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CHAPTER IV. 



AMPELOGRAPHY. 



The word " Ampelography " denotes the description of different 

 kinds of vines. 



The family of the Ampelideae is divided into several genera ; the 

 only one which interests us here is the genus Vitis, which is in turn 

 divided into several species. 



The ordinary grape vine, Vitis Vinifera, being the most important, 

 is the species we shall devote most attention to. There are several 

 others which we must also describe, amongst which are the American 

 vines, which have assumed great importance of late years, on account 

 of the remarkable resistance they oppose to the attacks of the 

 phylloxera. 



Each species comprises many more or less distinct sorts, or 

 " cepages," as they are termed in French ; the term being very con- 

 venient, as these different sorts are not all sufficiently distinct to 

 justify their being classed as different varieties from a strictly 

 botanical point of view, although the term may be used in a general 

 way. 



As vines are always propagated by cuttings, and any issue derived 

 from seed may vary considerably from the parent plant, it is more 

 correct to look upon all the vines of a " cepage " collectively, as an 

 individual, of which each vine is a part. In other words, the 

 differences between "cepages" are individual differences, the many 

 millions of each which exist together only making up or being, so 

 to speak, part of the original vine from which they were multiplied 

 in the shape of cuttings. 



The differences between these sorts are of the first importance as 

 far as the resulting wine is concerned ; they, therefore, are of far 

 greater interest to the practical vigneron than to the botanist. 



In this chapter the most important " cepages " are described in 

 alphabetical order under the different species to which they belong. 



