no THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



made in the journals of the explorers of colonial times can frequently be 

 recognized as pertaining to this species. Rottmdifolia seems to have 

 escaped the attention of botanists, however, until the time of Michaux, 

 who named and described it. Possibly the reason for its being overlooked 

 was because of the supposition that this was the species Linnaeus had 

 described under the name Vulpina.' The uncertainty as to who first 

 described Rotundifolia created a confusion that was not definitely cleared 

 up for nearly a hundred years and was responsible for the fact that half 

 the botanists called it Vitis rotundifolia and a nearly equal number Vitis 

 vulpina. Rafinesque, in 1830, described some three or four species within 

 the bounds of what is now known as Vitis rotundifolia. None of these, 

 however, has been accepted by later botanists. 



The habitat of this species is southern Delaware, west through Tennes- 

 see, southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, Arkansas (except the north- 

 western 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 swamps, thick 

 woodlands and thickets. 



Vitis rotundifolia has for years been the favorite grape in manv sec- 

 tions of the South. This is largely dtie, no doubt, to the fact that they 

 have been usually compared with Labrusca or Laljrusca-Vinifera varieties 

 of northern origin which are not well adapted to southern conditions. 

 With the introduction of native varieties of "bunch grapes"- of merit, 

 the southern species may lose in popularity. It must be said, considering 

 the fact that southern agricultural literature has been filled with recom- 

 mendations of Rotundifolia grapes for nearly a century, that the cultivation 

 of varieties of this species is comparatively limited. 



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. On account of the late ripening of the fruit it requires a 



' For discussion of V-itis ludpina see foot-note under Vilis riparia. 



^ All grapes, other than the Rotundifolia, are in the South known as " bunch grapes " because 

 they are sold on the market in clusters, the Rotundifolia being sold off the stems. 



