60 AMERICAN VINES. 



the nodes; tendrils discontinuous ; leaves carmine when young, 

 medium, sub-orbicular, entire or lobed; petiolar sinus deep; 

 upper-face dull deep green, under-face with patches of cobweb- 

 by rust-coloured hair. Bunch medium; berry sub-medium, 

 spherical, vinous black; skin covered with bloom; coloured 

 juice; taste clean. Seeds (Fig. 19) sub-medium; beak short; 

 chalaze circular, prominent ; raphe limited by a well-defined rib 

 passing round the base of the seed. Roots hard, rather large. 



(b) Varieties. It has been considered for a long time, and 

 many authors still consider, that certain cultivated vines of 

 the United States, such as Cynthiana, Norton's Virginia, 

 Baxter, Herbemont, Hermann, Cunningham, etc., are pure 

 forms of the V. ^Estivalis, which they resemble more or less 



in their characters of adaptation. The 

 researches of Millardet seem to have proved 

 that these cepages, which have the charac- 

 teristics of almost pure .^Estivalis, are, 

 however, partially hybridized with others. 

 Fig- 1 9- Seed of We will study them later on. This also 

 applies to other c6pages, which T. V. 

 Munson included, with some of those above-mentioned, in a 

 specific section under the name of V. Bourquina, Jacquez* 

 for instance. 



As for the variations of the wild forms of the species, they 

 are of no interest. Let us recognize, however, that in a 

 general way the thickening of the leaves increases from the 

 north to the south, and, inversely to what often takes place, 

 the abundance and the length of the hair diminishes when 

 one passes from moist rich soils to poor dry soils, where the 

 tomentum becomes at the same time stiffer. 



The pure forms of V. ^stivalis are difficult to root from 

 cuttings, and sensitive to mildew and black-rot. 



(c) Adaptation and Culture. The V. ^Estivalis predomi- 

 nates in the centre and east-centre of the United States, 

 from New England to Texas, especially in Pennsylvania, 

 Virginia, and Carolina; it is also found represented 

 by a small number of types in Florida, Louisiana, and even 

 Mexico. Consequently the V. ^Estivalis is a variety for 

 medium climates. The temperature in the regions where the 

 species is most widely spread drops below 25 C. ; the 

 derived forms connected with this species can therefore be 

 expected to resist cold (Herbemont, Jacquez). 



* Lenoir. 



