serrations shallow, narrow. Flowers self-sterile or nearly
so, open late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, long, usually with a long,
loose shoulder, very compact; pedicel short, thick, smooth; brush
long, red. Berries variable in size, dull black with abundant
bloom, persistent; skin tough with much wine-colored pigment;
flesh tender, mild; fair in quality. Seeds free, small.
PALOMINO
(Vinifera)
_Golden Chasselas, Listan_
This variety seems to be grown in California under the three names
given--while in France Palomino is described as a bluish-black grape.
Palomino seems to be grown commonly in California as a table-grape and
is worth trying in eastern America. The variety received under the
name Palomino from California at the New York Experiment Station has
the following characters, agreeing closely with those set down by
Californian viticulturists:
Fruit ripens about the 20th of October, keeping qualities good;
clusters medium to large, long, single-shouldered, tapering,
loose; berries medium to small, roundish, pale greenish-yellow,
thin bloom; skin and the adhering flesh medium tender and crisp,
flesh surrounding seeds melting; flavor sweet, vinous; quality
good.
PEABODY
(Vulpina, Labrusca, Vinifera)
Peabody is as yet a comparatively unimportant offspring of Clinton.
The grapes are of excellent quality. It appears to do better in the
northern tier of states or in Canada, than farther south. This
variety was grown by J. H. Ricketts about 1870.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick,
light brown with ash-gray tinge, darker at nodes, covered with
thin bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils
intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size; upper
surface dark green, thin; lower surface pale green, nearly
glabrous; lobes three, acuminate; petiolar sinus shallow, wide;
serration deep, narrow. Flowers semi-fertile, mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters large, long, usually with a
shoulder connected to the bunch by a long stem, compact; pedicel
short, slender, warty; brush short, green. Berries oval, black,
glossy, covered with thin bloom, persistent; skin thick, tough;
flesh very juicy, tender, vinous, spicy, agreeably sweet at the
skin, tart at the center; good. Seeds free, broad.
PERFECTION
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana, Vinifera)
Perfection is a seedling of Delaware, which it greatly resembles but
does not equal in fruit; its fruits being hardly as high in quality,
do not keep as well, shrivel more before ripening, and shell more
readily. In its vine characters, it is much more like a Labrusca than
Delaware, suggesting that it is a Delaware cross. In the Southwest,
Perfection is considered a valuable early red grape. J. Stayman,
Leavenworth, Kansas, grew Perfection from seed of Delaware; it was
sent out for testing about 1890.
Vine vigorous, healthy, injured in severe winters, productive.
Canes of medium length and number, slender; nodes enlarged,
flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, trifid or
bifid. Leaves healthy, medium in size; upper surface light green;
lower surface grayish-white with a tinge of bronze, heavily
pubescent; lobes wanting or three to five; petiolar sinus shallow,
wide; serration shallow. Flowers self-fertile or nearly so, open
in mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early. Clusters usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel
short, slender, smooth; brush short, yellow. Berries small, round,
red but less brilliant than Delaware with faint bloom, inclined to
drop from pedicel, soft; skin thin, free from astringency; flesh
medium in juiciness and tenderness, vinous, mild, sweet; good in
quality. Seeds adherent, numerous, small, often with an enlarged
neck.
PERKINS
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
At one time Perkins was grown largely as an early grape but has been
discarded very generally on account of the poor quality of the fruit.
The pulp of the grape is hard and the flavor is that of Wyoming and
Northern Muscadine, grapes characterized by disagreeable foxiness. As
with nearly all Labruscas, Perkins is a poor keeper. Notwithstanding
the faults of its fruit, the variety may have value in regions where
grape-growing is precarious; for in fruiting it is one of the most
reliable grapes cultivated, the vines being hardy, vigorous,
productive and free from fungal diseases. Perkins is an accidental
seedling found about 1830 in the garden of Jacob Perkins, Bridgewater,
Massachusetts.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous,
thick, dark brown, deepening in color at the nodes, surface
heavily pubescent; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long;
tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size,
thick; upper surface rugose; lower surface heavily pubescent;
veins distinct; lobes three; petiolar sinus deep, narrow;
serration shallow. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens upright.
Fruit early, ships well. Clusters of medium size and length,
broad, cylindrical, often with a single shoulder, compact; pedicel
short, thick, warty; brush long, yellow. Berries large, oval, pale
lilac or light red with thin bloom, inclined to drop from the
pedicel, soft; skin thin, tough, without pigment; flesh white,
juicy, stringy, fine-grained, firm, meaty, very foxy; poor in
quality. Seeds adherent, numerous, medium in size, notched.
POCKLINGTON
(Labrusca)
Before the advent of Niagara, Pocklington (Plate XXII) was the leading
green grape. The variety has the fatal fault, however, of ripening
its crop late, which with some minor defects has caused it to fall
below Niagara for northern grape districts. Pocklington is a seedling
of Concord and resembles its parent in vine characters; the vines are
fully equal to or surpass those of Concord in hardiness, but are of
slower growth and not quite as healthy, vigorous nor productive. In
quality, the grapes are as good if not better than those of Concord or
Niagara, being sweet, rich and pleasantly flavored, although as with
the other grapes named, it has too much foxiness for critical
consumers. Pocklington is not equal to several other grapes of its
season in quality, as Iona, Jefferson, Diana, Dutchess and Catawba,
but it is far above the average and for this reason should be
retained. John Pocklington, Sandy Hill, New York, grew Pocklington
from seed of Concord about 1870.
Vine medium in vigor, hardy. Canes of medium length, number and
size, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves variable in size, thick; upper
surface light green, glossy; lower surface tinged with bronze,
pubescent; lobes one to three with terminus acuminate; petiolar
sinus deep, wide; teeth narrow. Flowers self-fertile, mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large,
cylindrical, often single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short,
thick with a few small warts; brush short, green. Berries large,
oblate, yellowish-green with tinge of amber, with thin bloom,
firm; skin with scattering russet dots, thin, tender, adherent,
faintly astringent; flesh light green with yellow tinge,
translucent, juicy, tough, fine-grained, slightly foxy; good.
Seeds adherent, one to six, of medium length and breadth.
POUGHKEEPSIE
(Bourquiniana, Labrusca, Vinifera)
Poughkeepsie has been known long on the Hudson River, yet it is now
little grown there and has not been disseminated widely elsewhere. In
quality of fruit, it is equal to the best American varieties, but the
vine characters are all poor and the variety is thus effectually
debarred from common cultivation. Both vine and fruit resemble those
of Delaware, but in neither does it quite equal the latter. In
particular, the vine is more easily winter-killed and is less
productive than that of Delaware. The grapes ripen a little earlier
than those of the last named sort and this, with their beauty and fine
quality, is sufficient to recommend it for the garden at least. About
1865, A. J. Caywood, Marlboro, New York, grew Poughkeepsie from seed
of Iona fertilized by mixed pollen of Delaware and Walter.
Vine of medium vigor. Canes short, thick, dark reddish-brown;
tendrils intermittent, frequently three in line, bifid or trifid.
Leaves small; upper surface green, glossy, older leaves rugose;
lower surface grayish-green, pubescent. Flowers self-fertile,
late; stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters small, tapering,
usually single-shouldered, very compact. Berries small, round,
pale red with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, tender,
without pigment; flesh pale green, very juicy, tender, melting,
fine-grained, vinous, sweet; very good to best. Seeds free, small,
broad, with enlarged neck, brown.
PRENTISS
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Prentiss is a green grape of high quality, once well known and
generally recommended, but now going out of cultivation because the
vine is tender to cold, lacks in vigor, is unproductive, uncertain in
bearing and is subject to rot and mildew. There are vineyards in which
it does very well and in such it is a remarkably attractive green
grape, especially in form of cluster and in color of berry, in these
respects resembling the one-time favorite, Rebecca, although not so
high in quality as that variety. Its season is given as both before
and after Concord. Prentiss always must remain a variety for the
amateur and for special localities. It originated with J. W. Prentiss,
Pulteney, New York, about 1870 from seed of Isabella.
Vine weak. Canes thick, light to dark brown; tendrils continuous,
bifid. Leaves small, thick; upper surface light green, rugose in
the older leaves; lower surface pale green, pubescent. Flowers
self-fertile, mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit variable in season, about with Concord, keeps well. Cluster
medium in size, tapering, sometimes with a single shoulder,
compact. Berries medium in size, oval, light green with a yellow
tinge, thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, without pigment;
flesh pale green, juicy, foxy; good. Seeds adherent, numerous,
notched, short, sharp-pointed, dark brown.
PURPLE CORNICHON
(Vinifera)
_Black Cornichon_
By virtue of attractive appearance and excellent shipping qualities of
the fruit, this variety takes high place among the commercial grapes
of California. Late ripening is another quality making it desirable,
while its curious, long, curved berries add novelty to its
attractions. The fruit does not take high rank in quality. The
description has been compiled.
Vine very vigorous, healthy and productive; wood light brown
striped with darker brown, short-jointed. Leaves large, longer
than wide, deeply five-lobed; dark green above, lighter and very
hairy below; coarsely toothed; with short, thick petiole. Bunches
very large, loose or sometimes scraggly, borne on long peduncles;
berries large, long, more or less curved, dark purple, spotted,
thick-skinned, borne on long pedicels; flesh firm, crisp, sweet
but not rich in flavor; quality good but not high. Season late,
keeps and ships well.
REBECCA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
In the middle of the last century, when grape-growing was in the hands
of the connoisseurs, Rebecca was one of the sterling green varieties.
It is wholly unsuited for commercial vineyards and for years has been
disappearing gradually from cultivation. The fruit is exceptionally
fine, consisting of well-formed bunches and berries, the latter
handsome yellowish-white and semi-transparent. In quality, the grapes
are of the best, with a rich, sweet flavor and pleasing aroma. But the
vine characters condemn Rebecca for any but the amateur. The vines
lack in hardiness and vigor, are susceptible to mildew and other fungi
and are productive only under the best conditions. The original vine
was an accidental seedling found in the garden of E. M. Peake, Hudson,
New York, and bore its first fruit in 1852.
Vine weak, sometimes vigorous, doubtfully hardy. Canes long,
numerous, slender, dull brown, deepening in color at the nodes;
tendrils continuous or intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves
variable in size; upper surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower
surface grayish-green, pubescent. Flowers self-fertile; stamens
upright.
Fruit late mid-season, ships and keeps well. Clusters small,
short, cylindrical, rarely with a small, single shoulder, compact.
Berries of medium size, oval, green with yellow tinge verging on
amber, thin gray bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, without
pigment; flesh pale green, very juicy, tender, melting, vinous, a
little foxy, sweet; good to very good. Seeds free, short, narrow,
blunt, brown.
RED EAGLE
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Red Eagle is a pure-bred seedling of Black Eagle which it resembles in
all characters except color of fruit. Vine and fruit exhibit the
characters found in Rogers' hybrids. It takes high rank as a grape of
quality and can be recommended for the garden. The variety originated
with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, and was sent out in 1888.
Vine medium in vigor and hardiness, productive. Canes few,
slender, dark brown with heavy bloom; nodes prominent, flattened;
tendrils continuous or intermittent, long, bifid. Leaves thick;
upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower surface
grayish-green, pubescent; lobes three to five with terminus
obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and
overlapping; basal sinus wide; lateral sinus deep, wide; teeth
deep, wide. Flowers semi-fertile, late; stamens upright.
Fruit early mid-season, keeps well. Clusters small, broad,
tapering, single-shouldered, sometimes double-shouldered, loose
with many abortive berries; pedicel very long, slender; brush
green with brown tinge. Berries variable in size, round, light to
very dark red with heavy bloom, persistent, soft; skin thick,
tender, adherent with some red pigment; flesh green, transparent,
juicy, very tender, melting, slightly foxy, tart; very good. Seeds
free, one to five, large, long, blunt, light brown.
REGAL
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
Regal is an offspring of Lindley, which it greatly resembles. The
fruit is attractive in appearance and high in quality. A seemingly
insignificant fault might make Regal undesirable in a commercial
vineyard; the clusters are borne so close to the wood that it is
difficult to harvest the fruit and avoid injury to the berries next to
the wood. The variety is worthy of extensive culture in vineyards and
gardens. Regal originated with W. A. Woodward, Rockford, Illinois, in
1879.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, very productive. Canes intermediate
in length and size, numerous, dark reddish-brown. Tendrils
intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large; upper surface green,
glossy and rugose; lower surface pale green with a bronze tinge,
strongly pubescent. Flowers self-fertile, mid-season; stamens
upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Clusters small, broad, cylindrical,
usually with a short single shoulder, sometimes double-shouldered,
very compact. Berries large, round, purplish-red with faint bloom,
persistent. Skin thin, tough, without pigment. Flesh pale green,
very juicy, fine-grained, tender, musky; good. Seeds free,
numerous, long, narrow, notched, blunt with a short neck, brown.
REQUA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
This is one of Rogers' hybrids which equals other grapes of its color
and season. The grapes are attractive in cluster and berry and are of
very good quality but are subject to rot and ripen too late for
northern regions. The variety was named Requa in 1869, it having been
previously known as No. 28.
Vine vigorous, hardy except in severe winters, medium in
productiveness. Canes long, thick; tendrils continuous or
intermittent, trifid or bifid. Leaves medium in size, dark green,
often thick and rugose; lower surface grayish-green, pubescent.
Flowers semi-fertile, late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit late, keeps long. Clusters large, cylindrical, often with a
long, single shoulder, compact. Berries large, oval, dark, dull
red covered with thin bloom, strongly adherent; skin thin, tough,
adherent; flesh pale green, tender, stringy, vinous, foxy, sweet;
good to very good. Seeds adherent, medium in size and length,
broad, blunt.
ROCHESTER
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The fruit of Rochester is a large-clustered red grape, handsome and
very good in quality. The vine is a strong grower, productive and free
from diseases. The variety is difficult to propagate and, therefore,
not in favor with nurserymen. The grapes are sweet, rich and vinous
but should be used as soon as ripe, as they do not keep well and the
berries quickly shatter from the bunch. As an attractive early red
grape, Rochester is worth a place in the garden and in favored
locations for a special market. Ellwanger and Barry, Rochester, New
York, in 1867 grew Rochester from mixed seed of Delaware, Diana,
Concord and Rebecca.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, dark reddish-brown;
nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils
intermittent, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large; upper surface
light green, glossy, smooth; lower surface grayish-green,
pubescent; lobes one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus
deep; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus shallow; teeth shallow.
Flowers fertile, mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit does not keep well. Clusters large, broad, tapering, usually
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender with few warts;
brush slender, yellowish-brown. Berries medium, oval,
purplish-red, dull with thin, lilac bloom, drop from the
pedicel, soft; skin thick, tough, inclined to crack, free, without
pigment, astringent; flesh pale green, transparent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained, vinous, sweet; good to very good. Seeds free, one to
three, large, short, broad, dark brown.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.--Wyoming (×2/3).]
ROMMEL
(Labrusca, Vulpina, Vinifera)
Rommel is rarely cultivated in the North, because the vines lack in
robustness, hardiness and productiveness and are susceptible to the
leaf-hopper; and the grapes do not attain high quality and crack as
they ripen. The bunch and berry are attractive in form, size and
color. At its best, Rommel is a good table-grape and makes a fine
white wine. It is worth growing in the South. T. V. Munson, Denison,
Texas, originated Rommel in 1885, from seed of Elvira pollinated by
Triumph, and introduced it in 1889.
Vine vigorous in the South. Canes long, numerous, thick,
reddish-brown, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, often flattened;
internodes short; tendrils intermittent, long, bifid or trifid.
Leaves medium in size, round, thick; upper surface light green,
dull, rugose; lower surface pale green, free from pubescence but
slightly hairy; leaf not lobed, terminus acute to acuminate;
petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal
sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow when present; teeth deep.
Flowers semi-fertile, late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, ships and keeps well. Clusters medium to short,
broad, cylindrical, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender,
smooth; brush short, pale green. Berries large, roundish, light
green with a yellow tinge, glossy, persistent, firm; skin thin,
cracks badly, tender, adherent, without pigment or astringency;
flesh greenish, translucent, juicy, tender, melting, stringy,
sweet; fair to good. Seeds free, one to four, broad,
sharp-pointed, plump, brown.
ROSAKI
(Vinifera)
Rosaki is a table-and raisin-grape of southeastern Europe and Asia
Minor. According to some of the California nursery companies, it is
grown in that state under the name Dattier de Beyrouth, although it
would seem from French descriptions that there is a separate, very
late variety of the latter name. Rosaki is similar to Malaga and there
is a possibility that in some of the warmer parts of the East, it may
be grown commercially as a substitute for the latter. The variety
seems to be little grown on the Pacific slope.
Vines vigorous, usually very productive. Leaves large, roundish,
rugose, usually five-lobed; terminal lobe acuminate; petiolar
sinus moderately deep to deep, medium broad; lower lateral sinus
shallow, broad, occasionally lacking; upper lateral sinus shallow
to medium, broad; margins broadly and bluntly dentate. Fruit
ripens the third week in October, keeping qualities excellent;
clusters large, loose, tapering, shouldered; berries large to very
large, oval to long-oval, pale yellow-green; flesh translucent,
tender, meaty, vinous, sprightly; quality good to very good.
ROSE OF PERU
(Vinifera)
Rose of Peru is a favorite table-grape in California, confused with
and possibly the same as Black Prince. Its chief commendable
characters are handsome appearance and high quality of fruit and very
productive vines. It is not adapted for shipping and does not enter
plentifully into commerce. Its season is so late that the variety is
hardly worth trying in the East, and yet it has matured in favorable
seasons at Geneva, New York. The following description is compiled:
Vine vigorous, healthy, productive; wood short-jointed, dark
brown. Leaves of medium size; deep green above, lighter green and
tomentose below. Bunches very large, shouldered, very loose, often
scraggly; berry large, round, black with firm, crackling flesh;
skin rather thin and tender; flavor sweet and rich; quality very
good to best. Season late, keeping rather well but not shipping
well.
SALEM
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
_Rogers' No. 22, Rogers' No. 53_
Salem (Plate XXVII) is the one of Rogers' hybrids of which the
originator is said to have thought most, and to which he gave the name
of his place of residence. The two chief faults, unproductiveness and
susceptibility to mildew, are not found in all localities, and in
these districts, near good markets, Salem ought to rank high as a
commercial fruit. The vine is hardy, vigorous and productive and bears
handsome fruit of high quality. This variety was christened Salem by
Rogers in 1867, two years earlier than his other hybrids were named.
Vine vigorous, hardy, variable in productiveness. Canes long, dark
brown; nodes enlarged; tendrils continuous or intermittent, long,
bifid or trifid. Leaves variable in size; upper surface dark
green, dull; lower surface pale green with slight bronze tinge,
pubescent; lobes one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus
deep, narrow, often overlapping; basal sinus lacking; lateral
sinus shallow, narrow, notched. Flowers sterile, mid-season;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, short, broad,
tapering, heavily shouldered, compact; pedicel short, thick with
small warts, enlarged at point of attachment to berry; brush
short, pale green. Berries large, round, dark red, dull,
persistent, soft; skin thick, adherent, without pigment,
astringent; flesh translucent, juicy, tender, stringy,
fine-grained, vinous, sprightly; good to very good. Seeds one to
six, large, long and broad, blunt, brown.
SCUPPERNONG
(Rotundifolia)
_American Muscadine, Bull, Bullace, Bullet, Fox Grape, Green
Scuppernong, Green Muscadine, Hickman, Muscadine, Roanoke_
Scuppernong is preëminently the grape of the South, the chief
representative of the great species, _V. rotundifolia_, which runs
riot in natural luxuriance from Delaware and Maryland to the Gulf and
westward from the Atlantic to Arkansas and Texas. Scuppernong vines
are found on arbors, in gardens, or half wild, on trees and fences on
nearly every farm in the South Atlantic states. As a rule, these vines
receive little cultivation, are unpruned and are given no care of any
kind; but even under neglect they produce large crops. The vines are
almost immune to mildew, rot, phylloxera, or other fungal or insect
pests; they give not only an abundance of fruit but on arbors and
trellises are much prized for their shade and beauty. The fruit, to a
palate accustomed to other grapes, is not very acceptable, having a
musky flavor and a somewhat repugnant odor, which, however, with
familiarity becomes quite agreeable. The pulp is sweet and juicy but
is lacking in sprightliness. The grapes are not suitable for the
market since the berries drop from the bunch in ripening and become
more or less smeared with juice so that their appearance is not
appetizing.
Vine vigorous, not hardy in the North, very productive. Canes
long, numerous, slender, ash-gray to grayish-brown; surface
smooth, thickly covered with small, light brown dots; tendrils
intermittent, simple. Leaves small, thin; upper surface light
green, smooth; lower surface very pale green, pubescent along the
ribs; veins inconspicuous. Flowers very late; stamens reflexed.
Fruit late, ripens unevenly, berries drop as they mature. Clusters
small, round, unshouldered, loose. Berries few in a cluster,
large, round, dull green, often with brown tinge, firm; skin
thick, tough with many small russet dots; flesh pale green, juicy,
tender, soft, fine-grained, foxy, sweet to agreeably tart; fair to
good. Seeds adherent, large, short, broad, unnotched, blunt,
plump, surface smooth, brown.
SECRETARY
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca)
Injured by mildew and rot which attack leaves, fruit and young wood,
the vines of Secretary are able to produce good grapes only in
exceptional seasons and in favored localities. The fruit characters
of Secretary, however, give the grapes exceptionally high quality, the
berries being meaty yet juicy, fine-grained and tender, with a sweet,
spicy, vinous flavor. The bunches are large, well-formed, with
medium-sized, purplish-black berries covered with thick bloom, making
a very handsome cluster. While the vine and foliage somewhat resemble
those of Clinton, one of its parents, the variety is not nearly as
hardy, vigorous nor productive. Moreover, in any but favored
localities in the North, its maturity is somewhat uncertain. These
defects keep Secretary from becoming of commercial importance and make
it of value only to the amateur. Secretary is one of the first
productions of J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, the original vine
coming from seed of Clinton fertilized by Muscat Hamburg, planted in
1867.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, variable in productiveness. Canes
numerous, light brown, conspicuously darker at nodes, surface
covered with thin, blue bloom; tendrils intermittent, bifid.
Leaves small to medium, thin; upper surface light green, dull,
smooth; lower surface pale green, glabrous. Flowers semi-fertile,
early; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens after Concord, keeps and ships well. Clusters large,
long, cylindrical with a large, single shoulder, often loose and
with many abortive fruits. Berries large, round, flattened at
attachment to pedicel, dark purplish-black, glossy, persistent,
firm; skin tough with wine-colored pigment; flesh green, juicy,
fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds free, large,
broad, notched, long, dark brown.
SENASQUA
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The vine of Senasqua lacks in vigor, hardiness, productiveness and
health. The grapes are of good quality, and when well grown are up to
the average fruits of the Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids. Unfortunately the
berries have a tendency to crack which is aggravated by the bunches
being so compact as to crowd the berries. Senasqua is one of the
latest grapes to open its buds and is, therefore, seldom injured by
late frosts. It can be recommended only for the garden for the sake
of variety. Stephen W. Underhill of Crown Point, New York, originated
Senasqua from seed of Concord pollinated by Black Prince.
Vine weak and tender, often unproductive. Canes short, few,
reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils intermittent,
long, trifid or bifid. Leaves light green, glossy, rugose; lower
surface whitish-green, pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with
terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal and lateral sinuses
shallow and narrow when present. Flowers fertile, late; stamens
upright.
Fruit a little later than Concord, keeps well. Clusters large,
broad, irregularly tapering, usually with a small, single
shoulder, very compact; pedicel thick, smooth, enlarged at point
of attachment; brush short, reddish. Berries large, round,
reddish-black, persistent, firm; skin thick, tender, cracks,
adherent, contains some wine-colored pigment; flesh green,
translucent, juicy, tender, meaty, vinous, spicy; good. Seeds
free, one to five, long, narrow, one-sided, light brown.
SULTANA
(Vinifera)
This variety was formerly the standard seedless grape in California
for home use and raisins, but it is now outstripped by Sultanina.
Sultana is possibly better flavored than Sultanina but the vines are
hardly as vigorous or productive and the berries often have seeds. The
description is compiled.
Vines vigorous, upright, productive. Leaves large, five-lobed,
with large sinuses, light in color, coarsely toothed. Bunches
large, long, cylindrical, heavily shouldered, sometimes not well
filled, often loose and scraggly; berries small, round, firm and
crisp, golden-yellow, sweet with considerable piquancy; quality
good.
SULTANINA
(Vinifera)
_Thompson's Seedless_
Sultanina is one of the standard seedless grapes of the Pacific slope,
grown both to eat out of hand and for raisins. Probably it can be
grown in home plantations in favored parts of eastern America where
the season is long and warm. The following description is compiled
from Californian viticulturists:
Vine very vigorous, very productive; trunk large with very long
canes. Leaves glabrous on both sides, dark yellow-green above,
light below; generally three-lobed, with shallow sinuses; teeth
short and obtuse. Bunch large, conico-cylindrical, well filled,
with herbaceous peduncles; berries oval, beautiful golden-yellow
color; skin moderately thick; flesh of rather neutral flavor; very
good.
TAYLOR
(Vulpina, Labrusca)
_Bullitt_
While it is from the species to which Taylor belongs that we must look
for our hardiest vines, nevertheless this grape and its offspring,
although not tender to cold, do best in southern regions, as they
require a long warm summer to mature properly. The quality of the
fruit of Taylor is fair to good, the flavor being sweet, pure,
delicate and spicy and the flesh tender and juicy; but the bunches are
small and the flowers are infertile so that the berries do not set
well, making very imperfect and unsightly clusters. The skin is such,
also, that it cracks badly, a defect seemingly transmitted to many of
the seedlings of the variety. The vine is strong, healthy, hardy but
not very productive. The original vine of Taylor was a wild seedling
found in the early part of the last century on the Cumberland
Mountains near the Kentucky-Tennessee line by a Mr. Cobb.
Vine vigorous to rank, healthy, hardy, variable in productiveness.
Leaves small, attractive in color, smooth. Flowers bloom early;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit ripens about two weeks before Isabella. Clusters small to
medium, shouldered, loose or moderately compact. Berries small to
medium, roundish, pale greenish-white, sometimes tinged with
amber; skin very thin; pulp sweet, spicy; fair to good in quality.
TRIUMPH
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
When quality, color, shape and size of bunch and berry are considered,
Triumph (Plate XXVIII) is one of the finest dessert grapes of America.
At its best, it is a magnificent bunch of golden grapes of highest
quality, esteemed even in southern Europe where it must compete with
the best of the Viniferas. In America, however, its commercial
importance is curtailed by the fact that the fruit requires a long
season for proper development. Triumph has, in general, the vine
characters of the Labrusca parent, Concord, especially its habit of
growth, vigor, productiveness and foliage characters, falling short in
hardiness, resistance to fungal diseases and earliness of fruit, the
fruit maturing with or a little later than Catawba. While the vine
characters of Triumph are those of Labrusca, there is scarcely a
suggestion of the coarseness, or of the foxy odor and taste of
Labrusca, and the objectionable seeds, pulp and skin of the native
grape give way to the far less objectionable structures of Vinifera.
The flesh is tender and melting and the flavor rich, sweet, vinous,
pure and delicate. The skins of the berries under unfavorable
conditions crack badly, the variety, therefore, neither shipping nor
keeping well. Triumph was grown soon after the Civil War by George W.
Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, from seed of Concord fertilized by Chasselas
Musque.
Vine vigorous. Canes long, dark brown with much bloom; nodes
enlarged; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid, sometimes bifid.
Leaves large; upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower
surface grayish-white, pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with
terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and
overlapping; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus shallow and narrow
when present; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, late;
stamens upright.
Fruit very late. Clusters very large, long, broad, cylindrical,
sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, smooth;
brush short, yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, oval, golden
yellow, glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin,
inclined to crack, adherent, without pigment, slightly
astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained,
tender, vinous; good to very good. Seeds free, one to five, small,
brown.
ULSTER
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The vines of Ulster set too much fruit in spite of efforts to control
the crop by pruning; two undesirable results follow, the bunches are
small and the vines, lacking vigor at best, fail to recover from the
overfruitfulness. These defects keep the variety from becoming of
importance commercially or even a favorite as a garden grape. The
quality of the fruit is very good, being much like that of Catawba,
and under favorable conditions it is an attractive green with a red
tinge. The fruit keeps well when the variety is grown under conditions
suited to it. Ulster originated with A. J. Caywood, Marlboro, New
York, and was introduced by him about 1885. Its parents are said to be
Catawba pollinated by a wild Æstivalis. Both vine and fruit show
traces of Labrusca and Vinifera, but the Æstivalis characters, if
present, are not apparent.
Vine hardy, productive, overbears. Canes short, slender, dark
brown, surface roughened and covered with faint pubescence; nodes
enlarged and flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent,
bifid, dehisce early. Leaves small, thick; upper surface light
green, glossy, smooth; lower surface grayish-white, pubescent;
leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus medium
to wide; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus a notch when present;
teeth shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season. Clusters long, cylindrical, often
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, with numerous warts;
brush short, yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, round, dark
dull red with thin bloom, persistent; skin thick, tough, adherent,
astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tender,
fine-grained, faintly aromatic, slightly foxy; good to very good.
Seeds free, one to six, medium in size, plump, brown.
VERDAL
(Vinifera)
_Aspiran Blanc_
Verdal is one of the standard late grapes of the Pacific slope,
ripening among the last. The grapes are seen seldom in distant markets
and the quality is not quite good enough to make it a very great
favorite for home plantations. Vigor and hardiness of vines commend it
as do the large and handsome fruits, and these qualities, with late
ripening, will probably long keep it on grape lists in the far West.
The description is compiled.
Vines vigorous, hardy, healthy and productive; canes rather
slender, half erect. Leaves of medium size, glabrous on both
surfaces, except below near the axis of the main nerve; sinuses
well marked and generally closed, giving the leaf the appearance
of having five holes; teeth long, unequal, acuminate. Bunches
large to very large, irregular, long-conical, usually compact;
shoulders small or lacking; berries large or very large,
yellowish-green; skin thick but tender; flesh crisp, firm; flavor
agreeable but not rich; quality good. Season very late, keeping
and shipping well.
VERGENNES
(Labrusca)
The most valuable attribute of Vergennes (Plate XXIX) is certainty in
bearing. The vine seldom fails to bear although it often overbears,
causing variability in size of fruits and time of ripening. With a
moderate crop, the grapes ripen with Concord, but with a heavy load
from one to two weeks later. Vergennes is somewhat unpopular with
vineyardists because of the sprawling habit of the vines which makes
them untractable for vineyard operations; this fault is obviated by
grafting on other vines. The grapes are attractive, the quality is
good, flavor agreeable, the flesh tender, and seeds and skin are not
objectionable. Vergennes is the standard late-keeping grape for
northern regions, being very common in the markets as late as January.
The original vine was a chance seedling in the garden of William E.
Greene, Vergennes, Vermont, in 1874.
Vine variable in vigor, doubtfully hardy, productive, healthy.
Canes long, dark brown; nodes enlarged, strongly flattened;
tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thin;
upper surface light green, glossy, rugose; lower surface pale
green, very pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus
broadly acute; petiolar sinus wide; teeth shallow. Flowers
semi-sterile, mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit late, keeps and ships well. Clusters of medium size, broad,
cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, loose; pedicel with
numerous small warts; brush slender, short, pale green. Berries
large, oval, light and dark red with thin bloom, persistent; skin
thick, tough, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green, juicy,
fine-grained, somewhat stringy, tender, vinous; good to very good.
Seeds free, one to five, blunt, brown.
WALTER
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)
Were it not almost impossible to grow healthy vines of Walter, the
variety would rank high among American grapes. But stunted by fungi
which attack leaves, young wood and fruit, it is possible only in
exceptionally favorable seasons satisfactorily to produce crops of
this variety. Besides susceptibility to diseases, the vines are
fastidious to soils, everywhere variable in growth and are injured in
cold winters. As if to atone for the faults of the vine, the fruit of
Walter is almost perfect, lacking only in size of bunch and berry. The
bunch and berry resemble those of Delaware, but the fruit is not as
high in quality as that of its parents. Walter is adapted to
conditions under which Delaware thrives. A. J. Caywood, Modena, New
York, grew this variety about 1850 from seed of Delaware pollinated by
Diana.
Vine vigorous. Canes medium in length and size, dark reddish-brown
with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils intermittent,
bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth;
lower surface tinged with bronze, heavily pubescent; lobes one to
three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus
lacking; lateral sinus a notch if present. Flowers mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters medium in size, broad,
cylindrical, usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender,
with small, scattering warts; brush short, slender, green with
brown tinge. Berries small, ovate, red, glossy with thin bloom,
persistent, firm; skin very tough, adheres slightly, unpigmented;
flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tough, somewhat foxy,
vinous, aromatic; good to very good. Seeds adherent, one to four,
small, sharp-pointed, light brown.
WILDER
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
The fruit of Wilder is surpassed in quality and appearance by other of
Rogers' hybrids, but the vine is the most reliable of any of these
hybrid sorts, being vigorous, hardy, productive, and, although
somewhat susceptible to mildew, as healthy as any. Wilder is not as
well known in the markets as it should be, and now that fungal
diseases can be controlled by spraying should be more commonly planted
in commercial vineyards, especially for local markets. Wilder is one
of the forty-five Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids raised by E. S. Rogers,
Salem, Massachusetts, having been described first in 1858.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive, susceptible to mildew. Canes
long, numerous, reddish-brown, darker at the nodes; internodes
long; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large,
irregularly round; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower
surface pale green, pubescent; usually not lobed with terminus
acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping;
basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow, or a mere
notch when present. Flowers self-sterile, mid-season; stamens
reflexed.
Fruit early mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters variable in
size, short, broad, tapering, heavily single-shouldered, loose;
pedicel long, thick with numerous warts; brush thick, green with
tinge of red. Berries large, oval, purplish-black with heavy
bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, adherent to pulp, with bright
red pigment, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender;
good. Seeds adherent, one to five, long, light brown.
WINCHELL
(Labrusca, Vinifera, Æstivalis)
_Green Mountain_
The vines of Winchell (Plate XXX) are vigorous, hardy, healthy,
productive, and the fruit is early, of high quality and ships
well--altogether a most admirable early grape. There are some minor
faults which become drawbacks in the culture of Winchell. The berries,
and under some conditions the bunches, are small and the bunch is
loose with a large shoulder. Sometimes this looseness becomes so
pronounced as to give a straggling, poorly-formed cluster; and the
shoulder, when as large as the cluster itself, which often happens,
makes the cluster unsightly. The grapes shell when fully ripe, a
serious fault. Again, while the crop usually ripens evenly, there are
seasons when two pickings are needed because of the unevenness in
ripening. Lastly, the skin is thin and there is danger in unfavorable
seasons of the berries cracking, although this is seldom a serious
fault. These defects do not offset the several good characters of
Winchell which make it the standard early green grape, deserving to
rank with the best early grapes of any color. The original vine was
raised by James Milton Clough, Stamford, Vermont, about 1850 from seed
of an unknown purple grape.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, very productive. Canes long,
numerous, slender, dark brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged,
flattened; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, bifid.
Leaves large; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower
surface dull green, tinged with bronze, faintly pubescent; lobes
three to five with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep; basal
sinus shallow; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers fertile, mid-season;
stamens upright.
Fruit early, keeps and ships well. Clusters long, slender,
cylindrical, often with a long shoulder, compact; pedicel short,
slender with few inconspicuous warts; brush greenish-white.
Berries small, round, light green, persistent, soft; skin marked
with small, reddish-brown spots, thin, tender, slightly
astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained,
sweet; very good to best. Seeds free, one to four, small, plump,
wide and long, blunt, brown.
WOODRUFF
(Labrusca, Vinifera?)
Woodruff is a handsome, showy, brick-red grape with large clusters and
berries, but its taste belies its looks, for the flesh is coarse and
the flavor poor. The variety would not be worth attention were it not
for its excellent vine characters; the vines are hardy, productive and
healthy. The grapes ripen a little before Concord and come on the
market at a favorable time, especially for a red grape. Woodruff
originated from C. H. Woodruff, Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a chance
seedling which came up in 1874 and fruited first in 1877.
Vine very vigorous, hardy. Canes dark brown; nodes enlarged,
flattened; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves round;
upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower surface
greenish-white, pubescent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus
acute; petiolar sinus wide; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus
shallow and narrow when present; teeth shallow. Flowers
semi-fertile, early; stamens upright.
Fruit ripening before Concord. Clusters broad, widely tapering,
usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, thick, smooth;
brush long, pale green. Berries large, round, dark red, dull,
firm; skin thin, tender, adherent, slightly astringent; flesh pale
green, translucent, juicy, tough, coarse, very foxy; fair in
quality. Seeds adherent, one to five, broad, short, plump, blunt,
brown.
WORDEN
(Labrusca)
Of the many offspring of Concord, Worden (Plate XXXI) is best known
and most meritorious. The grapes differ chiefly from those of Concord
in having larger berries and bunches, in having better quality and in
being a week to ten days earlier. The vine is equally hardy, healthy,
vigorous and productive but is more fastidious in its adaptations to
soil, although now and then it does even better. The chief fault of
the variety is that the fruit cracks badly, often preventing the
profitable marketing of a crop. Besides this tenderness of skin, the
fruit-pulp of Worden is softer than that of Concord, there is more
juice, and the keeping qualities are not as good, so that the grapes
hardly ship as well as those of the more commonly grown grape. Worden
is very popular in northern grape regions both for commercial
plantations and the garden. It is a more desirable inhabitant of the
garden, because of higher quality of fruit than Concord, and under
conditions well suited to it is better as a commercial variety, as the
fruit is handsomer as well as of better quality. In the markets the
fruit ought to sell for a higher price than Concord if desired for
immediate consumption, and if it can be harvested promptly, as it does
not hang well on the vines. Its earlier season is against it for a
commercial variety and, with the defects mentioned, will prevent its
taking the place of Concord to a great degree. Worden was originated
by Schuyler Worden, Minetto, Oswego County, New York, from seed of
Concord planted about 1863.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes large, thick,
dark brown with reddish tinge; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils
continuous, slender, bifid, sometimes trifid. Young leaves tinged
on the under side and along the margins of upper side with
rose-carmine. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green,
glossy, smooth; lower surface light bronze, pubescent; leaf
usually not lobed; petiolar sinus wide, often urn-shaped; teeth
shallow. Flowers fertile, mid-season; stamens upright.
Fruit early. Clusters large, long, broad, tapering, usually
single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender with a few small
warts; brush long, light green. Berries large, round, dark
purplish-black, glossy with heavy bloom, firm; skin tender, cracks
badly, adheres slightly, contains dark red pigment, astringent.
Flesh green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tough, foxy, sweet,
mild; good to very good. Seeds adherent, one to five, large,
broad, short, blunt, brown.
WYOMING
(Labrusca)
_Hopkins Early Red, Wilmington Red, Wyoming Red_
Such value as Wyoming (Plate XXXII) possesses lies in the hardiness,
productiveness and healthiness of the vine. The appearance of the
fruit is very good, the bunches are well formed and composed of rich
amber-colored berries of medium size. The quality, however, is poor,
being that of the wild Labrusca in foxiness of flavor and in flesh
characters. It is not nearly as valuable as some other of the red
Labruscas hitherto described and can hardly be recommended either for
the garden or the vineyard. Wyoming was introduced by S. J. Parker of
Ithaca, New York, who states that it came from Pennsylvania in 1861.
Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes numerous,
slender, dark reddish-brown covered with blue bloom; nodes
enlarged, frequently flattened; tendrils continuous, short, bifid.
Leaves of average size and thickness; upper surface light green,
dull, smooth; lower surface dull green with tinge of bronze,
pubescent; lobes one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus
shallow, wide; basal sinus usually wanting; lateral sinus shallow
and wide when present; teeth shallow. Flowers sterile, mid-season;
stamens reflexed.
Fruit early, keeps well. Clusters slender, cylindrical, compact;
pedicel short, slender with small warts; brush slender, pale green
with brown tinge. Berries medium, round, rich amber red with thin
bloom, persistent, firm; skin tender, adherent, astringent; flesh
pale green, translucent, juicy, tough, solid, strongly foxy,
vinous; poor in quality. Seeds adherent, one to three, slightly
notched, light brown.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Bioletti, Frederic T. _Report of International Congress of
Viticulture_, 88. 1915.
[2] Anthony, R. D. _N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta., Bul. 632_: 88. 1917.
[3] Bioletti, Frederic T. _Calif. Exp. Sta., Bul. 180_: 135. 1906.
[4] _Ibid._, 136-138.
[5] Bioletti, Frederic T. _Calif. Exp. Sta., Bul. 180_: 108-112.
[6] Bioletti, Frederic T. _Calif. Exp. Sta., Bul. 180_: 113-118.
[7] Munson, T. V. _Foundations of American Grape Culture_, 217. 1909.
[8] Bioletti, Frederic T. _Calif. Exp. Sta., Bul. 180_: 96-97. 1906.
[9] For an account of this experiment, see Bul. 381 of the N. Y. Agr.
Exp. Sta., Geneva.
[10] Quoted from Bul. No. 381, N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta.
[11] Each weight is of 300 green leaves, 5 from each of 60 vines. The
first leaf beyond the last cluster was selected.
[12] Amount to the acre of wood pruned in fall.
[13] Number to the acre.
[14] Munson, T. V. _Foundations of American Grape Culture_: 224-227.
1909.
[15] Husmann, George C., and Dearing, Charles. _Muscadine Grapes. Bul.
709, U. S. Dept. Agr._: 16-19. 1916.
[16] The remainder of this chapter is republished by permission from
_Bul. 246, Calif. Exp. Sta., Vine Pruning in California_, published in
1916 by F. T. Bioletti. Not all of the bulletin is reproduced, but the
parts republished are transcribed verbatim. All of the illustrations
in this chapter have been redrawn from Professor Bioletti's bulletin.
[17] The following account is founded on work carried on by the author
at the N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta., accounts of which have been given before
several horticultural societies in 1916, 1917 and 1918.
[18] Husmann, Geo. C., and Dearing, Charles. _The Muscadine Grapes_,
U. S. Dept. Agr. Bul. 273: 33-36. 1913.
[19] Husmann, George C. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bul. No. 644.
[20] Husmann, George C. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bul. No. 349. 1916.
INDEX
(Names of species, and synonyms of varietal names, are in italics.)
Actoni, 330.
Adaptations of stocks, 66.
Adlum, John, mentioned, 58.
_Admirable_, 373.
_Adoxus obscurus_, 216.
Æstivalis grapes, 11.
Affinity of stock and cion, 67.
Agawam, 331.
Air currents, 27.
_Alabama_, 401.
Alexander, 5, 6.
_Alexander_, 391.
Alicante, for forcing, 198.
Alleys, 75.
Almeria, 331.
Amadas & Barlowe, mentioned, 5.
America, 332.
_American Muscadine_, 435.
Aminia, 333.
Anaheim disease, 226.
Anthony, on grafting, 47.
Anthracnose, control of, 223.
description of, 223.
Aramon × Rupestris, 2, 64.
Arbors, training vines on, 142.
_Arkansas_, 345, 357.
_Arnold's Hybrid_, 422.
_Aspiran Blanc_, 442.
August Giant, 333.
Bacchus, 324.
Bagging grapes, 293.
cost of, 294.
Bakator, 335.
Barbarossa, for forcing, 197.
Bark, structure of, 303.
Barry, 335.
Bartram, on the Alexander, 7.
Beach Grape, 313.
Beacon, 336.
_Beaconsfield_, 346.
Beak defined, 308.
Bench grafting, 50.
essentials of, 50.
operation of, 51.
preparing cuttings for, 51.
Berckmans, 337.
Berry, characters of, 308.
Bioletti, on callusing beds, 56.
on grafting, 48, 52.
on pruning in California, 151.
on resistant stocks, 63.
quoted, 18.
Bird Grape, 312.
Bitter-rot, 225.
_Black Cape_, 391.
_Black Cornichon_, 429.
Black Eagle, 338.
_Black El Paso_, 401.
_Black German_, 406.
Black Hamburg, for forcing, 197.
_Black July_, 401.
Black Malvoise, 339.
Black Morocco, 339.
_Black Muscat_, 415.
Black rot, control of, 320.
description of, 319.
_Black Spanish_, 401.
Bloom defined, 301.
Blooming dates of grapes, 288.
Blooming, time of, 305.
_Blue French_, 401.
Blue Grape, 318, 322.
Borders in graperies, making, 195.
care of, 195.
_Bottsi_, 382.
Bowed canes, 174.
Branches defined, 301.
Brighton, 340.
Brilliant, 341.
Brown, 342.
_Brown French_, 382.
Brush defined, 307.
Buckland Sweetwater, for forcing, 197.
Buds, characters of, 304.
defined, 304.
_Bull_, 435.
Bull, Ephraim W., mentioned, 9.
Bull Grape, 310.
_Bullace_, 435.
Bullace Grape, 310.
_Bullet_, 435.
Bullet Grape, 310.
_Bullitt_, 439.
Bunch Grape, 318.
_Burgundy_, 401.
Bush Grape, 312.
Bushy Grape, 310.
By-products of the grape, 269.
Callusing bed, 56.
Campbell Early, 342.
Canada, 343.
_Canadian Hamburg_, 422.
_Canadian Hybrid_, 422.
Canandaigua, 344.
Canandaigua Lake grape region, 21.
Cane-renewal, 116.
Canes, characters of, 303.
defined, 301.
disposition of, in pruning, 124.
Care of young vines, 87.
Carman, 344.
Catawba, 345.
history of, 8.
_Catawba Tokay_, 345.
Catch crops, 89, 90.
Cato, on grafting, 45.
quoted, 76.
Cayuga Lake grape region, 21.
Central Lake grape region, 20.
Chalaza defined, 308.
Champagne, 253.
Champagne industry, 21.
Champion, 346.
Chasselas Golden, 347.
_Chasselas Dore_, 347.
Chasselas Rose, 348.
Chautauqua, 348.
Chautauqua grape-belt, 18.
Chautauqua training, 125.
_Cherokee_, 345.
Chicken Grape, 317, 318.
_Cigar Box Grape_, 401.
Clevener, 349.
Climate and grape-growing, 23.
Clinton, 15, 350.
Colerain, 351.
Columbian Imperial, 351.
_Columbian Jumbo_, 351.
Commercial factors, 30.
Concord, 352.
history of, 9.
Constantia, 391.
Coöperative fertilizer experiments, 102.
Cordon pruning, 153.
Cordons, horizontal, 176.
vertical, 175.
Cottage, 354.
Coulure, 226.
Cover-crops, 89, 91.
_Craponius inæqualis_, 217.
Cream of tartar, 270.
Cross-pollination, 284.
Croton, 355.
Crown-gall, 225.
_Cryptosporella viticola_, 224.
Cunningham, 356.
Cuttings, dormant, 38.
hard-wood, 38.
herbaceous, 42.
planting, 39.
single-eye, 40.
time to make, 38.
Cutting wood, selecting, 38.
Cut-worms on grapes, 315.
Cynthiana, 357.
Dead-arm disease, control of, 324.
description of, 324.
Delaware, 11, 358.
Depth to plant, 86.
_Desmia funeralis_, 216.
Determinants of grape regions, 22.
_Devereaux_, 401.
Diamond, 359.
Diana, 360.
Diaphragm, characters of, 303.
defined, 301.
Digging holes, 83.
Direct producers, 71.
Direction of rows, 74.
Distances in planting, 75.
_Dodrelabi_, 379.
_Dorchester_, 391.
Double-headed vines, 174.
Double Kniffin, 135.
Downing, 361.
Downy mildew, control of, 222.
description of, 220.
Dracut Amber, 362.
Drainage for grapes, 28, 77.
Duck-shot Grape, 318.
_Dunn_, 382.
Dutchess, 362.
Dynamite in digging holes, 84.
_Early Champion_, 346.
Early Daisy, 363.
Early Ohio, 364.
Early Victor, 364.
Eaton, 365.
Eclipse, 366.
Eden, 367.
Egg Harbor grape region, 22.
Eldorado, 368.
Elvira, 369.
Emasculating grape-flowers, 279.
Emperor, 369.
Empire State, 370.
Etta, 371.
Eumelan, 371.
European grapes, in eastern America, 184.
grafting, 186.
varieties for eastern America, 191.
Everbearing Grape, 312.
Exposures for grapes, 34.
Factors limiting yield, 105.
Faith, 372.
Fall Grape, 318.
_Fancher_, 345.
Fan-training, 131.
Feher Szagos, 373.
_Fern_, 373.
Fern Munson, 373.
Fertilizers, applying, 106.
effects on leaves, 102.
effects on vines, 102.
effects on yield, 101, 102.
experiment, 98.
necessity of, 97.
when needed, 106.
_Fidia viticida_, 206.
Fitting land, 78.
Flame Tokay, 374.
Flesh, characters of, 308.
Florida Grape, 312.
Flowers, 373.
Flower, characters of, 305.
_Fontainebleau_, 347.
Fox Grape, 317, 324.
_Fox Grape_, 435.
Fox grapes, cultivation of, 7.
Foxiness defined, 307.
_French Grape_, 358.
Frost Grape, 317.
Frosts and grape-growing, 25.
Fruit-bearing, manner of, 113.
Fruit, characters of, 307.
parts of, 307.
Fungi, determinants of grape regions, 29.
Fungous diseases of the grape, 218.
Gaertner, 375.
Geneva, 376.
_Gibbs Grape_, 391.
Gladwin, on Chautauqua training, 126.
on Keuka training, 129.
on vineyard returns, 248.
_Glomerella rufomaculans_, 225.
"Go-devil," 119.
Goethe, 377.
Gold Coin, 377.
_Golden Chasselas_, 424.
Grading grapes, 235.
Grading land, 78.
Grafting, 45.
at New York Station, 46.
bundling grafts after, 55.
essentials of, 45.
European grapes, 186.
rooted cuttings, 56.
Grafted vineyards, care of, 48.
Grafting wax, 54.
Grafts, care of, in nursery, 58.
number made per hour, 56.
Grape, botany of, 300.
by-products of, 269.
domestication of, 1.
habitats of, 4.
habits of growth of, 302.
mutations in the, 60.
number of species of, 1.
organs of, 300.
pests of, 204.
products, 250.
Grape-berry moth, control of, 215.
life history of, 213.
Grape-breeding, 273.
results of, 282.
Grape-curculio, 217.
Grape hawk-moth, 217.
Grape-hybrids, 274.
Grape-juice, commercial making, 258.
development of industry, 257.
making at home, 262.
regions in which made, 257.
Grape leaf-folder, 216.
Grape leaf-hopper, control of, 213.
life history of, 211.
Grape regions, determinants of, 16.
in California, 18.
Grape root-worm, Californian, 216.
eastern, control of, 206.
life history of, 206.
Grape seedlings, 37.
Graperies, 193.
borders in, 195.
care of vines in, 201.
construction of, 193.
essentials of, 194.
heating, 194.
varieties for, 196.
ventilating, 194, 202.
watering, 202.
Grapes, American, 4.
classified as to self-fertility, 296.
domestic use of, 271.
European, 2.
forcing, 194.
immunity to disease, 303.
immunity to insects, 303.
propagation of, 37.
under glass, 192.
Grape-vinegar, 269.
Grape-vine root-borer, 217.
Grape-vine flea-beetle, control of, 209.
life history of, 208.
Greeley, Horace, mentioned, 9.
Green Early, 378.
_Green Mountain_, 445.
_Green Scuppernong_, 435.
Grein Golden, 378.
Grizzly Frontignan, for forcing, 197.
Gros Colman, 379.
for forcing, 197.
_Guignardia Bidwellii_, 220.
_Haltica chalybea_, 209.
Hardiness of grapes, 302.
Hartford, 380.
Hartzell, mentioned, 213.
Harvesting, in California, 243.
in the East, 230.
Muscadine grapes, 240.
Hawkins, Captain John, mentioned, 5.
Hayes, 381.
Heading-back canes, 116.
Headlight, 281.
Heart-leaved Vitis, 317.
Heating vineyards, 25.
Heeling-in vines, 82.
_Helene_, 391.
Herbaceous cuttings, 42.
Herbemont, 12, 382.
Herbert, 383.
Hercules, 384.
Hermann grape region, 22.
_Hickman_, 435.
Hicks, 285.
Hidalgo, 385.
Highland, 386.
_Hilgarde_, 373.
Hilum defined, 308.
Hopkins, 387.
_Hopkins Early Red_, 448.
Horizontal cordons, 176.
Hosford, 388.
Hudson horizontal training, 141.
Hudson River grape region, 21.
Humidity in grape-growing, 25.
_Hunt_, 382.
Husmann, on making grape-juice, 258.
on raisin-making, 264.
Husmann & Dearing, on harvesting Muscadine grapes, 240.
on pruning Muscadine grapes, 143.
Hybrid Franc, 388.
Hybridizing grapes, 278.
Hybrids, secondary, 276.
Ideal, 389.
Improved Kniffin, 135.
Inflorescences, number of, in species, 304.
Insect pests, 204.
Insects as determinants of grape regions, 29.
Internodes defined, 301.
Iona, 390.
Irrigation, 95.
Isabella, 390.
_Isabella_, 391.
Isabella Seedling, 392.
Israella, 392.
Ives, 393.
_Jack_, 401.
James, 394.
Janesville, 394.
_Jaques_, 401.
Jarring Muscadine grapes, 241.
Jefferson, 395.
Jefferson, Thomas, on native grapes, 5.
Jessica, 396.
Jewel, 397.
_Joannenc_, 402.
_Jordan_, 415.
_July Sherry_, 401.
_Kay's Seedling_, 382.
_Keller's White_, 345.
Kensington, 398.
Kentucky Vineyard Society, 7.
Keuka Lake grape region, 21.
King, 399.
_Kittredge_, 393.
Kniffin, Wm., mentioned, 132.
Labels for packages, 238.
Labor, determinant of grape regions, 32.
_Ladies' Choice_, 358.
Lady, 399.
Lady Downs, for forcing, 198.
Lady Washington, 400.
Lake Erie grape region, 22.
Laterals defined, 301.
Lawton grape region, 22.
Layering, 42.
dormant wood, 43.
essentials of, 43.
green wood, 44.
to fill vacancies, 44.
Laying down vines, 295.
Laying out vineyards, 74.
Leaf-margins, characters of, 307.
Leaf, characters of, 307.
parts of, 306.
_Lebanon_, 345.
Legaux, Peter, mentioned, 7.
Leif the Lucky, mentioned, 5.
Lenoir, 13, 401.
_Lignan Blanc_, 403.
Lime, effects of, 101, 104.
_Lincoln_, 345.
Lindley, 402.
Listan Blanc, 402.
Little Grape, 318.
Little Winter Grape, 318.
_Long_, 356.
Longworth, Nicholas, mentioned, 8.
Lucile, 403.
_Luglienga_, 402.
Lutie, 404.
_Macrodactylus subspinosus_, 210.
Malaga, 405.
_Mammoth Catawba_, 435.
Marion, 406.
_Marion Port_, 406.
Marketing, 230, 246.
coöperative, 246.
Markets, accessibility, 30.
general _versus_ local, 31.
Marking for planting, 79.
Martha, 407.
Massasoit, 408.
Maxatawney, 409.
_McKee_, 382.
McPike, 405.
_Mead's Seedling_, 345.
Mealy-bug, 202.
Memory, 409.
_Memythrus polistiformis_, 217.
Mendel's laws, 281.
_Merceron_, 345.
Merrimac, 410.
_Michigan_, 345.
Mildew in graperies, 203.
Mills, 411.
Mish, 411.
Mission, 412.
Missouri Riesling, 413.
Montefiore, 413.
Moore Early, 414.
Moore, Jacob, mentioned, 276.
Moscatello, 415.
_Moscatello Black_, 415.
Mountain Grape, 313, 318.
Moyer, 415.
_Moyer's Early Red_, 415.
Muncy, 345.
Munson, mentioned, 277.
on pruning, 136.
on resistant species, 63.
Munson method of pruning, 136.
Muscadine Grape, 310.
_Muscadine_, 435.
Muscadine grapes for wine, 256.
Muscatel, 416.
Muscat Hamburg, 417.
for forcing, 197.
Muscat of Alexandria, 418.
Mustang Grape, 323.
of Florida, 312.
Mutations in improving grapes, 277.
Napoleon I, mentioned, 196.
_Neal_, 382.
Niagara, 418.
Niagara grape region, 20.
Nitrogen, benefits from, 101.
Noah, 419.
Nodes defined, 301.
Nodosities, 66.
Northern Æstivalis, 322.
Northern Muscadine, 420.
Northern Summer Grape, 322.
Norton, 421.
Norton, Dr. D. N., mentioned, 11.
Noyes, Dr., mentioned, 15.
Number of vines to the acre, 76.
_Ohio_, 401.
Ohio River grape region, 22.
Oporto, 422.
Othello, 422.
Ozark, 423.
Packages for California, 245.
for eastern America, 236.
for Muscadine grapes, 243.
Packing houses, 233.
construction of, 234.
cost of, 233.
Packing, in the East, 237.
Muscadine grapes, 241.
Packing tables, 234.
Palomino, 424.
Paw Paw grape region, 22.
_Payne's Early_, 391.
Peabody, 424.
Pedicel defined, 305.
Peduncle defined, 305.
Perfection, 425.
Pergolas, training vines on, 142.
Perkins, 426.
Pests in graperies, 202.
Petiole, characters of, 307.
_Pholus achemon_, 217.
Phosphorus, benefits from, 101.
Phylloxera, 13, 61, 205.
control of, 206.
_Phylloxera vastatrix_, 205.
Pickers, 231.
Picking, accounts for, 232.
appliances, 232.
time of, 231.
Pigeon Grape, 318.
Pine-wood Grape, 320.
Piquette, making, 270.
Planting, 83, 85.
distances, 75.
grafted vines, 68.
in graperies, 198.
_Plasmopara viticola_, 220.
Pliny, mentioned, 2.
Plowing the vineyard, 94.
to combat pests, 95.
Pocklington, 426.
Pollen, characters of, 306.
Pollinating in hybridizing, 280.
_Polychrosis viteana_, 214.
Pomace as a by-product, 270.
Possum Grape, 317.
Posts, 119.
bracing, 120.
material, 119.
setting, 120.
Post-oak Grape, 320.
Post-oak grapes, 13.
Potassium, benefits from, 101.
Poughkeepsie, 427.
Powdery mildew, control of, 223.
description of, 222.
_Powell_, 358.
Pre-cooling grapes, 245.
Prentiss, 428.
Preparation for planting, 76, 82.
Preparing vines for planting, 80, 81.
_Prince Edward_, 356.
Prince, W. R., mentioned, 274.
Profits from fertilizers, 101.
Pruning, before planting, 160.
cordon method, 153.
European grapes in eastern America, 107.
fan-shaped, 153, 172.
first summer, 160.
first winter, 161.
for fruit, 112.
for wood, 112.
in eastern America, 108.
Muscadine grapes, 143.
on the Pacific slope, 150.
principles of, 111.
second summer, 161.
second winter, 163.
single vertical cordon, 157.
summer, 115.
third summer, 167.
third winter, 168.
to regulate the crop, 110.
to regulate the vine, 111.
unilateral horizontal cordon, 158.
vase-form, 153.
winter, 114.
work of, 118.
Pruning and training distinguished, 109.
Prunings, collecting, 118.
Purple Cornichon, 429.
Quality defined, 307.
Raffia, in grafting, 54.
Raisin industry, seat of, 263.
Raisin-making, account of, 264.
Raisin output, value of, 263.
Raisins, classes of, 266.
dipping and scalding, 264.
packing, 265.
seeded, 267.
varieties for, 263.
_Randall_, 331.
Raphe defined, 308.
Rating as to resistance to phylloxera, 66.
Rattling, 224.
Rebecca, 429.
Reciprocal influence of stock and cion, 68.
Red Eagle, 430.
_Red River_, 357.
Red-spider in graperies, 202.
Refrigerator cars for grapes, 245.
Regal, 431.
Rejuvenating old vines, 147.
Renewal by canes, 116.
by spurs, 117.
Renewing fruiting wood, 116.
Requa, 431.
Returns from Muscadine grapes, 242.
Ricketts, J. H., mentioned, 274.
Ringing grape vines, 289.
operation of, 290.
results of, 291.
theory of, 290.
Riparia Gloire, 64, 65.
Riparia grande glabre, 64, 65.
Riparia Solonis, 64.
Ripening dates for grapes, 296.
Ripe-rot, control of, 225.
description of, 225.
River Grape, 314.
Riverbank Grape, 314.
Riverbank grapes, 13.
Riverside Grape, 314.
_Roanoke_, 435.
Robins, depredations of, 293.
Rochester, 432.
Rock Grape, 313.
Rogers, E. S., mentioned, 274.
Rommel, 433.
Rommel, Jacob, mentioned, 276.
Root, its parts named, 301.
Root-forms of grapes, 67.
Rootlets defined, 301.
Root-tip defined, 301.
Rosaki, 433.
Rose chafer, control of, 211.
life history of, 210.
Rose of Peru, 434.
_Rose of Tennessee_, 345.
Rotundifolia grapes, 9.
_Ruff_, 358.
Rupestris St. George, 64.
Salem, 435.
Sand Grape, 313.
Sandusky grape region, 22.
Sanitation in the vineyard, 227.
_Saratoga_, 345.
Scuppernong, 310, 435.
Seasonal sum of heat, 24.
Secretary, 436.
Seedlings, selecting, 37.
Seeds, as by-products, 271.
characters of, 308.
parts of, 308.
Selecting vines, 81.
Selection in improving grapes, 277.
Self-sterility in grapes, 285.
cause of, 286.
remedy for, 287.
Senasqua, 437.
Seneca Lake grape region, 21.
Shelling, 424.
Shipping from California, 245.
Shoots, characters of, 303.
defined, 301.
disposition of, in training, 123.
drooping, in training, 132.
horizontal, in training, 141.
upright, in training, 125.
Single-eye cuttings, 40.
making, 41.
planting, 41.
Single-stem, Four-cane Kniffin, 132.
_Singleton_, 345.
Single vertical cordon, 157.
Sites for vineyards, 26, 32.
Skin, characters of, 308.
Smith, Captain John, mentioned, 5.
Smudging vineyards, 25.
Soil adaptations, 29.
fertility, 28.
Soils for grapes, 27.
ideal, 28.
over-rich, 107.
uneven, 105.
Sour Winter Grape, 317.
Southern Æstivalis, 321.
Southern Fox Grape, 310.
Spanish Grape, 318.
Species, conspectus of, 310.
resistant to phylloxera, 62.
_Sphaceloma ampelinum_, 223.
Sports in improving grapes, 277.
Spraying suggestions, 228.
_Springstein_, 401.
Spurs defined, 301.
Spur-renewal, 117.
Staking vines, 162.
Stamens, characters of, 306.
Stem defined, 301.
its parts named, 301.
Stocks, resistant to phylloxera, 61.
for American grapes, 69.
for European grapes, 69.
Storage-room for grapes, 239.
Storing grapes, 238.
Stripping, 118.
Suckers defined, 301.
Sugar Grape, 313.
Sultana, 438.
Sultanina, 438.
Summer Grape, 318.
Summer grapes, 11.
Summer pruning, 115.
Swamp Grape, 318.
Sweet-scented Grape, 314.
_Sweetwater_, 347.
Syrian, for forcing, 198.
_Talman's Seedling_, 346.
Tap-root defined, 301.
Taylor, 439.
_Tekomah_, 343.
Tendrils, characters of, 304.
defined, 301.
Theophrastus, on grafting, 45.
Thinning in graperies, 201.
_Thompson's Seedless_, 438.
Thrips, 211.
in graperies, 202.
Tillage, 92.
methods, 93.
time to cease, 95.
tools for, 93.
Time to plant, 84.
_Tokay_, 345.
Tongue grafting, 52.
Training, Chautauqua method, 125.
classification of methods, 125.
in eastern America, 123.
fan-method, 131.
in graperies, 198.
Keuka method, 139.
Trellises, 119.
Triumph, 440.
Tuberosities, caused by phylloxera, 66.
Turkey Grape, 320.
Two-trunk Kniffin, 135.
Tying, 122.
_Typhlocyba comes_, 211.
Ulster, 441.
Umbrella Kniffin, 134.
_Uncinula necator_, 222.
Unilateral horizontal cordon, 158.
Valk, Dr., mentioned, 274.
Varieties of European grapes for eastern America, 191.
Varieties resistant to phylloxera, 62.
Verdal, 442.
Vergennes, 442.
Vertical canes, 174.
cordons, 175.
Vinegar from grapes, 269.
Vines, nursery _versus_ home grown, 59.
"pedigreed," 59.
rejuvenating old, 147.
resistant to phylloxera, 61.
young, care of, 87.
Vineyard grafting, in eastern America, 45.
on Pacific slope, 48.
Vineyard, management, 73.
returns in the East, 247.
sanitation, 227.
sites, 32.
Vintage, time of, 254.
Virgil, on soils, 28.
quoted, 31, 34, 37.
_Virginia Amber_, 345.
Vitis, genus defined, 308.
_Vitis æstivalis_, 11, 318.
_Bourquiniana_, 11, 321.
_glauca_, 321.
_Lincecumii_, 13, 320.
_Berlandieri_, 318.
_bicolor_, 322.
_candicans_, 323.
_cordifolia_, 317.
_Labrusca_, 7, 324.
_Munsoniana_, 312.
_riparia_, 314. (Syn. of _V. vulpina_.)
_rotundifolia_, 9, 310.
_rupestris_, 313.
_vinifera_, 2, 328.
_vulpina_, 314.
Vulpina grapes, 13.
as direct producers, 13.
Wakeman, Elbert, mentioned, 136.
Walter, 443.
_Warren_, 382, 401.
_Warrenton_, 382.
_Washington_, 371.
Water, influence of, on climate, 23.
Watering, at planting, 86.
in graperies, 202.
Water sprouts defined, 301.
Weather data and grape-growing, 26.
_White July_, 402.
White Nice, for forcing, 198.
White Frontignan, 416.
Wilder, 444.
_Wilmington Red_, 448.
Winchell, 445.
Windbreaks in grape-growing, 25, 27.
Wine, aging, 253.
crushing grapes for, 252.
fermentation of, 253.
fining, 253.
kinds of, 251.
racking, 253.
yeasts for, 253.
Wine-grapes, prices paid for, 255.
Wine-making, 252.
Wire for trellises, 121.
Wire grafting, 54.
_Winter Grape_, 314, 317, 318.
Winter-killing, 26.
precautions against, 295.
Winter protection of grapes, 187, 294.
cost of, 296.
Winter-pruning, 114.
Woodruff, 446.
_Woodward_, 391.
Worden, 446.
_Worthington_, 15, 350.
Wyoming, 448.
_Wyoming Red_, 448.
Yields in fertilizer experiments, 100, 101.
Y-trunk Kniffin training, 136.
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