CHAPTER IV 

 VIN1FERA GRAPES EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 



As before stated, practically all attempts to grow grapes in 

 America before 1800 were failures because only the vinifera 

 varieties were planted. ( 14 )( 25 )( 26 ) These attempts were made in 

 widely separated parts of the country. The Jesuits near St. 

 Louis, Missouri; Nicholas Longworth, Sr., near Cincinnati, Ohio; 

 Dunfour in Kentucky; the Prices father, son and grandson 

 on Long Island; a colony of Napoleon's exiled officers on the banks 

 of the Tombigbee; and the old French settlers in Louisiana; 

 all grew these grapes rather extensively, and in the early history of 

 their enterprises with fair success. All had the same experience. 

 In a few years the vines sickened and died; but no one at that 

 period seems to have discovered the cause. 



Vinifera grapes have soft, fleshy roots; a feature that disting- 

 uishes them from all other grapes. Everywhere east of the 

 Rocky Mountains our wild grapes have always been more or 

 less infested with small aphids known as phylloxera. These 

 aphids begin their work on the leaves, but quickly move to the 

 roots, where they live for years. These insects pierce the bark 

 of the root with their beaks and suck the sap. Whether they 

 inject an irritating substance into the root or whether the mere 

 mechanical effect of the piercing injures the root is not fully 

 determined. Whatever the cause, the roots soon develop knotty 

 protuberances at the point of injury which hinder the free passage 

 of sap. Of course this is just what the insect desires. 



On most of our native species the bark is hard and very little 

 injury is caused by the insect. But the soft, fleshy roots of the 

 vinifera respond so readily to the work of phylloxera that they 

 soon cease to develop new roots; and in a few months or, at 

 most, years, the vine dies, Of our native grapes the labrusca 

 suffer most from these insects; hence we would naturally ex- 

 pect phylloxera to be less abundant where this grape thrives in 

 the wild state. This is true, but another difficulty is found 

 here. Labrusca grapes are native where there is great 

 and sudden variation in temperature. This is alike fatal to 

 phylloxera and to vinifera grapes, both of which need an equable 

 temperature. 



TESTS IN Ti NNESSEE 



In 1912 several hundreds of Vinifera grape cuttings were sent 

 to the Nashville Agricultural Normal -Institute from California 

 for trial. These were either planted or distributed among affili- 

 ated institutions. They rooted promptly and grew rapidly, 

 but many of them failed to survive the changeable weather of 



