Localities. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Climate. 3 



atmospheric conditions are favorable, satis- 

 factory results may be obtained, even from 

 poor soils, but in ungenial climates the very 

 best soils will not guarantee success." 



Moreover, with our present and increasing 

 facilities of transportation, grape culture on 

 a large scale cannot be remunerative, except 

 in favorable localities which will produce the 

 best quality almost every 3'ear with certaintj'. 

 Where the production is low in quality and 

 quantit}', and often entirely fails, grape cul- 

 ture may exist on a small scale for home use 

 and market, but on a large scale it will not 

 reward the vintner's labor, and would finallj^ 

 be abandoned. As California in the West, 

 so does Virginia in the East, and parts of 

 Texas and Arkansas in the South, seem to 

 possess the best localities for grape culture 

 on a very large scale. But lately a locality 

 has been found in the southwestern section 

 of Missouri which promises to surpass most 

 others east of the Rocky Mountains — uniting 

 most advantageous atmospheric conditions 

 (ozone), altitude and the proper soil — namely, 

 the Ozark Mountains, which are no mountains, 

 but mostly high rolling table lands, extend- 

 ing through the southern tiers of her counties 

 to Northwest Arkansas, reaching an altitude 

 of l,oOO feet; being above the heavy, muggy 

 atmosphere prevailing over the great Missis- 

 sippi basin, and thereby indicating a com- 

 parative freedom from rot and mildew, the 

 great drawbacks of successful grape culture. 



There are only a few countries where the 

 grape will, in favorable seasons, grow to per- 

 fection, and there is no country in the world 

 where all kinds of grapes would succeed. 

 Species found in the lower latitudes will not 

 flourish if removed further north ; the natives 

 of higher altitudes will not endure the south- 

 ern heat ; the Scuppernong cannot ripen 

 north of Virginia ; the Fox grape of the North 

 will scarcely grow in the lower regions of 

 Carolina and Georgia ; a vine which produces 

 delicious grapes in Missouri may become very 

 inferior in the most favored localities of New 

 Hampshire. 



Thus the climate, the mean temperature as 

 well as the extremes, the length of the grow- 

 ing season, the relative amount of rain, the 

 ameliorating influence of lakes and large 

 rivers, the altitude as well as the soil, have 

 an almost incredible influence on various 

 varieties of grapes; and a judicious choice 

 of locations adapted to the grape, and of 

 varieties adapted to our location, its climate 

 and soil, is therefore of the first importance. 



" No one grape is suited to all localities; 

 neither is there any one locality which is 

 suited to all grapes ; and we must not expect 

 that any one variety will be found possessing 



the most desirable qualities that will be suited 

 to all localities." — G. W. Campbell. 



Wm. Saunders, Superintendent of U. S. 

 Experimental Gardens at Washington, D. C, 

 says: "'Our native grapes are destroyed by 

 winter frosts because they have been sub- 

 jected to mildew in summer, and it is only in 

 special localities that all kinds grow well. 

 The most generally cultivated grapes are 

 confessed I3" not those of the best quality 

 either for table or for wine." 



"The best grape climates are those where 

 there are least dews, and wherever we find 

 specially favored localities, we will find this 

 partial or total exemption from heavy dews. 

 This has long ago been demonstrated, and 

 new grapes emanating from favored regions 

 will fail to give entire satisfaction when 

 grown in localities less favorably situated, 

 and thus lead to disappointment. This is the 

 reason for so many seemingly conflicting 

 opinions regarding the merits of varieties, 

 and it is unfortunate that these considera- 

 tions are not better understood and recog- 

 nized. When a j'oung grape-\ine loses its 

 foliage by midsummer, and the green shoots' 

 remain unmatured till frost, that variety 

 might as well be discarded at once ; no known 

 method of pruning, fertilizing or care in cul- 

 tivation will help it." 



C. L. Watroiis. of Des Moines, Iowa, wrote 

 in an excellent paper on "Testing New 

 Fruits :" No one can safely commend a new 

 fruit for general cultivation in an}' region 

 until it has been well tested there under all 

 usual conditions, nor until after thorough 

 trial, for a period equal to the usual life of 

 an individual of that species. 



But because a vine does not succeed in 

 one place, it is no reason that it may not be 

 of the greatest value in another which is 

 suited to its character. 



Notwithstanding that over 1500 varieties 

 are cultivated in P^urope, yet the number of 

 kinds especially adapted to the different lo- 

 calities is ver}' limited for each of them, and 

 we seldom find more than three or four varie- 

 ties to form the main bulk of the vineyards of 

 the different sections ; each province, county 

 or township even, having its own special 

 favorites. This question of adapta1)ilitv to. 

 soil and local climate is one of the greatest 

 importance, and should be closely studied b}^ 

 the intelligent grape grower if he would make 

 its culture a success. No existing variety, 

 and probably none that will ever be produced, 

 is well adapted to general cultivation in more 

 than a limited portion of this vast countr3\ 

 This iimitation is not determined by isother- 

 mal lines. Success or failure ot a variety de- 

 pends not only on degrees of heat and cold ; 



