OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 73 



XZ. O-rape-vines of less Consequence ivJiich thus far have ffiven no ciiliivatetl Varieties : 



5. ViTis CAXDiCANS, EngeliTt. Mustang' Grape of Texas. 



G. Vrns cordifolia. Michx. Winter or Frost Grape. 



7. ViTis Californica, Benth. Confined to California. 



8. ViTis Arizonica, Engelm. Similar to the last. 



9. ViTis RUPESTRis, Scheele. Bush-Grape or Sand-Grape. 



In treating of the practically useful American Grape-vines, we are principally con- 

 cerned with the first four species; but in order to properly characterize these, I have to 

 give a sjaioptical table of all our species. 



I. G-rape-vlnes ivlth loose sliretUl;/ liarh, cUnihing hi/ the aid of branched Tendrils, or (In 

 No. 4) often not clinibhiff at all: 



a Berries small, 3-6 or rarely 7 Imes in diameter ; seeds obtuse, loith the raphe [or 

 cord) inore or less prominent (except in No. £) over the top. All the species of this 

 group, just like the European Grape-vine, have, on well-grow7i shoots, intermit 

 tent tendrils. 



1. ViTis CORDIFOLIA, Michaux. Tall (or more rarely low), climbing' high, trunks 

 not rarely 6-9 inches in diameter. Leaves middle-sized or small (21-3 or 4 inches in 

 diameter), heart-shaped, mostly entire or very slightly tri-lobed on the edges, with broad 

 shallow teeth, usually smooth and shining, more on the upper than on the lower side, 

 the youn^ ones sometimes, and very rarely the old ones, with short hair on the ribs 

 below; berries among the smallest, in large, mostly loose bunches, black, witliout a 

 bloom, maturing late in the fiill, usually only with a single short and thick seed, 

 marked by a prominent raphe. 



This grows more especially in fertile soil, and is a common plant in river and creek 

 bottoms. It is well known by the name of "Winter Grape, Frost Grape or Chicken 

 Grape. It is found from New England to Texas, and westward to the western limits of 

 the wooded part of the Mississippi Valley. In this valley, at least, the fruit has a strong 

 and even fetidly aromatic taste, which unfits it for making into preserves or for press- 

 iyo' wine. No cultivated varieties of this species are known. 



2. ViTis RiPARiA, Michaux. — Mostly a smaller plant than the last, but with 

 larger (3-5 inches in diameter) and more or less incisely 3-lobed, glabrous, shining (or 

 rarely when j^oung, slightly hairy) leaves, the lobes long and pointed, the teeth also 

 more pointed than in cordifolia; berries usually larger than in the last, mostly with 

 a bloom, in smaller and often more compact bunches, commonly 1 or 2-seeded ; seeds 

 with a less i^rominent raphe. 



This species prefers thickets or rocky soil on river banks, and extends as far west 

 and south as the last, and much farther north, being the only Gnipe-vine in Lower 

 Canada, where it is found even GO miles north of Quebec. The northern form, in Can- 

 ada, northern New York to Michigan and Nebraska, has fewer and larger berries in a 

 bunch, and is easily distinguished from V. cordifolia. The South-western form, how- 

 ever, a taller plant, with smaller black berries, approaches more closely to this last spe- 

 cies, and often seems to run so close to it that in some editions of his manual, Prof . Gray 

 has united both under the name of V. cordifolia, Mx. The fruit ripens earlier than that 

 of co7-difolia, and is much pleasanter. In St. Louis a variety found on the rocky river 

 banks is brought to market in July. A number of cultivated varieties are referable to 

 this species, among which the Taylor Bulllt, the Delaioare (which, however, is classed 

 i)j'many grape-growers with crstlcalis) and the Clinton, are the most prominent. 



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