CALIFORNIA VINE OR ANAHEIM DISEASE CAUSE AND NATURE 7 



ture in countries, where drouths are not infrequent, must possess 

 this characteristic, while vines found wild on loose sandy or grav- 

 elly soils, where the extremes of wet and dry do not occur, are de- 

 void of the adaptability to such conditions. As we cannot use the 

 vines mentioned, on account of non-rooting of their cuttings, we 

 shall have to take recourse to their hybrids with Vinifera, Riparia 

 and others, which have not this fault. 



There are two points in the general characteristics of Rupestris 

 St. George, which speak against its success in California viticul- 

 ture. The first and most important is, that it does not thrive in dry 

 shallow soils in France, although it is drouth-enduring in "dry" (?), 

 deep soils on account of its deep-rooting. This shows that its roots 

 in themselves are not resistant to dryness. The second point is that 

 in wet soils it is affected with root rot. We can see by this that it 

 has only a narrow adaptation. It is a hybrid of V. Monticola and 

 Rupestris or, as claimed by some, of the former and Riparia. It par- 

 takes of the characteristics of the pure Rupestris varieties, but has 

 the advantage over these in its thicker, more penetrating and ver- 

 tical roots, which enable it to get a quicker start in most any soils, 

 but especially compact ones. 



The Riparia and Rupestris varieties should as a rule not be used 

 except where irrigation is possible, and even there I believe other 

 varieties will prove more valuable. I doubt that the Rupestris as 

 grafting stocks are more resistant against extreme dryness than the 

 Riparias ; I even doubt that they are as hardy against moisture 

 changes in the soil as the latter; only on account of their habit of 

 sending down their roots deeply into the substrata, where they gen- 

 erally find plenty of moisture in all countries with summer rains, 

 they are more drouth-enduring. But in California conditions are 

 different. As has been stated, in all soils of a compact nature, in- 

 cluding gravelly clays and loams, especially in valleys of an alluvial 

 formation, the diffusion of moisture through capillary attraction is 

 so even and uniform, that if these become dry two or three feet 

 below the surface, they are also dry fifteen or twenty feet further 

 down, providing there is no moisture near arising from ground 

 water. A vine sending down its roots deeply into such soils there- 

 fore has but little better show that a more shallow-rooting one. Of 

 course I do not want to be understood, that deep, penetrating roots 

 of a stock, whether these are laterals from horizontal main roots 

 as in the case of the Lenoir, or are vertical main roots as those of the 

 Champini, are not preferable in California in anv soil, as we can- 

 not always tell what is hidden under the surface. On the other 

 hand mountain soils, especially the deep, loose, gravelly ones, which 

 are generally underlaid by an impenetrable substratum, which does 

 not allow the seepage coming down the hillside to escape out oi: 

 reach of the roots, give most any kind of a vine a better chance. 

 Compact soils in mountains are more similar to valley conditions. 



While the Riparias require a rich, moist soil, the Rupestris are 

 adapted to poor, moist gravelly or sandy soils. They cannot endure 

 continued dry or wet conditions, nor great changes from wet to dry. 

 The Rupestris St. George is similar to these latter, but as has been 



