4 AMERICAN GRAPE GROWIKQ 



All our numerous yarieties now on the list are 

 classed according to the species of Vitis, the generic 

 name of the grape, from which they are known to be 

 derived, and the name of the species is given to the class. 

 So when, for the sake of brevity, we speak of a variety 

 as an ^stivalis, a Vinifera, or Riparia, we simply mean 

 that it originated from the class, and bears the charac- 

 teristics of the species of that name. All the varieties 

 of the European grape are regarded as having had their 

 origin in Vitis vinifera of the old world, which, though 

 it has been cultivated from ancient times, is found no- 

 where in a wild state. The varieties of this, while gen- 

 erally unsuccessful east of the Eocky mountains, succeed 

 admirably on the Pacific coast and now seem to be suc- 

 cessful in Texas and Arizona. Their greatest enemies 

 seem to be the fungous diseases, to which they are ex- 

 ceedingly subject. But the many preventives and rem- 

 edies discovered in the past ten years may give them a 

 wider distribution. These varieties differ from our 

 native species in their leaves, which are more smooth 

 and delicate, and more deeply lobed ; the flesh of the 

 berries adheres to the skins, while the seeds have a nar- 

 rower and longer beak than any of the native varieties. 



That most accomplished botanist and keen observer, 

 the late Doctor George Engelmann of St. Louis, deserves 

 the credit of first attempting a thorough classification of 

 our native species. It was he who first called attention 

 to the shape and size of the seeds. He classified them 

 into 14 species in the following order : 1. Labrusca 

 or Northern Fox; 2. Candicans or Mustangensis ; 3. 

 Caribaea or Caloosa; 4. Calif omica; 5. Monticola or 

 Mountain grape; 6. Arizonica; 7. ^stivalis or Sum- 

 mer grape; 8. Cinerea or Ashy Winter grape; 9. Cor- 

 difolia or Winter grape; 10. Palmata or Rubra; 11. 

 Riparia or River grape; 12. Rupestris, Sugar or Bash 

 grape J 13. Vinifera or European grape; 14. Rotundi- 



