Berries: 1/3' to 1/2' in diameter, round or oblate, black with abundant prunose bloom, 

 skin thin, tough, with excessive blood-red coloring matter; somewhat pulpy, very seedy, juicy, 

 taste pure, sprightly, vinous, more acid than in V. rupestris, develops much sugar in full matur- 

 ity; fruit persistent and enduring long after ripe; pigment surrounding seeds, very persistent. 



Seeds: Usually 2 to 3, 1/5' to 1/4' long by nearly as broad, nearly hemispherical when two, 

 or globose pyriform when one, a Httle darker reddish-brown than in V. vulpina, beak very short, 

 scarcely more than the regular tapering of the seed to an acute point, color scarcely different 

 from body of seed; raphe begins with beak and as a distinct, fine thread, extends in a slight 

 depression to top of seed where it becomes less prominent or nearly obsolete as it passes through 

 the groove extending from top of seed to chalaza, to which it attaches by gradual expansion; 

 chalaza narrowly ovate or elliptical, flat or much depressed to a mere crescent, lying in a dis- 

 tinct basin from which a small groove extends on back of seed to beak; ventral depressions 

 short, wide apart, usually straight, of a paler brown than body of seed, or of a pale olive green 

 color, when quite fresh. , 



Plantlet: Cotyledons large, ovate, acute- pointed, a little violet at first, but soon green. 



V. Longii, var. Microsperma, Munson, a distinct form with very small seeds, and vine very 

 rampant, about midway between V. Longii and V. vvZpina, found on bank of Red River, Grayson 

 County, Texas. 



Viticultural Observations and Remarks 



Germination, foliation, inflorescence and ripening of fruit among the earliest of our species. 

 Exfoliation later than in V. rupestris or V. vulpina. 



Though chiefly found in sandy soils it thrives well on limy soils even where very strong, 

 enduring drouth to perfection on such soils but failing in Texas, on upland deep sandy soils in 

 severe drouths. Wood matures well and endures great severity of cold, apparently as hardy 

 in this respect as V. rupestris. The variety Microsperma, discovered on the banks of Red River, 

 Grayson County, Texas, by Hermann Jaeger and myself, which has very small seeds, is quite a 

 distinct variety of this species, with wood of a lighter straw color and a vigor of growth most 

 remarkable. Resistant to Phylloxera. In wet seasons mildew and anthracnose attack young 

 leaves of this species from the Texas Panhandle region (but not Microsperma) , to some extent, 

 especially in its less woolly forms. Black Rot attacks it very little. Grows readily from 

 cuttings. Pollen of staminate plants very prolific and prepotent in impressing its characteristics 

 in hybridizing with other species, but that of pistillate plants is very feeble, so that alone, bearing 

 vines rarely set fruit unless staminate vines grow near by, when they set full. 



Owing to its great vigor, hardiness and ease of growth from cuttings, this species must 

 stand very high as a stock. As a direct producer of wine it is not large enough in cluster but 

 offers great inducements to hybridize upon, as its vinous quality is unsurpassed. Great quan- 

 tities of this fruit grow wild in the Texas Panhandle and are there gathered largely to make pies 

 and home-made wine. 



It has been found naturally hybridized along the Red River in Grayson County and west- 

 ward up to Pease River, with V. candicans, where that species ceases ; above this it is occasion- 

 ally found mixed with V. Doaniana, and sometimes in another form which bears some 

 resemblance to V. Treleasei. No varieties are yet in cultivation save a few on trial in the 

 writer's vineyard, and some hybrids of it with various of our best cultivated varieties.* Its 

 hybrids with Jaeger's No. 70 (a hybrid of V. rupestris with V. Lincecumii) are especially 

 promising. 



This species is found abundantly along the sand banks thrown up by high water on the 

 Pease River, the main, or " Prairie-dog-town-Fork" and North- Fork of Red River, South Cana- 



* A number of these fruited for the first time in 1890, and some of them are of value for wine, being very prolific, 

 of fair size and very rich in sugar coloring and vinous character. These offer a basis for a very valuable family for 

 the dry Southwest. 



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