SMALL-FRUITS AND THE GRAPE 215 



THE GRAPE (Plate VII) 



322. Origin. The grape is generally credited to the 

 Phoenicians. These tradesmen and sailors probably intro- 

 duced it into the countries that border the Mediterranean. 

 It is known that this occurred more than three thousand years 

 ago ; for Hesiod, writing about that time, describes the vine 

 and gives directions for its care. But the cultivated grape 

 did not originate with the Phoenicians. They in turn received 

 it from other peoples, probably from the region of the Caspian 

 Sea. De Candolle thinks that the forms found there represent 

 the wild progenitors from which the domesticated Vitis vini- 

 fera has sprung. This is the grape of history. In this 

 country, it is confined mostly to California. 



323. The grape in Europe and America. The grape has 

 been used in Europe from earliest times primarily for the 

 making of wines. Hundreds of varieties are cultivated in 

 that part of the world at the present time, but all are de- 

 scended from the single species, Vitis vinifera, which is the 

 wine-producing form. The American table grape is another 

 product, and is derived either directly from native American 

 species, or from hybrids secured by crossing these with the 

 European forms. The early settlers in America found the 

 grape growing wild in great abundance; but so accustomed 

 were they to the European point of view that they thought 

 of it only in terms of the wine which might be made from it. 

 About the middle of the last century, however, the discovery of 

 the Concord grape marked the beginning of a new era of Amer- 

 ican grape-culture, founded on a native American variety. 



324. Origin of the Concord. In his work entitled The 

 Evolution of Our Native Fruits Bailey gives a full account 

 of the types of grapes that have originated in America. In 

 speaking of the Concord, he says: "Mr. Ephraim W. Bull 

 bought the house at Concord, in which he lived, in 1840. 

 That year, he relates, boys brought up from the river some 



