CEPAGES. 115 



III. VITIS VINIFERA. 



It is useful, for what we have to say about the hybrids 

 between V. Vinifera and American vines, to know what are 

 the properties of adaptation and the resistance of this 

 species, which has given all the European ce'pages actually 

 cultivated. 



The botanical characters of the V. Vinifera and the 

 innumerable forms derived from it all reside in the 

 seed. The characters of the trunk, cane, leaf, berry, are 

 variable, and only offer slight distinctions. The seed 

 (Fig. 56) varies in size, but has a constant characteristic, 

 which is being elongated, with a well 

 and clearly denned beak, relatively very 

 long; the chalaze is depressed, slightly 

 apparent, and always on the upper portion 

 of the seed ; these characters of prolonged 

 beak and position of the chalaze are never Fig. 56 Seed of 

 found in other species. 



Let us note also, as a contrast, the easy propagation from 

 cuttings of all the cepages derived from V. Vinifera, the 

 clean taste of their fruit, which is juicy, not pulpy and not 

 foxy; sometimes they have a peculiar taste, as in Muscat, 

 Cinsaut, Cabernet-Sauvignon. Finally, a very fixed and 

 important character from the point of view of adaptation is 

 that of the roots, which are large, tender, and fleshy. This 

 characteristic of the roots being large explains why all the 

 cepages derived from V. Vinifera generally giow well in 

 very compact soils. 



The V. Vinifera succeeds, however, almost equally well 

 from a vegetative point of view, in soils of every class, from 

 the most siliceous to the most calcareous. But in white, 

 soft, chalky soils the ce'pages derived from this species 

 become partially chlorosed, especially if the spring is wet. 

 We have given some examples of this in the first part of 

 this work. We have also shown that the chlorosis is only 

 transitory, and of no importance. If we compare, from the 

 point of view of their sensitiveness to chlorosis, the V. 

 Vinifera and other species, especially those of America, we 

 are forced to the conclusion that the V. Vinifera are the 

 most resistant; the V. Berlandieri alone has almost the 

 same resistance to chlorosis as V. Vinifera. 



