334 POMOLOGY 



grape (F. vinifera) in eastern United States failed utterly, 

 but on the Pacific Coast they have been successful since 

 the early Mission days. Recently Hedrick has succeeded 

 in establishing V. vinifera in New York state where several 

 are proving capable of withstanding the climate except that 

 some winter protection must be given. 



In general, the breeding work that has been done with 

 grapes, covering the period since the introduction of the 

 Isabella (1816) and Catawba (1823) up to the present time, 

 is one of the most valuable chapters in the history of breeding 

 fruits in this country. 



296. Inheritance of self-sterility in grapes. — It will be 

 recalled that grape varieties differ in regard to the structure 

 of their flowers. They are classified as (1) true hermaphro- 

 dites, (2) hermaphrodites functioning as females, owing to 

 completely or partially abortive pollen, and (3) pure males 

 with the pistils absent or rudimentary. There are also two 

 distinct types of stamens among these classes: (1) those 

 which are upright, and such varieties are practically always 

 self-fertile ; and (2) those which are reflexed or bent backward 

 and downward which are self-sterile. Of the 132 important 

 commercial varieties of the grape described in "The Grapes 

 of New York," Dorsey (1909) shows that 95 have upright 

 stamens and 37 reflexed. The question arises as to whether 

 this character of the stamens will behave as a unit character 

 or, in other words, whether self-sterility can be eliminated 

 by breeding. 



297. The inheritance of sex in the grape. — In the grape 

 the flower type has such an important economic bearing that 

 considerable attention has been given to the inheritance of 

 flower type or sex. Since the wild vines are dioecious for 

 the most part, the question has often been raised as to the 

 origin of the perfect or hermaphrodite flower type such as 

 is found in Concord. Some recent investigations have thrown 



