Results Of Grape-breeding
There are now 2000 or more varieties of grapes of American origin, all
produced within approximately a century. It is doubtful whether any
other cultivated plant at any time in the history of the world has
attained such importance in so short a time from the wild state as
American grapes. It would seem that almost every possible combination
between species worth considering has been made. Through
hybridization, species
grape-breeder cannot now work intelligently with these gross forms and
must work with characters rather than with species and varieties which
are but combinations of characters. Great progress, it is true, has
been made in the past in breeding grapes in America, but the work has
been wholly empirical and extremely wasteful. Many varieties have been
called, but few have been chosen. With the new knowledge of breeding
and with the experience of past workers, progress should be made with
greater certainty. From what has been done and from work now under
way, it is not too much to say that we shall soon be growing grapes
everywhere in America, and kinds so diverse that they will meet not
only all purposes to which grapes are now put, but also the demand for
better grapes made by more critical consumers.
More
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Pedigreed Grape Vines
Many viticulturists, in common with orchardists, believe that their plants should be propagated only from parents which have good characters, that is, are vigorous, healthy, productive, and bear fruit of large size, perfect form, good color and good... Perfection
(Labrusca, Bourquiniana, Vinifera) Perfection is a seedling of Delaware, which it greatly resembles but does not equal in fruit; its fruits being hardly as high in quality, do not keep as well, shrivel more before ripening, and shell more readily... Perkins
(Labrusca, Vinifera) At one time Perkins was grown largely as an early grape but has been discarded very generally on account of the poor quality of the fruit. The pulp of the grape is hard and the flavor is that of Wyoming and Northern Muscadine... Pests
Several pests vex the gardener in growing grapes indoors. Of these, mealy-bug, red-spider, thrips and mildew are most troublesome. In a well-conducted grapery, there is never an intermission in the warfare against these pests. Mealy-bug is usuall... Plant Characters And Growth Habits Of The Grape
A grape plant is a complex organism with its many separate parts especially developed to do one or a few kinds of work. The part of a plant devoted to one or a group of functions is called an organ. The chief organs of the plant are the root, stem, ... Planting
The dangers and difficulties of planting hardwooded plants are greatly exaggerated. The tyro, in particular, is impressed with his responsibilities at this time, and often sends a hurry-up call to experiment station or nurseryman to "send him a man ... Planting And Training
Two-year-old vines are most commonly planted. The vines are set inside the house at least a foot from the walls and four feet apart. The grapery must be built on piers with spaces of at least two feet between, and the vines are placed opposite these... Pocklington
(Labrusca) Before the advent of Niagara, Pocklington (Plate XXII) was the leading green grape. The variety has the fatal fault, however, of ripening its crop late, which with some minor defects has caused it to fall below Niagara for northern gra... Poughkeepsie
(Bourquiniana, Labrusca, Vinifera) Poughkeepsie has been known long on the Hudson River, yet it is now little grown there and has not been disseminated widely elsewhere. In quality of fruit, it is equal to the best American varieties, but the vin... Prentiss
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Prentiss is a green grape of high quality, once well known and generally recommended, but now going out of cultivation because the vine is tender to cold, lacks in vigor, is unproductive, uncertain in bearing and is subject t... Preparation For Planting
It is impossible to put too much emphasis on the necessity of thorough preparation of the land before planting the grape. Extra expenditure to secure good tilth is amply repaid by increased growth in the grape, and all subsequent care may fail to st... Propagation
The grape commends itself to commercial and amateur growers alike by its ease of propagation. The vines of all species may be propagated from seed, and all but one of the several cultivated species may be grown readily from cuttings or layers. All... Proper Planting Of Grafted Vines
Europeans and Californians long ago learned that failures with grafted vines often came from setting the vines too deep in the soil, the result being that the cions struck root and became independent, whereupon the stock dies or becomes so moribund ... Pruning And Training Distinguished
The grape is pruned to increase in various ways the economic value of the plant by increasing the quantity and value of the crop. This is pruning proper. Or grapes are pruned to make well-proportioned plants with the parts so disposed that the vines... Pruning And Training Muscadine Grapes
The Muscadine grapes of the South are so distinct in characters of growth and fruit-bearing that their requirements as to pruning and training are quite different from the methods so far given. Until recent years when these grapes have become of com... Pruning The Grape In Eastern America
The inexperienced look on pruning as a difficult operation in grape-growing. But once a few fundamentals are grasped, grape-pruning is not difficult. There is much less perplexity in pruning the grape than in pruning tree-fruits. Pruning follows a... Purple Cornichon
(Vinifera) Black Cornichon By virtue of attractive appearance and excellent shipping qualities of the fruit, this variety takes high place among the commercial grapes of California. Late ripening is another quality making it desirable, while i... Raisins
The grape is best conserved as a raisin. Canning is seldom practiced with this fruit. A raisin is a dried grape. Tree-fruits are evaporated as by-products, but the raisin is a primary product. This is a difference worth noting; for with tree-fruits ... Rebecca
(Labrusca, Vinifera) In the middle of the last century, when grape-growing was in the hands of the connoisseurs, Rebecca was one of the sterling green varieties. It is wholly unsuited for commercial vineyards and for years has been disappearing g... Red Eagle
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Red Eagle is a pure-bred seedling of Black Eagle which it resembles in all characters except color of fruit. Vine and fruit exhibit the characters found in Rogers' hybrids. It takes high rank as a grape of quality and can be ... Regal
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Regal is an offspring of Lindley, which it greatly resembles. The fruit is attractive in appearance and high in quality. A seemingly insignificant fault might make Regal undesirable in a commercial vineyard; the clusters are ... Rejuvenating Old Vines
When pruning and training are neglected, a vineyard soon becomes a sorry company of halt and maimed vines. These neglected vines can rarely be reshaped and restored to their pristine vigor. If the old vines seem capable of throwing out a strong new ... Renewing Fruiting Wood
There are two ways of renewing the fruiting wood on a grape-vine, by canes and from spurs. The manner of renewing refers to pruning and not to training, for either can be used in any method of training. Cane renewals. Renewal by canes is made e... Requa
(Labrusca, Vinifera) This is one of Rogers' hybrids which equals other grapes of its color and season. The grapes are attractive in cluster and berry and are of very good quality but are subject to rot and ripen too late for northern regions. The... Results Of Grape-breeding
There are now 2000 or more varieties of grapes of American origin, all produced within approximately a century. It is doubtful whether any other cultivated plant at any time in the history of the world has attained such importance in so short a time... Ringing Grape Vines
The ringing of woody plants is a well-known horticultural practice. Three objects may be attained by ringing: unproductive plants may be brought into bearing by ringing; the size of the fruits may be increased and thereby the plants be made more pro... Ripening Dates And Length Of Season For Grapes
Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may be expected to ripen and the length of season that they will keep. The commercial fruit-grower by all means should have this information. It is not sufficient that he know only roughly at what se... Rochester
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The fruit of Rochester is a large-clustered red grape, handsome and very good in quality. The vine is a strong grower, productive and free from diseases. The variety is difficult to propagate and, therefore, not in favor with... Rommel
(Labrusca, Vulpina, Vinifera) Rommel is rarely cultivated in the North, because the vines lack in robustness, hardiness and productiveness and are susceptible to the leaf-hopper; and the grapes do not attain high quality and crack as they ripen. ... Rosaki
(Vinifera) Rosaki is a table-and raisin-grape of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. According to some of the California nursery companies, it is grown in that state under the name Dattier de Beyrouth, although it would seem from French descripti... Rose Of Peru
(Vinifera) Rose of Peru is a favorite table-grape in California, confused with and possibly the same as Black Prince. Its chief commendable characters are handsome appearance and high quality of fruit and very productive vines. It is not adapted ... Salem
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Rogers' No. 22, Rogers' No. 53 Salem (Plate XXVII) is the one of Rogers' hybrids of which the originator is said to have thought most, and to which he gave the name of his place of residence. The two chief faults, unproduct... Scuppernong
(Rotundifolia) American Muscadine, Bull, Bullace, Bullet, Fox Grape, Green Scuppernong, Green Muscadine, Hickman, Muscadine, Roanoke Scuppernong is preeminently the grape of the South, the chief representative of the great species, V. rotundifo... Secretary
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca) Injured by mildew and rot which attack leaves, fruit and young wood, the vines of Secretary are able to produce good grapes only in exceptional seasons and in favored localities. The fruit characters of Secretary, ho... Seedlings
Growing seedling grapes is the simplest of operations. The seeds are taken from the grapes at harvest time, after which they must pass through a resting period of a few months. At once or in a month or two, the seeds should be stratified in moist sa... Selecting And Preparing The Vines
Young grape vines covet life, for they are usually vigorous and not easily injured. Hence, the plants may be brought from a distance without fear of loss. The local nurseryman is, however, a good adviser as to varieties if he is honest and intellige... Senasqua
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The vine of Senasqua lacks in vigor, hardiness, productiveness and health. The grapes are of good quality, and when well grown are up to the average fruits of the Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids. Unfortunately the berries have a te... Some Principles Of Pruning
Leaving the shaping of the plant out of consideration and having in mind pruning proper, all efforts in pruning are directed toward two objects: (1) The production of leafy shoots to increase the vigor of the plant. (2) The promotion of the formatio... Species Of American Grapes
The number of species of grapes in the world depends on the arbitrary limits set for a species of this fruit, and knowledge of the genus is yet too meager to set these limits with certainty. Indeed, the men who have made grape species have seldom be... Sultana
(Vinifera) This variety was formerly the standard seedless grape in California for home use and raisins, but it is now outstripped by Sultanina. Sultana is possibly better flavored than Sultanina but the vines are hardly as vigorous or productive... Sultanina
(Vinifera) Thompson's Seedless Sultanina is one of the standard seedless grapes of the Pacific slope, grown both to eat out of hand and for raisins. Probably it can be grown in home plantations in favored parts of eastern America where the sea... Taylor
(Vulpina, Labrusca) Bullitt While it is from the species to which Taylor belongs that we must look for our hardiest vines, nevertheless this grape and its offspring, although not tender to cold, do best in southern regions, as they require a l... The Determinants Of Grape Regions
Climate, soil, site, the surface features of the land, insects, fungi and commercial geography are the chief factors that determine regions for money-making in grape-growing. This has been made plain in the foregoing discussion of grape regions, but... The Domestication Of The Grape
The domestication of an animal or a plant is a milestone in the advance of agriculture and so becomes of interest to every human being. But, more particularly, the materials, the events and the men who direct the work of domestication are of inter... The European Grape
The European grape, Vitis vinifera (Fig. 1), is the grape of ancient and modern agriculture. It is the vine which Noah planted after the Deluge; the vine of Israel and of the Promised Land; the vine of the parables in the New Testament. It is the gr... The Genus Vitis
The genus Vitis belongs to the vine family (Vitaceae) in which most botanists also put the wood-vines (Ampelopsis), of which Virginia creeper is the best-known plant. The genus Cissus, to which belong many southern climbers, is combined with Vitis b... The Grape Regions Of America
There are four chief grape-growing regions in North America, with possibly twice as many more subsidiary ones. These several regions, each of which has its distinct varieties and to less extent distinct species, and in each of which grapes are grown... The Grapery
Almost any of the various modifications of greenhouses can be adapted to growing grapes. Firms constructing greenhouses usually have had experience in building graperies, and, as a rule, it will pay to have these professional builders put up the hou...