Dr. Encjelmann. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Classification. 



CLASSIFICATION. 

 TheTrue* Grape-vines of the United States. 



BY DR. G. ENGELMANN. 



LThis paper is an elaboration of his Synopses of Amer- 

 ican Grape-vines, which appeared in Riley's Fourth 

 Report of the State Entomologist of Missouri, 1872, the 

 American Naturalist, 1872, VI. pp. .^39-542, Riley's Sixth 

 Report 1874, pp. 70-76, and the second edition of the 

 Bushberg Catalog-ue, 1875, pp. 4-11. Tlie French Trans- 

 lation of same by Bazille and Planchon (Paris and 

 Montpellier, 1876)— It has been entirely rewritten, add- 

 ing many illustrations, etc., by Dr. G. Engelmann him- 

 self for the third edition of the Bushberg Catalogue, 1883. 

 This was his last work. He died on the 4th of Feb., 1884. 

 It was reprinted in the "Botanical Works of the late 

 Geo. Engelman, edited by Wm. Trelease and Asa Gray, 

 Cambridge, Mass., 1887.] 



The Grape-vines are among the most varia- 

 ble plants, even in their wild state, in which 

 climate, soil, shade, humidity and perhaps 

 natural hjdjridization, have originated such a 

 multiplicity and such an intermixture of 

 forms, that it is often difficult to recognize 

 the original tj^pes and to refer the different 

 given forms to their proper alliances. Only 

 by carefully studjing a large number of forms 

 from all pai'ts of the country, in their peculiar 

 mode of growth and especially their fructifica- 

 tion, or rather their seeds, are we enabled 

 to arrive at any thing like a satisfactory 

 disposition of tUese plants. 



(Table of Grape Seeds: Figs. 1-33, page 11.) 



Before I proceed to the classification of our 

 Grape-vines, I deem it necessaiy to make a 

 few preliminary remarks : 



The grape-vines cultivated in that part of 

 the United States l3'ing east of the Kocky 

 Mountains are all natives of the country, most 

 of them picked up in the woods; some, per- 

 haps, improved by cultivation ; and a few the 

 product of natural or artificial hybridization. 

 In that part of the country the wine grapes of 

 the Old World can only be cultivated under 

 glass ; but in New Mexico and California they 

 have been successfully introduced by the 

 Spaniards, and in the latter State a great 

 many varieties are now extensively cultivated, 

 and promise to make one of the great staples 

 of that region ; but eastward and northward 

 they have entirely failed, owing to the des- 

 tructive effects of that now so well known and 

 dreaded insect, the Phylloxera, of which 

 more, further on. 



* We treat here only of the trvie grape-vines, with edi- 

 ble berries. In the flowers of tiiese the small green 

 petals do not expand, but coliere at the top, and sep- 

 arating from their base, fall away together as a little 

 five-lobed hood. The flowers, and conseciuently the 

 fruit, are arranged in the well-lcnown clustei's (thyi-sus). 

 Thus they are distinguished from the false grape-vines 

 (botanically known as Ampelopsis and Cissiis), which 

 often resemble the true grape-vines very much, but 

 bear no edible berries. Their flowers expand regularly, 

 opening at top, and are arranged In broad, flat-topped 

 clusters (corymbs). 



All the true grape-vines bear fertile flowers 

 on the stock, and sterile flowers on another 

 separate stock, and are, therefore, called 

 polygamous^ or, not quite correctly, diceciovs. 

 The sterile plants do bear male flowers with 

 abortive pistils, so that while they never pro- 

 duce fruit themselves, they may assist in 

 fertilizing the others ; the fertile flowers 

 however, are hermaphrodites, containing l)oth 

 organs — stamens and pistils — and are capa- 

 ble of ripening fruit without the assistance of 

 the male plants.* Real female flowers, with- 

 out aii}^ stamens, do not seem ever to have 

 been observed. Both forms, the male and 

 hermaphrodite, or if preferred, those with 

 sterile and those with complete flowers, are 

 found mixed in their native localities of the 

 wild plants, but of course, only the fertile 

 plants have been selected for cultivation, and 

 thus it happens that to the cultivator only 

 these are known ; and as the grape-vine of 

 the Old World has been in cultivation for 

 thousands of years, it has resulted that this 

 hermaphrodite character of its flowers has 

 been mistaken for a botanical peculiarity^ by 

 which it was to be distinguished, not only 

 from our American grape-vines, but also from 



* These fertile plants, however, are of two kinds; 

 some are perfect hermaphrodites, with long and straight 

 stamens around the pistil; the others bear smaller 

 stamens, shorter than the pistil, which soon bend down- 

 ward and curve under it; these may be called imperfect 

 hermaphrodites, approaching females, and they do not 

 seem to l)e as fruitful as the perfect hermapnrodites, 

 unless otherwise fertilized. 



In the following illustrations of the 



VARIOUS FORMS OF GRAPE FLOWERS 



are shown the difl'erent forms of grape blossom, life 

 size and enlarged: 



(Original drawing by T. V. JMunson.) 



Fig. 38. 



Fig. 39. 



Fig. 40. 



Fig. 38. — Perfect Hermaphrodite, self-fertilizing, with 

 long, erect stamen (filament) and anthers. 



Fig. 39. — Imperfect Hermaphrodite or Pistilate, not 

 self-fertilizing, witli smaller, shorter stamens, the fila- 

 ment becoming recurved. 



Fig. 40. — Male or Staminate, Non Pistilate, with larger 

 pollen bearing anthers. Pistil, none. 



It is proper here, to insist on the fact that nature has 

 not produced the male plants without a definite object; 

 and this oljject, without any doubt, is found in tlie more 

 perfect fertilization of the hermaplirodite flowers, as it 

 is a well estal)lislied fact that such cross fertilization 

 produces more abundant and healthier fruit. Vine 

 growers miglit take a liint from these observations, 

 and plant a few male stocks in their vineyards, say 1 to 

 40 or 50 of tlieir fertile stocks, and miglit expect from 

 such a course healthier fruit, which would probably 

 resist rot and other diseases better than fruit grown in 

 the ordinary way. I would expect such beneficial in- 

 fluence especially in all varieties that have sliort 

 stamens, such as the Taylor. Male stocks can be 

 easily obtained, either in the woods or from seeds. It 

 is of course understood that the males ought to belong 

 to the same species (or better, to the same variety) as 

 the fertile plants to be benefitted by their pollen. Eu- 

 ropean vine growers may also profit by this suggestion. 



