1873.] THE GRAPE VINE. 457 



Single Red, Rose and Crimson. — Cosmos, rose pink ; Emmeliue, delicate pink ; 

 Garibaldi, rich red, immense spike ; Lina, rich crimson ; Macaulay, deep rose, 

 striped crimson; Mrs Beecher Stowe, dark rose pink; Norma, waxy pink, 

 immense pips; Prima Donna, shining rose; Princess Clotilde, pink, striped 

 carmine; Rouge Pyramide, rich red ; Solfaterre, beautiful orange scarlet; Von 

 Schiller, salmon pink. 



Single White and Blush. — Alba Maxima, pure white; Baron Van Tuyll, pure 

 white ; Grandeur a Merveille, delicate blush ; Mont Blanc, pure white ; Sera- 

 phine, blush snow-ball, pure white, without dispute the most perfect pip, and 

 massive above all others. 



I Single Yellow.— Dwg de Malakoff, straw striped; Pose and Ida, primrose 

 yellow, the finest of this section. A. Kerr. 



THE GRAPE VIISTE. 

 AViTH two exceptions the Grape Vine ( Vitis vinifera) is the earliest 

 fruit-bearing plant of which there is any record. From earliest a^es 

 it has occupied a prominent and very important position amongst the 

 fruits of the earth. There is strong presumptive evidence that it 

 was cultivated by the antediluvians ; and it is specially referred to as 

 having occupied the attention of Xoah as soon as the waters of the 

 flood had subsided from the face of the earth. When Moses sent the 

 heads of the children of Israel to spy the land of Canaan, and to brino- 

 back word whether it was " fat or lean/' they brought back an example 

 of the Grape to prove that it was worthy of their promised possession. 

 Through the long ages that have lapsed since then, with their ever- 

 varying tastes and habits, the luscious Grape has been an important 

 product of cultivation ; and it has lost none of its early popularity. 

 At the present time it is more extensively cultivated under glass than 

 ever it was at any period of the world's history; and in this country 

 hot house Grapes are now an article of commerce to a much greater 

 extent than ever they were, with every likelihood of their becoming in- 

 creasingly important. It is much to be regretted that a destructive 

 parasite {Pliylloxera vastatrix) is threatening to become a formidable 

 destroyer of the Vine, both in the vineyards of the Continent and 

 in the vineries of Britain. It is to be hoped it will be successfully 

 *' stamped out " where it has appeared, and that the prestige of the 

 Grape Vine may not be tarnished. 



It must be regarded as somewhat strange that the native country of 

 the Grape Vine has not been definitely settled by botanists. It can be 

 safely assumed that it is indigenous to a great part of Asia, the 

 climate of which is suited to its growth. From Asia it was no doubt 

 introduced into Egypt and Greece, and from these parts found its way 

 into France, Spain, and other Continental countries, where it has so 

 long held a position of much importance. It is supposed that its 



