Promising New Fruits. 117 



FLOWERS GRAPE. 



[PLATE XI-] 



That the fruit industry of the United States has been built 

 up largely with fruits which represent introduced species is a 

 fact which presents itself at times with almost startling force 

 and significance. This, however, is less true of grapes than 

 of the other important fruits. 



While the Vinifera grape industry represents an invest- 

 ment of many millions of dollars, the cultivation of this class 

 of grapes is largely restricted to the territory west of the 

 Rocky Mountains, including California. The grapes which 

 are extensively grown elsewhere throughout the country, 

 with few exceptions, belong to native species of Yitis. The 

 Muscadine grapes, which include the native species Vitis 

 rotundifolia and Vitis munsoniana, are becoming increas- 

 ingly important in the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast States. 



In view of the present interest in the culture of these grapes 

 in many parts of the region to which they are adapted, and 

 the systematic attention that is now being given to the inves- 

 tigation of them and the breeding of more desirable varie- 

 ties, it may be expected that the culture of these grapes will 

 eventually contribute very materially to the horticultural 

 development of the South. 



Unlike most other fruits, the Muscadine grape has thus 

 far developed but few important varieties; in fact, a single 

 variety, the Scuppernong, is of such great importance in 

 comparison with the others that it might almost be referred to 

 as constituting the commercial Muscadine industry. There 

 are, however, at least six varieties of considerable importance, 

 with a still larger number that have been named and more 

 or less disseminated, but which thus far are chiefly of local 

 value. 



The two varieties shown in Plate XI are among the six 

 most important sorts. 



EARLY HISTORY. 1 



The original vine of the Flowers grape was discovered in 

 1819 by " Popping Billy' 7 Flowers, growing in a swamp 15 

 miles south of Lumberton, Robeson County, N. C., and was 



i History and description condensed from notes published by George C. Husmann and 

 Charles Bearing, The Muscadine Grapes, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin No. 273. 



