REPORT OP COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION 33 



Wherever they settled, the Romans planted the vine as well as their 

 civilization. And so the culture of the vine spread from Italy to the south 

 of France, and thence north to the banks of the Rhine. In the course of 

 time Europe became covered with vineyards, particularly in France, where 

 there are now 4,000,000 acres of vines, and the grape growers are the back- 

 bone of that country. 



In Europe the love of the vine extends from nobleman to peasant. Some 

 of the oldest and best known vineyards on the continent are the properties 

 of the nobility. Every gentleman there, with a farm or an estate which is 

 adapted to grape growing, has his vineyard, and he mrkes his own wine, 

 which he offers with pride to his guests and friends. 



The early immigrants to America, who came from the vineyard districts 

 of Europe, brought with them the love of the vine. Some carried a few vines 

 as a precious part of their small possessions, and some had sent to them 

 vines which they planted here. 



The Spanish explorers and settlers first brought foreign vines into 

 Mexico, and the Spanish Fathers set out vines about their Missions in South- 

 ern California, the first plantings being at the Mission of San Gabriel in 

 1770. The popular variety thus came to be called the "Mission grape," and 

 it was extensively cultivated in the early days of California viticulture. 



The original promoter of grape-growing in the New World, according to 

 Prof. Hedrick, was Lord Delaware, who in the year 1616 wrote to the London 

 Company urging the culture of the grape in the new colony (Hedrick, Grapes 

 of New York, page 6). In 1619 the company sent a number of French vine- 

 dressers and collection of the best varieties of French vines to Virginia. In 

 that year the Colonial Assembly passed an act compelling every householder 

 to plant ten cuttings, and stated that the landowners were expected to 

 acquire the art of dressing a vineyard. Later on many other acts to induce 

 grape-growing in the Colonies and States were passed. Thus we see that 

 legislative encouragement to viticulture began at an early date in the United 

 States. 



However, the early efforts to grow foreign grapes in the Eastern States 

 were not successful. The s'tory of these efforts forms one of the most inter- 

 esting and important chapters in the history of American horticulture. It is 

 a long story of constant disappointments and failure, and only an intense love 

 of the vine could have inspired these pioneer growers to persist in the face 

 of loss and possible ruin. 



It was not until our horticulturists turned their attention to improving 

 the native American varieties of grapes that they attained a large measure 

 of success. To them we owe most of our best varieties of native grapes, 

 such as Catawba, Concord, Delaware, lona, Ives, Norton, Noah, etc. 



A long list of faithful workers helped to make Eastern viticulture what 

 it is to-day. It includes the names of William R. Prince, whose treatise on 

 the vine was one of the earliest and best on the subject for many years; 

 Judge Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati, O., who spent forty years and a 

 large fortune in establishing vineyards in the Ohio Valley; Dr. E. W. Bull, 

 the originator of the Concord grape; George W. Campbell, the originator of 

 the Delaware grape; Edward S. Rogers, the originator of forty-five seedlings 

 known as Roger's hybrids; Dr. C. W. Grant, who originated the lona; James 

 H. Ricketts, who produced many hundred seedlings; Jacob Rommel, who also 



