AGRICULTURAL 

 LIBRARY, 



UNIVERSITY 

 OF 



^CALIFORNIA. 



THE 



PROBABLY THE OLDEST OF DOMESTICATED FRUITS. 

 "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture," by L. H. BAILEY. 



It is probable that wine was made from it even before the species 

 was brought into cultivation. It seems to have been cultivated at the 

 dawn of history. Its product was certainly no rarity in Noah's time. 



Of all countries, North America is richest in species of Vitis. 

 These species range from ocean to ocean and from the British posses- 

 sions to the tropics. The greatest development of the native-grape 

 industry has taken place in New York and Ohio, bordering lakes and 

 large streams. These areas are the lower Hudson river valley ; the 

 region of the central western New York lakes ; the Lake Erie region 

 of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. There are also important 

 grape interests in Ontario, Michigan, and other northern parts. There 

 is considerable interest in grape culture in the cooler parts of Georgia 

 and Alabama, and there are enlarging areas in the country extending 

 from the Ozark region southward. Nearly all the country, excepting 

 the northernmost parts, raises grapes, but in most cases the growing 

 of them cannot be said to be extensive enough to be called an industry. 



Although the grape sections of the North hug the water areas, and 

 the land, therefore, is often steep, all grape growers prefer nearly level 

 land. The old-world plantations are largely on very steep lands ; such 

 lands, by virtue of their warmth and drainage, are thought to give an 

 extra quality of wine. These ideas were brought to this country, and 

 many of our early vineyards were planted on terraced slopes. But we 

 grow grapes for a different purpose from the Europeans, and land is 

 cheap and labor is dear. Old-world methods cannot be followed in 

 American commercial plantations. The ideal bunch of grapes is one 

 which is of medium size for the variety, compact, uniformly developed 

 and ripened thoroughly, containing no small or diseased berries, and 

 with the bloom intact. 



A very dense or crowded cluster is not the most desirable, for all 

 the berries cannot develop fully, and the cluster is not easily handled 

 when the fruit is eaten. 



Unfermented grape juice is a product which deservedly is growing 

 in popularity. The lack of secondary domestic uses of the grape is 

 one reason for the very serious gluts in the markets. However, one 

 year with another, the profit on a good vineyard may be expected to 

 exceed that on the staple farm crops. 



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