198 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
bear upon its quality. To be welcomed by the public a 
new grape should be: First, a vigorous grower, with 
strong and durable foliage; Second, it must be hardy; 
Third, the fruit must be of high quality. There are 
other requirements under these general heads—the roots 
must be firm and capable of withstanding the attacks 
of insect enemies; the productive organs must be normal 
and cultured to their proper development with the ut- 
most care, so that a full and satisfactory crop may be 
grown. The skin must be thick and tough, so that the 
fruit will not burst or rot while ripening, and keep well 
after packing for winter use. 
* * * * * * 
The American wild vine is indigenous to the United 
States, and is found in wild profusion in sheltered situa- 
tions in woods from British America to the most south- 
ern of the Southern States. The general bearing of this 
tendril-climber is of good height, sometimes running to 
the highest tree-top. Its branches are clothed with a 
covering of brownish soft hairs or pubescence. Its leaves 
are usually from four to six inches in diameter, three- 
lobed in some varieties, and covered on their under sides 
with a rusty-brown coating of a mucous consistency. Its 
flowers, borne on numerous racemes with short branches, 
appear in June, and are of a yellowish-green color. Its 
fruit when ripe, according to variety, is generally of a 
dark purple, amber colored, or greenish white, of a pleas- 
ing flavor and juicy pulp. 
Of the many varieties of this species cultivated in 
North America the most celebrated are the Isabella and 
Catawba. These two varieties are specially preferred 
in the middle and northern parts of the United States, 
principally on account of the abundance and quality of 
their fruit and the facility with which they are propa- 
gated. As it will be unnecessary to enter into a considera- 
tion of the many varieties, we shall mention only a few 
that have been successfully brought under cultivation, 
