362 LUTHER BURBANK 



tender, being hardly noticeable. The skins of 

 most of them are thin and transparent. 



Having raised a great number of seedlings 

 from these Syrian grapes, I find them to be re- 

 markably precocious, coming into fruitage early, 

 remarkably heavy croppers, and while more uni- 

 form in character than most of the vinifera seed- 

 lings, yet they nearly all contain an astringent 

 principle which is seldom found in the ordinary 

 grapes. With this exception, they are the most 

 promising lot of seedlings which I have hitherto 

 raised. 



About 1890 the United States Government 

 imported a lot of grapes from the Mediter- 

 ranean region, but none of them compared with 

 these Syrian grapes, which seem to be distinct, 

 and some of which will probably prove of great 

 value to California. 



Most of these grapes are oval in form, not 

 round as is usual with other grapes. 



The Fitis antarctica, which has several other 

 botanical names, is a curious climber from Aus- 

 tralia which I have grown many times from 

 imported seed. It is a little tender and especially 

 sensitive to wet weather, and though it is inter- 

 esting I have not experimented much with it. 



The Fitis Coignetice from China is an exceed- 

 ingly strong-growing vine with immense leaves. 



