748 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



niousseux maybe attributed to three elements: (1) The variety 

 of grape ; (2) the soil and climatic conditions ; and (3) the manip- 

 ulation. The grapes of which the French wine is made grow on 

 a soil which is peculiar in its mixture of chalk, silica, light clay, 

 and oxide of iron. The surface of the champagne district is com- 

 posed of light clay and pebbles, and the vine flourishes best where 

 the soil appears most sterile. Hence, while the grapes for cham- 

 pagne contain but little sugar, they draw from the earth those 

 chemical elements that give certain peculiar qualities to the wine. 



When viticulture was introduced into this country, more than 

 one hundred years ago, efforts were made to grow the European 

 varieties of grapes east of the Mississippi. With few exceptions, 

 these foreign varieties turned out to be failures. Then our East- 

 ern viticulturists directed their attention to the improvement of 

 native vines. By dint of experiment after experiment they have 

 succeeded in developing some of the choicest and most valuable 

 varieties of grapes known varieties good for the table as well as 

 for wine-making. 



The two great native grape stocks are the Concord and the 

 Catawba. From the seedlings of the Concord we have obtained 

 Worden, Moore's Early, Pocklington, Martha, and other well- 

 known varieties. The Concord is also one parent of Niagara, El 

 Dorado, Brighton, etc. From the Catawba we have obtained 

 lona, Diana, Excelsior, etc. The Delaware and Isabella have 

 given us a few good varieties. Some idea of the varieties of 

 native grapes can be gained from the statement that two hundred 

 and seventy-five varieties of grapes were sent by Eastern growers 

 to the horticultural exhibit at the World's Fair, Chicago. 



The wonderful improvement of our wild American grapes is 

 striking testimony to man's power of selection. He has trans- 

 formed sourish, harshly flavored wildlings into sweet, luscious 

 fruit. In this process there has been an evolution of the sense of 

 taste. Our grandfathers and fathers ate sour grapes, but the 

 children's teeth have not been set on edge, because they eat sweet 

 grapes. The difference between a lemon and an orange repre- 

 sents the improvement of the grapes of the present day over the 

 grapes of fifty years ago. 



Somewhat different has been the history of viticulture in Cali- 

 fornia. There, efforts to grow the European varieties of grapes 

 were successful from the first. The California growers did not 

 have to experiment with native vines. Numerous varieties of 

 the foreign species Vitis vinifera were planted and cultivated, 

 and, in the right climate and soil, they showed their Old World 

 characteristics. Many of the choice kinds of French, German, 

 Italian, and Spanish types seem to come nearer to reproducing 

 themselves here than elsewhere. 



