European Grapes. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Their Failure. 5 



of the forest ; hence the introduction and 

 planting of foreign grapes and their seedlings 

 was still looked for. The attempts with Ger- 

 man, French and Spanish vines, made again 

 and again, proved failures. Hundreds of 

 thousands (comprising many different sorts) 

 of the l)est European vines were imported, 

 but they all perished ''from the vicissitudes 

 of the climate." Thousands of failures are 

 recorded ; not one of durable success ; and 

 Downing was fully justified in saying {Hor- 

 ticulturist., Jan., 1851), "The introduction of 

 the foreign grape into this country for open 

 vine3^ard culture is impossible. Thousands 

 of individuals have tried it — the result in 

 every ease has been the same — a season or 

 two of promise, then utter failure."* 



While this fact could not be denied, the 

 cause remained a mystery. All pronounced 

 the European grape as " unsuited to our soil 

 and climate ;" all attributed its failure to that 

 cause. But we, and doubtless many others 

 with us, could not help thinking that "soil 

 and climate" cannot be the sole causes; for 

 this vast country of ours possesses a great 

 many locations where soil and climate are 

 quite similar to those of some parts of Europe 

 where the Vinifera flourishes. Is it reason- 

 able to suppose then, that none of the many 

 varieties which are grown in Europe under 

 such varied climatic conditions, from Mainz 

 to Naples, from the Danube to tiie Rhone, 

 should find a congenial spot in these United 

 States, embracing almost every climate of 

 the temperate zone? If soil and climate were 

 so unsuited, how is it that the young, ten- 

 der European vines grow so well, so promis- 

 ing of success, for a few seasons ; in large 

 cities sometimes even for several years? How 

 explain the fact that the finest European 

 varieties of other fruits, the pear for instance, 

 are successfully grown here in some locali- 

 ties, and that, but for the curculio, the Reine 

 Claude and German Prunes would flourish 

 here as well as there? Slight differences of 

 soil and climate might well produce marked 

 differences in the constitution of the vine, 



* Always excepting California, whifli was then almost 

 unknown, but wiiich is now tlie si't'atest wine-procluc- 

 injr State of tliis counti'y. Tliere, from the counties 

 bordering the Bay of San Francisco down to Colorado 

 River, several liundrod varieties of the best Eurojiean 

 jjrapes are successfully cultivated; and even since the 

 appearance of the Phylloxera, evidently introduced 

 from Europe on imported vines, American arapes are 

 not in demand there, except for tlie pui'nosc of t^raftlns 

 thereon European varieties. Recently the Soitdan grape, 

 a vine fllscovererl on the banks of the Niger in Africa, 

 has been introduced into California. This peculiar vine 

 is an «/)/(««?, but has a tuberous perennial root. The 

 seetls are much like those of other gi'apes; the leaves 

 reseml)le some Rotundifolia varieties of the S. A. S. 



This Soudan grape belongs to a genus (juite distinct 

 from the true Vitis. Species of that kind were dissemi- 

 nated in the tropic regions of Asia, Afi'ica lin New Hol- 

 land) and even in Mexico; but tlieir fruit is without 

 value. Besides their culture is quite impossible In the 

 temperate zone 



perhaps also somewhat change the flavor and 

 quality of the grapes, but could not sulTi- 

 ciently account for their absolute failure. 

 Nevertheless most of our learned horticultur- 

 ists looked then for no other cause ; they 

 even went so far as to teach that "if we 

 really wished to acclimate the foreign j^rape 

 here, we must go to the seeds, and raise two 

 or three new generations in the American soil 

 and climate." In obedience to these teach- 

 ings, numerous fruitless attempts have been 

 made here to raise seedlings of the European 

 grape that will endure our climate. Like their 

 parents they seemed successful for a time* — 

 to be soon discarded and forgotten. But, in 

 absence of any satisfactory reason for these 

 failures, it is quite natural that renewed at- 

 tempts were and are continually madc.t In 

 the spring of 1867, we ourselves imported 

 from Austria about 300 rooted vines (Velt- 

 liner. Blue Baden, Riesling, Tokay, UvaPana, 

 &c. ), not with expectations of success in open 

 air culture, but with a view to discover, by 

 careful observation, the real cause of failure, 

 and knowing the true cause, to be then, per- 

 haps, able to obviate it. The vines grew 

 splendidly, but during the svimmer of 1869, 

 though bearing some beautiful fruit, their 

 foliage l)egan to wear a yellow, sickly appear- 

 ance. In 1870 many were d} ing and we al- 

 most despaired of discovering the cause, when 

 Prof. C. V. Riley, then our State Entomolo- 

 gist, informed us that the discovery had just 

 been made in F'rance by Planchon and Lich- 

 tenstein, that the serious grape disease which 

 had attacked their noble vineyards was caused 

 b}' a root-louse (Phylloxera), which bears a 

 close resemblance to our American grapeleaf- 



* Among the seedlings of foi-eign grapes raised in the 

 U. S., which ol)tained a name and fame, are: Brinki^e 

 and Emita', raised by Peter Raabe of Philadelphia; 

 Bhaxdywini;, originated near Wilmington, Del.; Ka- 

 tarka and Mont(H>mery, or Merritt's Seedling, raised l)y 

 Dr. W. A. Royce of Newburg, N. Y. To these belong 

 also Clara and Weehawken, (see description). N. 

 Grein of Hermann, Mo., introduced, about twenty 

 years ago, some very good new grapes, which he claimed 

 (and honestly believed) to have raised from seed of tlie 

 German Riesling. '1 hey proved to be not seedlings of 

 the European Riesling at all, but of the American Tay- 

 lor grape, and are now known as Mis.souri Riesling, 

 Grein's Golden, &c., (see these varieties). George Has- 

 kell, a most persevering experimenter, says: "I raised 

 many hundred vines from seeds of ditferent foreign 

 grapes. These seeds were planted under glass, and the 

 vines remained in the house two years, when they were 

 removed to the open air. None of tliem proved healthy 

 * * * iliey all died in a few years, though well cov- 

 ered in winter. 



+ The only satisfactory method of obtaining the fine 

 foreign grapes in this country, east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, is under glass, by the use of the grapery. This, 

 however, so far, is done on a very limit d scale only, as 

 a luxury for the table; and even there the roots of the 

 vines in the outside horder are exposed to the danger 

 of l)eing infested l)y tlie Phylloxera; so that vines graft- 

 ed on American roots should be used. Those who de- 

 sire and can afford to enjoy this luxury we refer for in- 

 formation to Peter Henderson's excellent books on 

 gardening. 



All our remarks on grape culture refer only to the 

 States east of the Rocky Slountains, unless otherwise 

 expressly stated. 



