80 SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT 



roots ; no leaf-lice, and few root-lice. Catawba on Norton's Virgfiiiia — Slow growth'; 

 no insects observed. Rulander on Catawba — Weak, slow growth ; plentj'^ of root-lice ; 

 died in the fall of 1873. Maxatawney on Catawba — Same as Rulander. Herbemont on 

 Catawba — Total failure* Maxatawney on Clinton — Good growth and healthy ; no galls 

 on leaves and but few lice on roots. Goethe on Taylor— Good growth ; no galls on leaves, 

 but root-hce rather abundant. 



The following experience communicated by Mr. Theod. Engelmann, of Looking- 

 glass Vineyards, Mascoutah, Ills., is by no means encouraging. He writes : 



The subject is not new to me and to my neighbors engaged, like me, in vine-cul- 

 ture, and I am sorry to say that our expei-icnce does not encourage the hope of success 

 which you anticipate. We have been graftino" vines more or less for many years, and 

 as a general rule have selected as stock to graft new or tender varieties upon, the roots 

 of the strongest and hardiest, but we have not followed any systematic or scientific 

 course, and have not had the light before us which your observations of late years have 

 shed iipon the subject. 1 have lonas on their own roots and also on Clinton ; I never 

 had a sound bunch of grapes from either. If there is any difference it is in favor of 

 those on their own roots. I have Goethe on their own roots, also on Clinton and on 

 Concord, and I can see no diflference in the growth and health of the vines and fruit. 

 My next neighbor, Mr. Nestel, has grafted on a Delaware root a Concord vine, leaving 

 also a vine or cane of the Delaware, so as to raise both Delaware and Concord grapes 

 on the same stock; the Concord is perfectly healthy and ripens its fruit to perfection^ 

 while the Delaware shows all the symptoms of disease to which this vine is liable; yet 

 Mr. Nestel thinks that these symptoms do not appear quite as early in the season and 

 are not so marked as on the vines growing on their own roots, and concludes that the 

 Concord is imparting some of its blood and health to its Siamese twin-brother. He 

 has also a Delaware on Concord root, but can see no difference between it and those 

 on their own roots. Mr. Hecker has experimented with European vines. He had 

 them on Clinton, on Concord, and on the roots of the wild Summer grape {restivalis),- 

 they were as much affected with disease and died within a few years, the same as those 

 on their own roots. 



Mr. Kiehl, of Alton, Ills., who grafted onto Concord some lonas, Ives, Maxataw- 

 ney, Creveling, Walter, and several varieties of Rogers' Hybrids, some five years ago, 

 is also of the opinion that the trouble can not be remedied by grafting. 



Yet, again, in the vineyard of Mr. G. H. Gill, of Kirkwood, there are a number of 

 vinifera vines, received from California, that have been grafted onto Concord roots since 

 1869 ; and these, though some of them have been declining for the past two years, are 

 yet living; while the same kinds on their own roots, planted at the same time, are 

 dead. 



These statements are sufficient to show that experience is conflicting, and that 

 while it would be nnwise to draw conclusions now, there is much to hope for from 

 future experiment. Indeed, so much depends on future experiments that I have sent the 

 following circular-letter to a number of my grape-growing correspondents, and shall 

 consider it a favor if any of the readers of this Report, who are interested, will next 

 year comply, as far as they are able to, with its requests, and in time report to me re- 

 sults, or publish the same through the horticultural press of the country : 



Dear Sir : You would do me a great favor if you would institute, as far as you 

 conveniently can, the following experiments in grafting the vines indicated in the ap- 

 pended list. My own object in having th(\«e experiments made is to ascertain the effect 

 of grafting the varieties which suffer most froni Phylloxera, on to those which are tlie 

 least susceptible to it If you can make a portion, or but one or two, of the experi- 

 ments indicated, I shall consider it a great favor to have you do so, and inform me pre- 

 cisely as to the number and varieties grafted, the character of your soil, and all other 

 details of interest. lam instituting similar experiments myself, as are also some other 

 of my correspondents, and my object is to have these experiments made on different 

 soils, and in different latitudes. In the course of two or three years I hope to gather 

 together the results from all quarters, and we may thus be enabled to draw conclusions 

 of much importance to grape-growers. Feeling perfectly convinced that the injurj^ to 

 the roots caused by Phylloxera is the prime cause of failure of nian.y of our more deli- 

 cate and best grapes. 1 "have every hope that by a proper system of grafting these onto 

 the roots of those which suffer least from that insect, we may successfully grow several 

 varieties which so far have proved delicate and unreliable. 



