14 



eties of which have been the longest known. 

 Having demonstrated thus far the superi- 

 ority of cuttings of different vines near to 

 the original seedling, the next question in 

 this direction is that of simple seedlings. At 

 the experimental vineyard of the Union men- 

 tioned, there are thousands of seedlings, from 

 one to three years old, the products of seeds 

 of all the well-known varieties of this coun- 

 try, as well as of American and French wild 

 vines. These seedlings are in a nourishing 

 condition. 



I have had several long consultations with 

 Mr. Triinoulet, the Vice President of the 

 Union and the especial advocate of the seed- 

 ling theory. He has given me copies of his 

 pamphlets and reports of the Union. He 

 thinks that generally, when seeds are taken 

 from vines, where the varieties are not mixed, 

 the new plants will reproduce the original. 

 But here he stops, and, as it appears to me, 

 suggests a plan very much superior to that of 

 the, American vine .advocates. He advises 

 the planting of seeds, taking care to select 

 from fruit which has not been exposed to 

 accidental hybridization. This can be done 

 as easily as carrot seeds can be planted, and 

 in about the same way. Improved methods 

 may be suggested for the careful and experi- 

 enced seed-gardener. The soil needs to be 

 light and well drained. At the end of one 

 year, select only the vigorous plants and set 

 them out in the vineyard, which, if once in- 

 fected by phylloxera, should be first disin- 

 fected. The vine-grower can, in the spring, 

 after the second year, graft these seedlings, 

 and so have old varieties preserved on kind- 

 red and healthy roots, or he can leave them 

 to develop to the time of fruiting, which 

 takes place on the fourth or fifth year. He 

 can then select those he wishes to retain for 

 the sake of fruit, and graft the rest. From 

 strong and vigorous productive vines he can 

 have superior grafting material. Or he may 

 graft the young plants in the second year, 

 immediately upon removing them from the 

 nursery, and obtain fruit in the third or 

 fourth year. 



This method, if pursued, would in a gener- 

 ation cause the complete regeneration of vine- 

 yards. The reader should remember that 

 the best grapes ^for wine-making are not such 

 as he is accustomed to see in California fruit 

 stalls. The best wine grapes are not attrac- 

 tive to the palate, and seldom to the eye. 

 Hence, the product of a seedling must not be 

 judged by the first appearance of its fruit. 



In the reports of the French Department 

 of Agriculture for July of this year, on the 

 subject of phylloxera, I find, among others, 

 one which treats in part of seedlings, as ex- 

 perimented with in another district. These 

 reports of the Department contain epitomized 



statements from all the different sections. 

 The reporter in this instance refers to two 

 classes of objectors first, those who say that 

 seedlings of European vines do not resist 

 phylloxera better than the vines from which 

 the seeds come; second, those who complain 

 that seedlings are slow in fructification. The 

 answer to the first is that all seedlings have 

 not the same vigor, and it is necessary to 

 select the strongest. The answer to the 

 second is that the seedlings may be used to 

 graft upon, and may be obtained cheaper than 

 American vines. 



"However," he says, "a vine, two years 

 old from the seed, may, by the English graft, 

 be grafted upon in the Spring, and will bear 

 fruit the next year, just as vines from cut- 

 tings. Indeed, this operation of grafting in 

 the Spring, which follows the plantation in 

 place of young seedlings of one year, is 

 practiced by Mons. Duclaux, pepiuierist at 

 Draguignan, with almost constant success. 

 As to the resistance of the seedlings to phyl- 

 loxera, here is the interesting experiment, 

 which is due to Doctor Dugat, of Orange: 



"His field of experiments, surrounded by 

 vines attacked by phylloxera, was divided 

 into four parts in 1872. 



".The first, planted in vines of the district 

 (cuttings), perfectly healthy. 



"The second, with cuttings of wild vines 

 collected on tue banks of the Khone. 



"The third with seedlings. 



"The fourth with sarments (cuttings rooted 

 before separation from the vine) from the 

 hillsides of the Hermitage. 



"In 1877, the first portion had a mortality of 

 1 plant in 8; the second, lini; the third, 1 in 

 50; the fourth, 1 in 10. 



"The victory remains, then, after six years, 

 to the seedlings, which show a mortality of 

 only two per cent." 



It is perhaps true that by means of cut- 

 tings from European vines we cannot expect 

 to obtain plants thoroughly acclimated in 

 California. What may we not expect by 

 propagating from the seed which European 

 cuttings bear in our climate? 



I have suggested the idea of a change of 

 seed to Mr. Trimoulet, who is now anxious 

 to experiment with seeds of European vines 

 grown in California. Our climate has had 

 good effects upon the eggs of silk worms; 

 perhaps it may produce a constitutional re- 

 juvenation of the vine through the seeds. 



IN CONCLUSION. 



The opinions expressed in the foregoing 

 paragraphs relatingto the phylloxera , I have 

 no reason to change now, although I might 

 easily modify them, as I have done in the 

 first part of this article. I submit them 

 altogether for the careful study of our viti- 



