280 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



compact or loose, size of berries, shape, skin, color pulp or flesh, num- 

 ber and size of seeds ; their consistency, taste and use, for table or 

 wine, or for both ; keeping quality, period of blooming and ripening 

 (early, medium or late). 



Furthermore, in order to enable him to thoroughly understand the 

 special characteristics of the vines by their nativity, he should ac- 

 quaint himself with the classification of native wild grape vines and 

 their botanical characteristics and names. 



After the settlement of the New England states the vitis Vinifera 

 (the European and Asiatic grape) was introduced and planted, and, 

 after thousands of failures (on account of the destructive Phylloxera,, 

 grape- vine root-louse, of which at that time nothing was known ) ob- 

 serving the native wild grapes growing vigorously and bearing their 

 fruits yearly, the growers commenced to improve them. Hence the 

 grape- vines we cultivate in the United States east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains have originated from one or the other of the several distinct na- 

 tive species or from crosses between some of their varieties. 



These native vines are distinctly different from each other, growing 

 wild in certain limited portions of our country and not at all in others. 



For example the Labrusca (the Northern fox grape), whose home 

 is the region between the Atlantic ocean and the Alleghaney mount- 

 ains, is a stranger in the lower Mississippi valley and westward. 



The home of the ^Estivalis (the well known summer grape), is the 

 grape of the Middle and Southern states ; it is one of most variable of 

 our grape-vines, and one of the most important on account of its in- 

 trinsic value as a wine grape (and even for table use), as we derive our 

 very best wines from the .Estivalis; also on account of its absolute re- 

 sistance to the Phylloxera. 



The Riparia has the widest geographical distribution of any of our 

 grape-vines and is the hardiest of them all ; is called the Riverside 

 grape, a rather inappropriate name, as there is another species of 

 grape-vine in the river and stream bottoms, Vitis Cordifolia (frost or 

 possom grape), which mislead even some very intelligent men by class- 

 ing them together, as they are entirely distinct from each other. The 

 Riparia leafs out, blooms and ripens the earlier and propagates easily 

 from cuttings; the Cordifolia blooms and ripens later (hence its name),, 

 and it cannot be propagated readily from cuttings. 



Here J let the further classification rest, otherwise this paper 

 would becomes too voluminous and I desire to dwell only on the above 

 species, as we are living in the home of the ^Estivalis. 



It is to be regretted that most of the practical grape-growers are 

 unwilling or unable to study the botanical characteristic of the grape- 



