Chapter II 

 Breeding of Varieties of Grapes 



The first intelligent step toward starting thorobreds among grapes in the United States 

 was by Mr. E. S. Rogers, of Massachusetts. But he seemed to look forward to nothing but the 

 immediate hybrids one generation produced, yet what a grand start that generation gave us! 



Mr. Hermann Jaeger, of Neosho, Mo., went ahead of this, by diligently and intelligently 

 searching extensive ranges of forests where wild grapes grew, collecting the best varieties of 

 several species, and hybridizing them with each other, and with the varieties in cultivation most 

 resistant to grape diseases, which are numerous and destructive in the region where he operated. 

 For more than twenty years did he hunt and hybridize grapes. How few, indeed, were the vines, 

 among all the tens of thousands he examined in the woods, with which he was content to begin 

 with as breeders ! The list is soon told. Out of hundreds moved into his grounds and numbered, 

 he used less than half a dozen to breed from! 



Of the Post-Oak grape (V . Lincecumii) the Neosho and his No. 43 are the only ones that 

 produced varieties considered good enough to make the foundation of his breed ; in combination 

 with a male variety produced from this union was his No. 70, named Munson, and from this 

 has arisen my America family. (See America, Xlnta, Cloeta, etc., Chapter III.) By pollinating 

 his 43 with Herbemont he obtained two very good grapes, which he named Dufour and Longworth. 

 Neosho he never used as a parent, but the writer has, with excellent results. (See Neosho, Muench, 

 Neva, Chapter III.) 



This glimpse of my greatly esteemed coworker is given as a small tribute to great merit, 

 and because with him the writer corresponded, visited, exchanged specimens and varieties and 

 discussed every phase of grape development during more than ten years. His sad disappearance 

 was a great loss to the development of American vine culture. 



However, the results of his work in either this country or in Europe were not lost. In 

 France they are reporting fine hybrids on his No. 43, and best Rupestris for "direct producers" 

 in vineyard culture, and an examination of the Jaeger 43 Family in Chapter III. will show 

 some of its fruits in this country. 



So it appears, that to the pioneers in this broader viticultural foundation work, the selec- 

 tion of parents with which to begin the development of new races of vineyard varieties is, in 

 itself, quite a large and expensive task. A careful study of Chapters I. and II. will enable one 

 to better comprehend the full breadth and depth of this foundation. 



Thorobred Vines 



While there are no truly thorobred varieties of grapes, or other plants, as there are of domestic 

 animals, yet no cause can be shown why good results may not as well be obtained with grapes, 

 so bred, as with cattle or horses. The nearest approach to a thorobred grape that I can cite is 

 the McPike, if its parentage is as reported, a seedling of Worden, which is a seedling of Concord, 

 which is a seedling of a good wild grape of Massachusetts. But such a thorobred is very different 

 in its genealogy from a thorobred animal. 



A true thorobred grape would be obtained by intercrossing Concord, Ives, Perkins, Hartford 

 and other distinct, select pure varieties of Labrusca, and then perpetually intercrossing the prog- 

 eny of each new generation, but avoiding direct "in and in" breeding as of Concord seedlings 

 upon Concord seedlings and these upon their pure progeny perpetually, which would finally 

 run out. 



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