326 FRUIT-GROWING 



For long no one knew what the "sickness" 

 was that prevented the growing of these 

 grapes, but it is now known that the trouble 

 was caused by a very minute insect, the grape 

 phylloxera, a louse-like creature that sucked the 

 juices from the roots. It was a native insect 

 to which the native vines had become resistant, 

 but to which imported forms fell an easy prey. 

 Later this same insect was imported into 

 France and for a time the vineyards of that 

 country were threatened with extermination. 

 All that saved them was the fact that some 

 one had the bright idea of grafting European 

 grapes upon American roots. This means of 

 relief was tried and is still being practised with 

 the result that the vines are now resistant to 

 this former terror of the vineyard. 



In the meantime, however, attention had been 

 directed to the development of our native sorts, 

 and in a surprisingly short time many valuable 

 kinds had thus been evolved. Consequently 

 our eastern grape culture is dependent entirely 

 upon our native varieties — or in a few cases up- 

 on varieties produced by crossing one or more 

 of the native sorts with the European kinds. 

 Although neglected by the colonists our 

 native grapes attracted attention from abroad 

 about the year 1001 when Lief the son of Eric, 

 brough his little crew of Norsemen to our 

 Atlantic shores. On what is now our New Eng- 



