GRAPES. 59 



head of the blacks. The Niagara is the very best white or 

 golden grape, being of larger size and more productive than 

 Moore's Diamond, as well as a much stronger grower. These 

 are the cream of all the American grapes, as table grapes, for 

 South Texas. Of course, in the Gulf Coast and southwest- 

 ern part of Texas, the old Herbemont and Lenoir or Black 

 Spanish are the standard wine and arbor grapes, though they 

 are of little value for market. But while all the grapes recom- 

 mended above are excellent for home use and markets that can 

 be reached in one day or less, it would be useless to plant 

 them or any other American grape largely for more distant 

 shipment. They will all shell off, or drop from the bunch, in 

 our hot summer weather, after being gathered, at the end of 

 that time. After July the northern and California grapes 

 take our markets, and prices rule very low. While some of 

 the Munson and other American grapes will hang quite late 

 in the summer, it scarcely pays to leave them, on account of 

 depredations by the birds, unless constantly watched. For 

 wine growing, except on a small scale for local markets, we 

 can never compete with California, as grapes are grown more 

 cheaply there than here. But while most of the Vinifera are 

 unsuited to Texas, except the southwestern portion, around 

 Beeville and near the coast, where they are proving very suc- 

 cessful, it is highly probable that the Chasselas de Fontaine- 

 bleu will also prove at home in the eastern coast district, 

 several vines being now in full bearing on Galveston Island. 



Grapes mature very early in the Southwest, the Chasselas 

 coming in about the 5th of June, and in Galveston county but 

 a very short time afterwards. Of course, all vines should 

 be closely root-pruned, set in as small a hole as practicable, 

 and well rammed. In the matter of training, they are almost 

 exclusively adopting the California low head, no trellis, 

 system, in Southwest Texas, and the same plan would 

 answer well for the Chasselas in the eastern coast region. 

 But all the American grapes seem to do better on somewhat 

 longer pruning, though I know of vines that have given good 

 crops on the above plan. As a rule, perhaps, the renewal 

 system of several new canes, about three feet long for vines 



