80 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP VITICULTURE 



these grapes the season for this fruit will be extended. The European 

 varieties are better flavored, possessing a more delicate and a richer vinous 

 flavor, a more agreeable aroma, and are lacking in the acidity and somewhat 

 obnoxious foxy taste of many American grapes. Consumers of fruit will like 

 them better and the demand for grapes will thus be increased. 



The advent of the European grape in the vineyards of Eastern America 

 ought quickly to bring about splendid varieties of hybrids between Vitis 

 vinifera and the America species of grapes. As all know, we have many such 

 hybrids but curiously enough scarcely more than a half dozen varieties of 

 European grapes have been used in crossing. Most of these have been green- 

 house grapes and not those that could be expected to give best results for 

 vineyard culture. As we come to know the varieties best adapted to Ameri- 

 can conditions we ought to be able to select European parents to better 

 advantage than we have done in the past and thus produce better hybrid 

 sorts. 



From the eighty-five varieties of Vitis vinifera now fruiting on the station 

 grounds we may name the following as worth trying on a larger scale: 

 Actoni, a table grape; Chasselas Golden, for the table; Cinsaut, for table or 

 wine; Feher Szagos, another table sort; Kuristi Mici, for the table; Lignan 

 Blanc, a very early table grape and one of the best; Mantuo de Pilas, Muscat 

 Hamburg, Pinot Gris or Rulander, three of the best table grapes; Poulsard, 

 a wine and table grape; Palomino or Listan, a table and wine grape; Rosaki, 

 a table grape; Sultanina Rosea, a seedless table sort; and Teinturier, Petite 

 Sirah, Franken Riesling and Zinfandel, all wine sorts. 



I have briefly set forth the essentials of the work with Vitis vinifera 

 in New York but I shall have missed an oportunity if this simple statement 

 of facts ends here. Permit me to suggest several phases of the work in need 

 of careful experimental attention. 



First, it is imperative that we know more about the adaptation of Euro- 

 pean varieties to American conditions. More than five -thousand varieties of 

 grapes are grown in Europe and Asia but few of which have been tried in 

 Eastern America. Those most promising for the different States should be 

 carefully tried out. 



Second, it is very certain that we shall have to grow European grapes on 

 American stocks. We must determine experimentally what stocks are best 

 for Eastern America; here the experience of European countries and Cali- 

 fornia will be most helpful. 



Third, a great obstacle in the way of growing European grapes in this 

 region is the difficulty in getting a good stand of grafted plants. Possibly 

 we shall have to modify the methods used elsewhere, and to determine which 

 will be best for us we must do experiment work in grafting and propa- 

 gating. 



Fourth, European varieties will be differently affected by fungi and 

 insects than are our native sorts, and it is possible that we shall have to 

 modify remedial treatments of pests for the foreign grapes. 



Fifth, there is a tremendous field for plant breeders in hybridizing Euro- 

 pean and American grapes. The half dozen European sorts that have been 

 used in hybridization are for most part those that would be least expected 

 to give good results, namely, greenhouse grapes. It is probable that the 

 American grapes of the future will be European grapes with a dash of 



