63 



appearance, but no variety so produced has yet proved able to maintain 

 itself as worthy of general cultivation ; in fact, they are altogether un- 

 reliable except under conditions where even foreign grapes can be raised 

 with a good degree of success. This is much to be regretted, but it is 

 nevertheless the truth that nothing of value and reliability has by this 

 means been added to our list of hardy grapes, and all experience, so 

 far, in this direction only tends to prove the wisdom of the advice given 

 many years ago that the line of improvement should be confined to 

 hybridizing our native species with each other, and by selection ulti- 

 mately procure varieties of reputed merit both for table use and for the 

 manufacture of wines. But this improvement can not be systemat- 

 ically pursued unless accompanied by a very distinct and clear under- 

 standing of the respective merits of American species. 



Until quite recently varieties of the fox grape ( Vitis labrusca) have 

 mostly been produced, and these have been recommended and culti- 

 vated both for wine and table use, and but little attention has been 

 given to the improvement of other species, notwithstanding that the 

 summer grape (Vitis cestivalis) and its varieties have vastly superior 

 merits as wine grapes. No better evidence of this fact need be desired 

 than the estimate given to these wines in foreign countries. Most of 

 the American wines which have been specially recognized at foreign 

 expositions have been the products of this class of grapes. But the 

 ultimate value of these grapes will not be realized until vineyards of 

 them are established in localities where they can be ripened. They 

 require a longer warm season than suffices for varieties of the labrusca 

 family; consequently they are not successfully grown in localities where 

 the improved fox grapes are most largely cultivated, and for that reason 

 the summer grapes are but little known, and in the localities where 

 they may be produced in perfection the culture of wine grapes has not 

 yet become an established industry. 



Among the best known varieties of this eminently wine-producing 

 species may be mentioned the Lenoir, Herbermont, Devereaux, Alvey, 

 Cynthiana, and Norton's Virginia Seedling. These varieties yield wines 

 of very high excellence and of varied qualities. But they can only be 

 grown to perfection in certain locations in the States of North Carolina, 

 Virginia, and other States having similar climates. 



It therefore appears probable that in the further improvement of 

 hardy grapes these peculiarities of species and the purposes for which 

 they are best adapted must receive more attention than has hitherto 

 been given them. 



GEAPES MILDEW. 



ID some of the earlier reports of this Department much attention was 

 given to grape mildew, its causes and preventions, with practical deduc- 

 tions based upon extended observations on the subject. 



In the report for 1865 mildew is characterized as " the great obstacle 



