256 



SELECT PLANTS READILY ELIGIBLE 



mountains of Java, and all producing berries as large as 

 cherries, those of Y. Blumeana being particularly sweet. 

 Further may here be inserted Y. imperiaiis (Miquel) from 

 Borneo, Y. auriculata (Wallich), and Y. elongata (Wallich), 

 both the last from the mountainous mainland of Coromandel, 

 and all producing very large juicy berries even in the jungle 

 wilderness. Y. quadrangularis (L.) stretches from Ai^abia to 

 India and Central Africa, and has also edible fruits. Many 

 such plants may be far more eligible for Grape-culture in hot 

 wet climes than the ordinary vine. About 250 species of 

 Yitis are already known, mostly from intra-tropical latitudes, 

 and mostly evergreen ; but in regard to their elevation above 

 the ocean, and to the nature of their fruits, we are almost 

 utterly without data. 



Yitis Labrusca, Linne.* 



The Isabella- Grape. North America, from Canada to Texas 

 and Florida, also in J apan. The Schuylkill-Grape is derived 

 from this species. A pale-fruited variety furnishes the 

 Bland's Grape. Another yields the American Alexander- 

 Grape. The berries are large among American kinds and 

 are of pleasant taste. Flowers fragrant. This and the other 

 hardy North American Yines seem never to be attacked by 

 the Oidium disease. 



Vitis Scliimperiana, Hochstetter. 



From Abyssinia to Guinea. This Yine may become perhaps 

 valuable with many other Central African kinds for tropical 

 culture, and may show itself hardy here. Barter compares 

 the edible berries to clusters of Frontignac-grape. 



Yitis vinifera, Linne.* 



The Grape Yine. Turkey, Persia, Tartary ; probably also in 

 the Himalayas and Greece. This is not the place to discuss 

 at length the great industrial questions concerning this highly 

 important plant, even had these not engaged already since 

 many years the attention of a large number of our colonists. 

 The whole territory of Yictoria stretches essentially through 

 the Yine-zone, and thus most kinds of Yine can be produced 

 here, either on the lowlands or the less elevated mountains 

 in various climatic regions and in different geologic forma- 

 tions. 



The Corinthian variety, producing the "Currants" of commerce, 

 thrives also well in some districts, where with Baisins its fruit 

 may become a staple article of our exports beyond home 

 consumption. Dr. W. Hamm, of Yienna, has recently issued 

 a Yine-map of Europe, indicating the distribution of the 

 different varieties and the principal sources of the various 

 sorts of Wine. The writer would now merely add, that the 



