THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 103 



of the grape. The color-plate of canes shows the range in thickness of 

 diaphragms as they occur in several species. 



The time of flowering is of considerable value in distinguishing species. 

 Unfortunately it requires live plants and a certain time of year in order 

 that this character be noted. The first American species to flower is Riparia. 

 Rupestris flowers shortly after; next, Labrusca; Aestivalis a little later, 

 although the Lincecumii variety of Aestivalis blooms slightly before 

 Labrusca; Cordifolia is very late in coming into bloom, and Cinerea still 

 later. Vinifera, the European grape, blooms shortly after Labrusca. The 

 cultivated offspring of all wild grapes retain the blooming characters of the 

 species from which they are derived. 



Other characters that have been found of great value are those connected 

 with the seed. The ability to use the seed characters, however, cannot 

 readily be acquired except by the use of an illustrated manual and some 

 experience in selecting the seeds, as they are quite variable on the same 

 plant. The weight of the seeds differs in different species, but varies so 

 much inside the species that it is not of much value from a systematic 

 standpoint. In general, it may be said that the Labruscas have the largest 

 and heaviest seed of our American grapes; Riparia has the smallest seed, 

 with Aestivalis occupying an intermediate position. The size of the seeds 

 in Aestivalis, however, is more noticeable on account of the small size of 

 the fruit. The color-plate illustrates the different characters to be found in 

 grape seeds and a study of this plate with the technical descriptions of the 

 several species will show how important seeds become in classifying grapes. 



Attention is called to the characters given by Bartram as distinguishing 

 the European from the American species. The first difference that he men- 

 tions is in the shape of the fruit, that of the Vinifera being more or less 

 oval and that of American species roundish or oblate. Recent technical 

 descriptions of our American species give the fruit as spherical where the 

 shape is mentioned at all. On the other hand it is known that most of the 

 cultivated varieties of European grapes are oval. Does this mean that all 

 of our cultivated American varieties w^hich show oval berries, such as Isa- 

 bella, Catawba, and others, contain Vinifera blood? It could not be said 

 without careful study that this is true but it is certainly worthy of con- 

 sideration. This point seems to have escaped the attention of our later-day 

 botanists. 



