GRAPES IN CHAUTAUQUA. 



659 



looked ; for many of them have not been named or intro- 

 duced, and some of the named varieties have not been 

 thoroughly tested. But it is certainly true that, as a 

 whole, the introduction of the vinifera blood through 

 artificial hybridization has not been a success. This, 

 after all, is not strange. It is the rule in the vegetable 

 kingdom that violent hybridizations give unsatisfactory 

 results, and any hybridization between the eastern Amer- 

 ican species and Vitis viticfera must be regarded as 

 violent. In fact, primary hybridations between native 

 species have rarely given profitable results. This is well 

 illustrated in Jacob Rommel's seedlings of labrusca and 

 the common wild Vitis 

 7-iparia , or r i v e r - bank 

 grape. His varieties are 

 characterized by great 

 vigor, productiveness and 

 hardiness, but they lack 

 flavor and size of berry. 

 His named sorts are Am- 

 ber, Beauty, Black Dela- 

 ware, Elvira, Etta, Faith, 

 Montefiore, Pearl, Trans- 

 parent and Wilding. If 

 the violence of the cross is 

 responsible for some of the 

 weaknesses in all these 

 hybrids, it would seem to 

 follow that secondary hy- 

 bridizations would give bet- 

 ter results. And in this 

 direction — crossing the 

 best pure native sorts with 

 hybrids of various degrees 

 of attenuation — I look for 

 ultimate success in fusing 

 vinifera characteristics into 

 American grapes. Rick- 

 etts' failure in this direc- 

 tion was due to the selec- 

 tion of weak parents, such 

 as the Delaware and lona. 

 His Golden Gem, which is 

 a union of these two varie- 

 ties, is of unusually high 

 quality but very difficult to 

 grow ; and this weakness 

 i i to be expected from parents 

 more or less weak. 



Perhaps the most signal successes which have yet 

 come from the introduction of dilute vinifera blood ap- 

 pear in Moore's Diamond, a product of Concord fertilized 

 by lona, and in the Brighton, also one of Moore's grapes, 

 a cross between Concord and Diana-Hamburg. T. V. 

 Munson, of Texas, whose experiments in American grapes 

 exceed those of any other investigator, both in extent and 

 i.Tiportance, is following this method with apparent suc- 

 cess. In union with other grapes he has used one of Rog- 

 ers' hybrids — the Lindley — with most gratifying results. 



thich 



Fig. 3.— N 



hemselves 



" But hybridizing is not to be looked upon as the only, 

 if even as the chief, means of improving our grapes. It 

 is well known that nature discourages hybridization or 

 violent crossing, while she encourages crosses of a mild 

 type, as between different strains or varieties of the same 

 species. These minor crosses impart new vigor and 

 virility to the offspring, and they often afford a sure but 

 very gradual means of directly improving the salient 

 characters of a variety. I should look for good results 

 if a cross were made between Concords from widely 

 separated localities, even if the offspring should itself 

 prove to be true Concord, for such unions usually give 

 plants that outdo the pa- 

 rents in growth and pro- 

 ductiveness. Crossing be- 

 tween varieties of one spe- 

 cies should give a fair 

 proportion of profitable 

 results. This is well shown 

 in the Niagara, which is a 

 cross between Concord and 

 Cassady, both labrusca. 



"Much depends upon 

 immediate parentage. A 

 strong, virile variety that 

 adapts itself to a great 

 range of conditions may be 

 expected to give more sat- 

 isfactory and uniform re- 

 sults than one which has 

 obvious points of weakness, 

 and does not adapt itself to 

 various environments. We 

 turn instinctively to the 

 Concord, for this is pre- 

 eminently t h e strongest 

 type of American grape. 

 No other grape has given 

 us such a famous brood. 

 There are nearly or quite 

 50 named pure seedlings of 

 it, among which are such 

 varieties as Worden, Moore 

 Early, Eaton, Hayes, Cam- 

 bridge, Rockland, Cottage, 

 Colerain, Esther, Lady, 

 Pocklington and Victoria. 

 These run through deep, black-purple to red and white, 

 and all of them posses many strong points, especially in 

 vigor and productiveness. As one parent of hybrids and 

 crosses, Concord has given us Niagara, Moore Diamond, 

 Brighton, Lady Washington, Jefferson, Conqueror and 

 others. It has been said that Concord blood has run out, 

 but in the presence of such a family as this, some mem- 

 bers of which are very recent, I am forced to conclude 

 that it is the most desirable single stock upon which to 

 breed, or from which to take pure seedlings. 



" About 300 varieties of grapes have been named and 

 more or less disseminated in eastern America. Of these, 



