THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 289 



by cold below zero or thereabouts and cannot be grown north of the Ohio 

 River and fails somewhat in Missouri and Arkansas because of its tender- 

 ness. It requires, too, a long season for perfect maturity. Herbemont is 

 also fastidious as to soil and its cultivation is somewhat limited by this 

 factor. It requires a well-drained warm soil and one which is abundantly 

 supplied with humus; though the variety often thrives on the compara- 

 tively poor hill-land of the South. Despite these limitations, this variety 

 is grown in an immense territory, extending from Virginia and Tennessee 

 to the Gulf and westward through Texas. The synonyms given above are 

 many of them allusions to the localities in which it has been grown, while 

 most of the others pertain to its origin, but all show to some extent the 

 wide dissemination of this grape and indicate in a measure its merit. 



Herbemont is known and widely grown in Europe as well as in the 

 southern United States. In southwestern France where the demands of 

 the variety seem to be particularly well fulfilled, it is firmly established 

 and is highly regarded as a direct producer. In northern and central 

 France, however, the winters are too cold and the seasons too short for its 

 profitable culture. Its use as a stock in France is limited for it has been 

 found to be but medium in its resistance to phylloxera; does not grow well 

 from cuttings and is therefore propagated with difficulty ; the wood does not 

 bear grafts well and is worked with difficulty in either field or bench graft- 

 ing; and lastly the French find it very subject to chlorosis, especially in 

 calcareous soils. 



The vine is, according to all accounts, a remarkably vigorous, rapid 

 and healthy grower, being hardly surpassed in these characters by any of 

 our native grapes. The wood is strong, abundant and very hard, the latter 

 a serious difficulty in grafting. The fruits are attractive because of the size 

 of the bunch and the glossy black of the berries, which are small as compared 

 with northern grapes. Fruit is borne abundantly and with certainty year 

 in and year out in suitable localities. The flesh characters of the fruit are 

 good for a small grape, neither flesh, skin nor seeds being especially objec- 

 tionable in eating; the pulp is tender and juicy; rich, sweet and highly 

 flavored, the combination of flesh and flavor characters giving a grape of 

 high quality. Herbemont is greatly esteemed as a table grape and is said 



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