202 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



us, grapes are important first as food. We grow 

 them to eat fresh, out of hand, as a table dessert, 

 and to cook. Dried, they are a valuable food 

 called raisins and dried currants. Bottling the 

 unfermented juice is a great industry in the United ■ 

 States. Wine comes last, for, though California 

 grows the wine grapes of Europe, and makes wine, 

 Americans are not wine-drinkers, to any. great 

 degree, and Europe counts the wines of other 

 countries inferior to those of her southern coun- 

 tries, where wines have been the most important 

 product for centuries. 



It was natural that the early settlers of the 

 Atlantic coast should bring the grapevines of 

 Europe with them, and try to raise vineyards and 

 make wine. They failed, and they could not guess 

 why. So they turned their attention to the native 

 grapes, which grew in considerable abundance and 

 variety in different regions. By selection, and 

 tillage, some of the best grape varieties grown to- 

 day have been developed from the wild, native 

 kinds. 



The Concord, one of the richest-flavored, and 

 most popular of eastern grapes, was discovered as 

 a chance seedling on his grounds by Ephriam Bull, 

 a resident of Concord, Massachusetts, in 1843. 

 He recognized the merit of the fruit, and propa- 



