55 



■wuich, altbougli to a uuicb. less extent, have also been experienced in 

 this country. M. Planchon, npon his return to France, has promptly 

 made known the results of his mission. An early copy of his report en- 

 ables us to state these results for the information of vine-cultivators in 

 this country. It will be seen from what follows that M. Planchon's 

 observations have led him to conclude that the insects which have 

 devastated the European grape-vines, and which have been more or less 

 injurious to the vines in this country, are identical : that in consequence 

 of the disease occasioned by this insect the culture of European grape- 

 vines in this country has in all cases proved a failure; that certain 

 American vines are found to resist, to a great extent, the attacks of this 

 destructive enemy, while there is one, the Scuppernong, of North Caro- 

 lina, that absolutely and entirely escapes its ravages : and, vvhat is 

 most important, that another insect has been discovered here, which 

 proves to be a natural and active enemy of the great destroyer, and 

 which it is believed may be eflectually employed in impeding if not in 

 tinally arresting its ruinous march. 31. Planchon's report, of which the 

 following is a translation, is dated at Montpelier, France, the 10th of 

 November, 1S73, and is addressed to the minister of agriculture of 

 France : 



KEPORT OF M. rLAN'CHON ON THE FHYLLOXEKA OF EUROPE AND 



AMEKICA. 



Ml". MiMSTKU : lu accordance with the proposition of the Agricnltiual Society of 

 Hcranlt you have cominissioiicd mo to proceed to the United States to study the 

 history and habits of the insect Avliicli has for years ravaged the j^rape-vines of Pro- 

 vence, Laugnedoc, and Bordelai.s. The points indicated to uic for investigation were as 

 follows : 



1. Is the PhijUoxcru rastatnx of Europe the same as the insect described in the 

 United States under the name of reitqihigus vittfoUiw:! 



•2. Does the European vine yield to the fatality in America ? 



3. Do certain varieties of American grape-vines resist the destructive action of this 

 insect while others absolutely escape its attacks .' Conse([ueutly, can the different 

 varieties of European vines be successfully engrafted upon such vine-stocks as may be 

 found to resist the Phylloxera ' 



4. Does there exist in the United States an insect which is destructive of the 

 Phylloxera, and that even seeks it beneath the ground ? And, if so, could these can- 

 nibals of the Phylloxera be in.troduced into Europe, so as to keep the ravages of their 

 enemy within certain limits .' 



To these principal objects were added, as accessories, those of the study of the habits 

 of the I'hylloxera in America: of iudigenous vines and the principal varieties of vines 

 in that country : and finally, the studj^ of American vines with a view of ascertaining 

 their specific characters and the mode of cnlture. 



I left Havre on the 4th of August, 1S73, and was enabled to devote to these re- 

 searches the interval of time between the "^Oth of August and the 4th of October, to 

 visit the principal vine-growing districts of the United States, with the exception of 

 California, where the Phylloxera is yet unknown, and, thanks to the generous aid which 

 I receiA'ed in all quarters, I was enabled to collect the materials for a complete and sat- 

 isfactory report upon the objects of my mission. 



I have now the honor to submit to you, in an abridged form, the conclusions to which 

 my researches have led me ; conclusions which are confirmed by the opiuions of Mr. 

 Riley, in America, and of Messrs. Laliman and Lichtenstein, in Europe : 



First. As to the identity of the European and American iiisect. Tliei'e is no doubt 

 on this point. I have examined the insect in all its forms and under all its conditions, 

 upon American vines, both wild and cultivated, and have found it absolutely the same 

 as that of Enrope. Its existence in America for a. long period has been proved by the 

 Phylloxera galls which were collected in Texas as long ago as 1S84, by the botanist Ber- 

 landier, upon the vines of the Vitis monficola. 



Secondly. The decline, in some cases nearly fatal, of European vines transported to 

 America is a fact long known but not generally understood. I have found new proofs 

 of it. Some have attributed the decline to a change of climate, since the culture of 

 European vines has been nniversally unsuccessful throughout the whole cotiu try, from 



