26 Eiparia. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Bupestris. 



lar to the Taylor, darker green on its upper, lighter on 

 its lower face, and more glossy ; every third leaf is 

 without a tendril. Crosses of this northern (Riparia) 

 grape would seem desirable for our North-western 

 States." 



The CLINTON is the most prominent of its cultivated 

 varieties, and the AUGHWICK, BURROUGHS, CHIPPEWA, 

 FRANKLIN, HUNTINGDON, MARION and OPORTO belong 

 to the same group or family. The BACCHUS is a seedling 

 of Clinton, and probably also SchraidV s seedling BLACK 

 PEARL, icketts' PEABODY, &c. The TAYLOR was held 

 to belong to a somewhat different form of the Riparia, 

 found growing along the Alleghany range, from south- 

 ern New York to Alabama ; it certainly has a close re- 

 semblance to this form of the Riparia, but botanists 

 have lately discovered and established that the Taylor 

 is an accidental cross with Labrusca, which is con- 

 firmed by the character of many of its seedlings. This 

 variety, much esteemed for its vigorous growth, health 

 and hardiness, as also for its superior quality for wine, 

 was, however, generally unproductive on account of 

 its more or less deformed stamens, with short or rather 

 curved filaments ; a defect exhibited also in most of 

 the wild Riparias, which are the most profuse bloom- 

 ers of any grape-vines. FULLER, in his old book on 

 grape culture, first expressed the opinion that some 

 individuals of this group (Taylor, Othello, &c.) pos- 

 sess excellent qualities, which, when properly devel- 

 oped, and their defects remedied, will make the best 

 wine grapes in the country. 



Following this suggestion of Mr. Fuller, already 

 quoted in the former editions of this Catalogue, a 

 large number of experiments have been made with 

 raising seedlings from Taylor and Clinton, and these 

 are now crowned with eminent success, having pro- 

 duced some of the most valuable and promising new 

 wine grapes, especially adapted to the wide range of 

 the Riparia Class. See Amber, Bacchus, Elvira, Grime's 

 Golden, Missouri Riesling, Montefiore, Noah, Pearl, 

 Transparent, Uhland, &c. 



The foliage is rarely attacked by mildew, but the 

 leaves, possibly owing to their smoothness, are occasion- 

 ally injured by insect punctures. The Phylloxera pre- 

 fers the foliage of this class of vines to that of all others 

 so that, in some seasons, it is covered with leaf-galls 

 made by this formidable insect. The fruit is less sub- 

 ject to rot, and is noted for keeping well after being 

 gathered from the plant. That of the northern form 

 is late in maturing, and seems to reach its greatest per- 

 fection by remaining on the vine until the thermome- 

 ter indicates proximity to the freezing-point, when, 

 even in northern localities, it proves to be a fruit of fair 

 quality either for table or wine. The greatest objection 

 to it as a wine grape is that of having too much acid. 

 The fruit is not so deficient in sugar as is generally 

 supposed, having enough of this important ingredient 

 for a good wine. Nor has it any foxy or musky taste 

 whatever, the judgment of our friends in France to 

 the contrary notwithstanding. The peculiar flavor in 

 some varieties may displease them tastes differ ; we, 

 ourselves, do not admire the Clinton goflt, but it has 

 certainly no resemblance to what we call "foxiness," 

 as the characteristic of Labrusca. The flavor of Taylor 

 and its seedlings seems to us unexceptionable. The 

 Marion and other varieties of this class may also be 



preferable to Clinton in this respect. Analysis shows 

 that they have a sufficiency of sugar, and it seems 

 probable that the wines only require age to develop 

 their qualities. 



It is known that wines of the Clinton variety, when 

 kept in a suitable cellar from four to six years, assume 

 a fine character. 



The mode of management and culture has also a 

 decided influence upon the productiveness of this spe- 

 cies. The shoots on young plants in good soil grow 

 with much vigor during early summer,frequently form- 

 ing canes from 14 to 20 feet in length before the end of 

 the season. On these canes the best developed buds 

 are some distance from the base, or point of growth 

 on the stem ; consequently, if cut back closely at the 

 fall or winter pruning, the best buds for fruit-bearing 

 are removed, and a luxuriant growth of wood, with a 

 minimum crop of fruit, will be the result. The varie- 

 ties of this group should be planted on rather poor soil, 

 deeply and well cultivated, as they are naturally ram- 

 pant growers, and. when planted in rich soils, are al- 

 most uncontrolable. 



The Riparia is more accommodating to various soils 

 than any other grape-vine ; it grows well almost every- 

 where, except on heavy yellow clay soil, and on lime- 

 stone hills it does not as well, of course, as the JSstiva- 

 lis : it is in name and in fact a river-bank grape. 



The wood of the cultivated varieties is soft, contain- 

 ing a thick medulla ; cuttings will, therefore, grow very 

 readily. The roots are wiry and tough, with a thin, 

 hard liber, growing rapidly. They also possess full 

 powers of resistance to the Phylloxera, which is usu- 

 ally found in small numbers on their roots even while 

 their foliage is densely covered with its galls. The 

 roots have so much vitality that new rootlets push out 

 from the swellings more rapidly than the insect can 

 destroy them. 



V. RUPESTRIS has, of late, already become of very 

 great value as stock for grafting. In southern Texas 

 some experiments are being made with Vinifera graft- 

 ed on Rupestris, and we predict for the same a com- 

 plete success. Wheresoever the Lenoir (Jacques or 

 Black Spanish) and Herbemont will flourish without 

 covering in winter and without mildew and rot in 

 summer, the finest European varieties will, we think, 

 succeed, if protected from the root-louse (Phylloxera) 

 by grafting on Rupestris or other resisting native stock, 

 best adapted to the soil and climate. In France, also, 

 the Rupestris is now used to some extent as a Phyl- 

 loxera-proof grafting stock, and is found especially 

 valuable on poor, rocky soil, and hot, dry, exposures, 

 where other sorts are less adapted. Some promising 

 hybrids between Rupestris and Vinifera have lately 

 been produced in France. 



VITIS VULPINA, Linmeus. Southern grape-growers 

 generally designate this species as Vitis Rotundifolia 

 (Michaux). 



This name seems to us more appropriate. V. Rotundi- 

 folia signifies "round-leaved, "as this species has leaves 

 which are nearly round, unlike those of any other spe- 

 cies. V. Vulpina signifies "Fox-grape;" but it has less 

 resemblance than any other species with the Labrusca, 

 which is generally known as the Fox-grape, and, while 

 the name "vulpina," as the translation of or synonym 

 with "fox," has sometimes been applied to the "La- 



