<S Dr. Engehnann. 



BUSH BERG CATALOGUE. 



Classijication . 



the wild grapes of the Old World. But plants 

 raised from the seeds of this, as well as of 

 any other true grape-vine, generally furnish 

 as many sterile as fertile specimens, while 

 those propagated by layering or by cuttings, 

 of course, onl}' continue the individual charac- 

 ter of the mother- plant or stock.* 



The peculiar disposition of the tendrils in 

 the grape-vines furnishes an important char- 

 acteristic for the distinction of one of our 

 most commonly cultivated species, Vitis 

 Labrusco, its wild and its cultivated varieties, 

 from all others. In this species — and it is 

 the only true Vitis exhibiting it — the tendrils 

 (or their equivalent, an inflorescence), are 

 found opposite each leaf, and this arrange- 

 ment I designate as continuous tendrils. All 

 the other species known to me exhibit a 

 regular alternation of two leaves, each having 

 a tendril opposite it, with a third leaf with- 

 out such a tendril, and this arrangement may 

 be named intermittent tendrils. Like all vege- 

 table characters, this is not an absolute one : 

 to observe it well it is necessary to examine 

 well-grown canes, and neither sprouts of 

 extraordinary vigor, nor stunted autumnal 

 branclilets. The few lowest leaves of a cane 

 have no oj^posite tendrils, but after the t^econd 

 or third leaf the regularity in the arrange- 

 ment of the tendrils, as above described, 

 rarely fails to occur. In weak branches we 

 sometimes find tendrils irregularly placed 

 opposite leaves, or sometimes none at all. 



It is a remarkable fact connected with this 

 law of vegetation, that most grape-vines bear 

 only two inllorescences (consequently two 

 bunches of grapes) upon the same cane, while 

 in the forms belonging to Labrusca there are 

 often three, and sometimes, in vigorous shoots, 

 four or five, or rarely, even more in succes- 

 sion, each opposite a leaf. Whenever in 

 other species, in rare cases, a third or fourth 

 inflorescence occurs, there will always be 

 found a barren leaf (without an opposite in- 

 florescence) between the second and third 

 bunches. 



Another valuable character, discovered by 

 Prof. Millardet, of Bordeaux, is found in tlie 

 structure of the branches ("canes," as they 

 are usuall}' called). These contain a large 

 pith, and this pith is transversely separated 

 at each node (point where a leaf is or has 

 been inserted), ))y what is called a diaphragm. 

 These diaphragms consist of liarder, solid 



* Some observat ons (rather loose, to be sure) seem 

 to point to tlie possibility of the sexual chararters of 

 the grape-vines lieconiiiiir cliansrod under certain cir- 

 cumstances; and, tli(iui;li 1 liave not seen a case of 

 this kind myself, nor lieard of an instance wiiei-e fertile 

 vines in cult vation liega to bear sterile (male) flow- 

 ers, there is no absolute impossiljilit^ in it, as we know 

 that other plants (willows for exa,mple) occasionally 

 spoit in this mannei-. 



pith, of the appearance of wood, and are 

 examined best in canes 6 to 12 months old, 

 when the pith has turned brown and the 

 diaphragm is whiiish ; a longitudinal section 

 through the cane will best exhibit them. 

 They are, in most species, 1 to 2 lines thick ; 

 but in the Riverbank grape, Vitis liijxiria. 

 the diaphragm is not more than ^ to :^ line 

 thick ; and in the Sand, or Rock grape, Vitis 

 liiqjestris, it is very little thicker. For us 

 here, the distinction of these species is of no 

 great practical importance ; but, as a con- 

 siderable demand for them has sprung up in 

 Europe, it is well to characterize them accur- 

 ately ; and this character holds good in winter, 

 when all others of foliage or fruit have disap- 

 peared. There is onlj' one American grape- 

 vine, also in other respects an aberrant from, 

 the Southern Muscadine grape, Vitis ViOpina^ 

 which is entirely destitute of such diaphragms. 



The cut represents the diaphragms of dif- 

 ferent species. Fig. 34, Vitis Mijitaria, with 

 the thinnest, and fig. 36, Vitis Cordifolia, 

 with a thick diaphragm ; Vitis ^Estivcdis. is sim- 

 ilar to this last, and Vitis Labrusca. scarcely 

 thinner; but fig. 35, Vitis Rnpestris. has a 

 diaphragm not much thicker than the first. 

 Fig. 37 shows Vitis Vidpina (or T"". Rotimdi- 

 folia) without any partition. 



It is well known that some species of Vitis 

 grow well from cuttings, while others are 

 difficult to propagate in this way. 



Easy to propagate are Labrusca ^ Monticola 

 Riparia, Rnp)estris and Palmata. Almost 



Pig. ■^. Fig. 36. 



Fig. 37. 



II 

 V. riparia. V. rupestris. V. cordifolia. V. vulpina. 



impossible to propagate by cuttings are 

 Candicaris. ^Estivalis. Cinerea, Cordifolia^ 

 Vulpina, and probably Californica. Ari- 

 zoiiica and Caribea I do not know in this 

 respect. That the southern cultivated forms 

 of uEstiralis grow more or less readily from 

 cuttings is stated further on (page 1-i). 



The structure of the bark of the young 

 canes shows also differences in the different 

 species, but as the characters are to some 

 extent of microscopical detail they are here 



