278 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



2. Vitis labrtisca, the northern fox or skunk grape. New 

 England and southward to Georgia along the Allegheny high- 

 lands. Parent of the Catawba, Concord, Isabella, Worden, and 

 most of our commonly cultivated varieties. 



3. Vitis vulpina, the river-bank or frost grape, commonly 

 known as Vitis rip aria. It is the common wild grape of the 

 northern states east of the Mississippi, frequently hybridizes 

 naturally with V. labnisca eastward, where they overlap, and is 

 the parent of the Clinton, Elvira, Pearl, and others. ^ 



The unrivaled Catawba was found wild in the woods of 

 extreme western North Carolina in 1842. It is the great 

 grape wherever it can be grown, and its seedling, the Diana, 

 is an oldtime favorite. 



A year later the Concord was discovered among some wild 

 grapes that sprung up about the residence of Ephraim Bull at 

 Concord, Massachusetts. The writer saw the original vine a 

 few days ago (August, 1908) still growing by the little old home- 

 stead, just beyond the homes of Hawthorne and the Alcotts. 



From the Concord have sprung the Worden, Moores Early, 

 Pocklington, Eaton, and Rockland, of which the two first are 

 famous. In the same way the Clinton and many other strains 

 have come directly from the wild within the lifetime of men 

 yet living, and many, by hybridizing, have given rise to yet other 

 successful varieties. In this way have all the varieties of grapes 

 grown in eastern or middle United States been produced directly 

 from the wild and within the last generation. 



The thick-meated European grapes were found to succeed in 

 California, and they now reach our tables from the fruit stands. 

 However high in quality and however valuable for raisins or for 

 wine, I am sure that the average palate prefers the juicy varieties, 

 developed though but recently from the native stock of the 

 American forest. 



1 The student is urged to pursue further in the admirable work of Bailey, 

 "Origin of our Native Fruits," pp. 1-126, the history, characteristics, and 

 development of this greatest of American fruits. 



