4 Native Grapes. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



The Pioneers. 



not only on earliness or lateness of seasons, 

 however important factors these may also be. 

 but on numerous causes, some of which we 

 cannot, so far, suflicieutly understand and 

 explain. We need but remember that the 

 grapes we cultivate in the United States have 

 originated from one or the other of several 

 distinct species, or from crosses between some 

 of their varieties, and that each of those na- 

 tive species is found growing wild in certain 

 limited portions of our country, and not at 

 all in others. Thus the ivild Labrusca is a 

 stranger to the low^er Mississippi Valley and 

 westAvard. By observing what species grows 

 in a locality, we may safel}^ assume that cul- 

 tivated varieties of the same species will 

 thrive best in that locality or its vicinity 

 under otherwise projjcr conditions. Where 

 the native species does not exist, its cultivated 

 varieties may for a time promise excellent 

 success ; but in many localities this promise 

 ■will probabl}', sooner or later, end in disap- 

 pointment. This has been our sad experi- 

 ence even with the Concord, which is gener- 

 ally considered the most reliable, healthy and 

 hardy American grape. 



On the other hand this proposition seems to 

 conflict with the fact that American vines of 

 different species have been successf ull}^ trans- 

 planted even to Europe. But it would be a 

 great mistake to believe that they would suc- 

 ceed in all parts of that continent. It was 

 found, on the contrary, that there also some 

 of our varieties which succeed well in one por- 

 tion of France, for instance, entirely failed in 

 others ; and this only proves that we may find 

 in far-off foreign lands localities which exact- 

 1}' correspond in soil, climate, etc., with cer- 

 tain localities in our own country, and where 

 this is the case, well and good ; but where 

 these are different the results are unsatisfac- 

 tory. In evidence we quote from the report 

 of the commission, composed of some of the 

 best French authorities, to the International 

 Phylloxera Congress, in Bordeaux, (Oct., 

 1882). After giving a detailed report of 

 their observations in the principal vine3'ards 

 of France where American vines have been 

 planted, they say, "But they (these resisting 

 American vines ) do by no means succeed 

 equally well in all locations. The nature of 

 the terrain and the climate must be taken 

 into serious consideration. But was it not 

 one of the great didiculties with the French 

 vines to know which variety suited such or 

 such soil or aspect? How many failures were 

 the consequence of ])ad selection ! It is, of 

 course, the same with American vines, com- 

 ing from widely different conditions of tem- 

 perature, humidity and altitude." 



Unfortunately, this has been and is even 



now l)ut insufficiently understood. 



Indigenous wild grapes were found at the 

 discovery of this new world ; the legend tells 

 us that when the Norsemen first disct)vered 

 Ibis country', " Hleif Krickson " called the 

 land Vineland. As early as 15G4 wine was 

 made by the first colonists in Florida from 

 the native grape. The Pilgrim fathers saw 

 vines in abundance at Plj'mouth. " Here are 

 grapes, white and red, and very sweet and 

 strong also," wrote Jos. Edward Winslow in 

 1621. Rev. Fr. Higginson, writing in 1(329 

 from the Massachusetts Colony says "Ex- 

 cellent vines are here, up and down in the 

 woods. Our governor has alread}' planted a 

 vineyard, with great hope of increase." Thus, 

 during the previous centuries grapes were 

 cultivated, and wine has occasionall}' lieen 

 made in America from native grapes ; (the 

 French settlers near Kaskaskia, Ills., made, 

 in 1769, one hundred and ten hogsheads of 

 strong wine from wild grapes) —"but neither 

 the (juality of the wine nor the price obtained 

 for it offered sutlicient inducement to perse- 

 vere. ' ' — Buchanan. 



The European grape, Vitia Vinifera. was, 

 therefore, considered the only true tvine grape. 

 In 16.30, a London company sent French vig- 

 nerons into the Virginia Colony to plant grape- 

 vines which they had imported for the purpose : 

 the poor vignerons were unjustly blamed for 

 their failure. In 1633 Wm. Penn vauily tried 

 to introduce and cultivate European varieties 

 in Pennsylvania. In 1790 a Swiss Colony, 

 grape growers from Lake Geneva, tried to 

 raise grapes and make wine in Jessamine 

 County, Kentucky, but their hopes were soon 

 frustrated; their "labor and fund— $10,000. a 

 large amount in those days — were lost ; and 

 only when they commenced to cultivate an 

 indigenous grape, which, however, they sup- 

 posed to be from the Cape (see description of 

 Alexander)., they had somewhat better suc- 

 cess. About twenty years later (1820) the 

 Cataicba and Isabella were introduced, (see 

 description). These two varieties may be 

 considered the principal pioneers of Ameri- 

 can grape culture ; but though excellent and 

 successful at that time in many localities and 

 praised by song, they did not satisfy those 

 who were acquainted with the superior quality 

 of the European grape and did not fully meet 

 the demands of relined taste, neither for the 

 table (market) nor for wine, (our native 

 wines were specially decried by importers), 

 and the production of neiv grapes by forced 

 crossing and hybridization was scarcely 

 known. Our most esteemed veteran, Geo. 

 W. Campbell of Ohio, can rememl)er when 

 no grapes were known in the lake region of 

 Ohio but the wild Fox and the Frost grapes 



