534 



SCIENTIFIC NE\A/'S. 



[Junes, iSSS. 



EXOTIC VINES. 



MDU DUBOR has communicated to Cosmos an 

 . account of species, whether of the true genus 

 Vi/i's or of some closely allied forms such as Cissus and 

 Ampelopsis, which may become suitable for cultiva- 

 tion, or which may at any rate serve for stocks to be 

 grafted with scions of Fifis vinifera. Our readers will 

 doubtless find some of his facts very interesting. 



There exist in China and Japan a number of vines 

 yielding edible fruits. The Chinese have long been 

 acquainted with the production of wine, an art which 

 they have carried to a high degree of perfection. It 

 aopear?, however, that upon the vines there exists an 

 insect which has an industrial value, so that vineyards 

 are kept up for the production of these parasites. In a 

 Japanese work, translated by Count Castillon, we read :— 



" The best are those coming from Taka-ga Mine, in 

 the province of Yamasiro. The vine which produces 

 them has branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits quite 

 similar to those of the Budo (cultivated vine). Its 

 shoots come out in the spring, and bear, three months 

 after, clusters of small yellowish flowers. The fruit is 

 ripe in August and September. The berries are small, 

 round, and of a light violet. The shoots present at 

 intervals swellings in which are found certain white 

 larvse, which are used as a remedy for the convulsions 

 of little children." In China the fruits are fermented for 

 the production of wine, " and yield the so-called Bi-Syu, 

 cr sweet wine of the poets." 



Certain j'oung plants of vines have been brought from 

 Japan, and their cultivation has been attempted in France, 

 but without any decided success. The species tried have 

 been the Yama Bouto, from the mountains of Japan and 

 the Kochu, a variety of the common vine which vegetates 

 very freely. 



Some Chinese vines may not improbably give rise to 

 useful varieties. These are Vitis Romaneti, Vitispagnucci, 

 and Spinovitis Davidi. 



Their discovery is due to a learned Lazarist missionary, 

 Father Arniand David, who has sent their seeds to M. 

 Romanet du Caillaud. 



Spinovitis Davidi, a thorny species, has been discovered 

 in a valley at the altitude of nearly ii,ooo feet. Vitis 

 Romaneti is found loo miles farther to the south on a 

 purely granitic soil at the altitude of 4,000 feet. Both 

 these species have to bear very severe winters. 



Plants of both these species are already growing, in 

 Doidogne, and are very precocious. In the vineyards of 

 M. Romanet they have already yielded fruit. The grapes 

 of Vitis cluaisi, in China, have a very delicate flavour. 

 Vitis ainitrensis grows in the country of the Amour, and 

 has black, sourish fruits. 



What is the future of these vines as regards resistance 

 to the phylloxera ? Time alone can decide. 



In Cochin China there are vines with tuberous roots 

 and annual stems which in the forests attach themselves 

 to the trunks and branches of trees, and climb to a great 

 height. A single plant sometimes yields two cwt. of 

 grapes. The clusters often weigh eight or nine pounds. 



The attempt has been miade in Cochin China to pre- 

 pare wine from these grapes, but it is scarcely drinkable, 

 and contains very little alcohol. These tubers have 

 grown in France and yielded fruit, but their wine will 

 not enter into consumption until the plants have been 

 ameliorated by cultivation. The climate of France is 

 possibly not warm enough, but they might very probably 



succeed well in Natal or Queensland. They are, it 

 may be safely said, absolutely proof against the 

 phylloxera. 



The vines of Kashmir may be of greater interest to 

 European cultivators. A certain M. Ermens, employed 

 over the gardens of the Maharaja, reports that three 

 species of vines grow in the foresls, rising to the sum- 

 mits of the loftiest trees. The natives distinguish three 

 species, which they name opiman, kavaury, and katche- 

 boury. M. Ermens has collected the fruits of these 

 species, and has made wine. Opiman yielded a red 

 wine of an agreeable flavour, somewhat resembling the 

 Rhenish wines. Katcheboury is a fine and good white 

 grape, and gave a white wine, resembling Chablis. 

 Kavaury yielded merely vinegar, which, however, is not 

 to be despised. 



Cabul produces also vines of great luxuriance. Captain 

 Fletcher, of the English army, states that they yield 

 enormous clusters of white or yellowish grapes, having 

 the flavour of the chasselas. They abound in the milder 

 valleys of Afghanistan and along the Himalaya. They 

 might not improbably succeed in Europe. 



Among African species we must not forget the 

 famous tuberous vines of the Soudan. They have had 

 their day of celebrity in France, for the narrative of the 

 traveller Lecart instilled hope into the hearts of vine- 

 growers. Now, it is no longer looked upon as a possible 

 source of grapes or of wine. 



The Arabian vine, which grows in the North of 

 Africa, has long been known to the natives. One 

 variety, named Hasseroum, gives a wine which is almost 

 black, and which is highly alcoholic, and has a clean 

 flavour. These vines, in the wild state, yield about 

 3 cwt. of grapes per root. A proprietor in the Vaucluse 

 possesses some of these vines, which have resisted the 

 phylloxera for some years. 



The Cape yields also tuberous vines. One of them 

 transplanted into France by M. Mazel bore fruit for the 

 first time in 18S6, but the grape, of a blackish violet 

 colour, has an acid pulp, which is not a favourable sign. 



In Guinea and in other parts of Africa there are also 

 numerous species of Cissus, Ampelopsis, and even of 

 Vitis, but their capabilities have not yet been ascer- 

 tained. 



Of the American vines we know; too much. If certain 

 French cultivators had not taken the uncalled-for step 

 of introducing them into Europe, we should have heard 

 nothing of the phylloxera. 



As for Australasia we have little to say. Botanists 

 and travellers mention several vines as growing in those 

 regions. Thus in the Isle of Timor there is a Vitis 

 vinifera, yielding fine clusters of a delicious perfume. 

 But the land of the Orchids does not seem to be the 

 quarter to which the vine-dresser may turn his eyes in 

 hope. The best proof is that the Australians introduce 

 and propagate in their country the old varieties admired 

 by our forefathers. 



It may be mentioned that though the common vine 

 succeeds to perfection in South Australia and New South 

 Wales, this is not the case in Queensland. Here it 

 grows rapidly to an enormous size, but yields no fruit. 



It appears from La Liberie that the National School of 

 Astronomy has been suppressed by the French Govern- 

 ment, and that the Observatory is kept in want of the 

 necessary funds. 



