Chapter 41

[135]Planchon is our authority for calling this Riparia.[136]Translation from the Latin.[137]Isadore Bush was born at Prague, Bohemia, in 1822. Bush was one of those Germans who, taking part in the troubles of the Fatherland in 1848, found it necessary to seek a home in the New World. He went to Missouri upon his arrival in the country and there spent the remainder of his life. During the Civil War he was secretary to General Frémont and at various times occupied many other positions of trust. He established the Bushberg nursery which for many years was the leading grape nursery of this country. With the aid of Engelmann and others he wrote theBushberg Catalogue and Grape Manual, a work which has passed through many editions and has probably been more popular and useful than any other book on American grapes published in the English language. Bush died in St. Louis in 1898, having been a citizen of that place for forty-nine years.[138]Thomas Volney Munson, the well-known nurseryman, viticulturist, and plant-breeder, was born near Astoria, Illinois, September 26, 1843. He graduated from Kentucky University, Lexington, Kentucky, in 1870. His nursery has for thirty-one years been located at Denison, Texas. Munson has introduced more hybrid grapes than any other man in America and probably in the world. He has paid great attention to grape botany, particularly to the southwestern species. Monographs on grapes, from his hand, have appeared in the proceedings of various horticultural societies and in horticultural journals. Bulletins written by him have been issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas Experiment Station. He has at present a book ready for publication entitledFoundations of American Grape Culture. The varieties produced by Munson are particularly successful in the Southwest where conditions are such that most of our northern varieties fail. The most valuable of those that have been thoroughly tested are Brilliant, America, Carman, Gold Coin and Rommel.[139]Seepage 21.[140]Jules Emile Planchon, a French systematic and horticultural botanist, was born in Ganges (Herault) in 1823, and died at Montpellier in 1888. Planchon was a writer of many valuable monographs on botanical subjects and in combination with F. Sahut and J. Bazille discovered that the cause of a mysterious and serious malady which had been affecting the French vineyards for some years, was due to an insect on the roots, the phylloxera. Later, he and C. V. Riley determined that this insect was a native of America. Planchon was one of the first to suggest, and always urged, the reconstitution of French vineyards by the use of American stocks. During the later years of his life he was professor of botany in the School at Montpellier. His most noted contribution to grape literature is his monograph of the grape vine and other plants of the Ampelopsis family which appeared as the second half of the fifth volume of the continuation of De Candolle’sProdromus Systematis Naturalis.[141]Martin Vahl, a Norwegian, was born in 1749, and died in 1804. As a pupil of the great Linnaeus, Vahl became a prominent worker in botany and natural history in Denmark and was an author and writer of note on these subjects, publishing much on botany. He traveled extensively, but it does not appear that he visited North America, though he wrote three large volumes on the flora of tropical America. It is probable that he named and describedVitis palmatafrom herbarium specimens.[142]Jean Louis Berlandier was a Belgian pupil of the great De Candolle, but left Europe about 1828 for America and became a druggist in Matamoras, Mexico. He was one of the first botanists to explore northern Mexico and Texas. In attempting to cross one of the small streams south of the Rio Grande in 1851, he was drowned. Many of his papers, plants and some paintings are preserved in the herbarium of Harvard University and his services to botany are commemorated by the genus Berlandiera, dedicated to him by De Candolle, and the speciesVitis berlandierihere described.[143]George Engelmann was born at Frankfurt-on-the-Main in 1809. He was educated at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Wurzburg, receiving a doctor’s degree in medicine from the latter institution. In 1832 Dr. Engelmann sailed for America and spent some months in exploring the forests of the Mississippi Valley studying the plants of the region, having become deeply absorbed in botany. He soon after began the practice of medicine in St. Louis where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1884. Engelmann was one of the most patient and devoted students of natural history of his time. He mastered several difficult genera of plants, doing his work so well that his monographs will long remain, not only authorities on the plants described, but models for the systematic botanist. Among the genera to which he devoted his time was Vitis, upon which he published several monographs. These appeared in various publications, particularly theProceedings of the Academy of Science of St. Louisin 1860, theAmerican Naturalistfor 1868, Riley’s reports as entomologist of Missouri for 1872 and 1874, and the third and all later editions of theBushberg Catalogue.[144]George Bentham was born near Plymouth, England, in 1800. His father was a man of considerable wealth and the son was privately educated. Early in life he showed an inclination toward botany, writing a book onThe Plants of the Pyrenees and Lower Languedocwhich was published when he was only twenty-six years old. For a time he studied law in which he showed considerable talent and where his original views attracted some attention. Later, however, he gave his attention to botany almost exclusively, joined the London Horticultural Society and the Linnaean Society, and was more or less closely connected with the workers at Kew. In connection with J. D. Hooker he wrote theGenera Plantarum. Others of his well-known works areFlora AustraliensisandHandbook of the British Flora. Bentham died in 1884.[145]This name has been spelled “Lincecumii” and “Linsecomii.” Buckley tells us (U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt.,1861:486) that this grape was named in honor of “Dr. Gideon Linsecom” of Long Point, Washington County, Texas. Engelmann changed the spelling to Lincecum without giving any reason for the change. Munson states that a daughter of Dr. Lincecum says that her father always spelled his name Lincecum. It is inconceivable that Buckley did not know how to spell his friend’s name. There is other corroborative evidence that Buckley was either a poor penman, or did not read proof, or both. In his Latin description of this species nearly every other word is misspelled, and the mistakes are those of a printer rather than of one whose Latin is weak, such as “totis” for “lobis,” etc. Munson says that on the different herbarium specimens of this species collected by Buckley, the name is spelled both ways but he is not able to tell which are in Buckley’s hand. As the original error seems to be one by the printer or amanuensis it does not seem desirable to perpetuate it. We have consequently adopted the spelling of Engelmann and Munson.[146]Liberty Hyde Bailey was born in 1858 in South Haven, Michigan. He graduated from the Michigan Agricultural College in 1882 and then studied botany for two years with Asa Gray at Harvard University. He became professor of horticulture at his Alma Mater in 1885 and resigned in 1888 to accept the Chair of Horticulture in Cornell University, a position which he filled until 1904 when he became Director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and Dean of the New York State College of Agriculture. In 1907 he was given the degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Bailey is known as a teacher and experimenter but is better known for his horticultural and botanical writings. He has published many popular books on agricultural subjects. The best known of these are:The Nursery Book;The Rule Book;Principles of Vegetable Gardening;Garden Making;The Pruning Book;The Survival of the Unlike;The Evolution of Our Native Fruits. Besides these popular, or semi-popular works he has published two cyclopedias:The Cyclopedia of American HorticultureandThe Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. Dr. Bailey’s position in American horticultural literature is unique in that he represents the botanical side of horticulture. He has written monographs on several of our cultivated fruits, notably grapes and plums, both appearing inThe Evolution of Our Native Fruits.[147]Am. Gard.,12:584. 1891.[148]John Eaton Le Conte was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, in 1784 and died at Philadelphia in 1860. In 1817 he entered the army as a topographical engineer, and in 1831 was retired with the grade of major. Le Conte early became interested in natural history and his military expeditions gave him ample opportunity for studying the flora and fauna of eastern America. He published a number of important botanical papers, one of which wasThe Vines of North Americapublished in 1854-55. His contributions to the genus Vitis will be found under that head.[149]Augustin Pyramus De Candolle was born at Geneva, Switzerland, 1778, and died at Turin, Italy, in 1841. He came of an ancient French family which had been driven out of Provence in the middle of the sixteenth century owing to their religion. He began his scientific studies at the College of Geneva, but later removed to Paris where he attended courses of lectures on natural science under the greatest scientists of that day. His best known works are:Historia plantarum Succulentarum;Synopsis plantarum in flora Gallica descriptarum; andProdromus Systematis regni vegetabilis(1824-), this last being only about two-thirds completed at the time of his death.Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyrame De Candolle was born in Paris, France, in 1806. Like his father, whose life is sketched above, he became a noted botanist. His most important works have been translated into English and are as follows:Geographical Botany, 1855;Origin of Cultivated Plants, 1883; and theMemoirsof his father, 1862. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1893.[150]The name Labrusca is an old one originally applied to a grape growing wild in Italy. Engelmann states that this grape is still known to the Italians by the name Brusca. It was probably applied to the American species by Linnaeus under the mistaken supposition that our northern Fox grape was the same as the wild Italian species.[151]Carl von Linne, better known in the Latin form of Carolus Linnaeus, was born in 1707 at Rashult in the province of Smäland, Sweden. His father, a minister, endeavored to educate his son to follow the same profession. In this he failed, as Linnaeus from his earliest years took no interest in the classical studies then taught. His father was finally induced to educate young Linnaeus as a physician. Linnaeus was the greatest systematist in the history of botany. His general system, though much modified, is still in use. Although he named many species of plants, it was not as a traveler and explorer but as a recipient of the results of travels of others that the specimens were secured from which the descriptions were made. Linnaeus died at Upsala, Sweden, in 1778. His herbarium after his death was sold and finally became the property of the Linnaean Society of London, where the specimens are frequently used by botanists from various parts of the world for purposes of comparison.[152]Husmann,1895:189.[153]Grape Cult.,1:4. 1869.[154]U. S. D. A. Rpt.,1862:198.[155]Gar. and For.,2:584. 1889.[156]Numbers in parentheses designate authors or publications cited in the list of references.[157]Adlum, John.Cultivation of the Vine: 149. 1828.[158]Downing,1872:119 app.[159]Traité gen. de vit.,5:201. 1903.[160]Bush. Cat.,1883:71.[161]Bush. Cat.,1894:89.[162]Dr. A. P. Wylie was a southern hybridizer. His life was one of exceptionally varied usefulness. Besides being a physician he worked with many different plants, producing new varieties of cotton, peach, nectarine, magnolia and other species. His hybrids were produced chiefly during the sixties and early seventies. His method of testing hybrid grapes was unique; as soon as the fruit from the cross-fertilized blossoms ripened, the seeds were planted and the seedlings forced the first winter in a hothouse. In the spring it was planted by the side of a mature vine outside and the seedling grafted by inarching on the established vine. In this manner, his son writes us, he frequently secured fruit the second summer. In 1873 he suffered the irreparable misfortune of losing his residence by fire. This destroyed all of his seeds and also his seedlings, which were in an adjacent hothouse. The number of Dr. Wylie’s grape seedlings cannot be accurately told as many of them were never disseminated. Of his better known sorts there are Berckmans, Dr. Wylie, Mrs. McClure, and Peter Wylie, the best known of which is the first. Dr. Wylie was the first man to hybridize theVitis rotundifoliawith other species of grapes. Unfortunately these hybrids appear to have been lost to cultivation. He died at his home in Chester, South Carolina, in 1877.[163]Tex. Sta. Bul.,48:1153. 1898.[164]Mag. Hort.,1863:67.[165]Fuller,1867:237.[166]Bush. Cat.,1883:75.[167]Downing,1869:532.[168]Jacob Moore was born in Brighton, New York, in 1835. He early engaged in the nursery business and about 1860 began to experiment in hybridizing grapes, his first production of note being Diana Hamburg which proved too tender to be of value in New York. In 1873 he sold the Brighton to its introducer, the grape having come from a union of Diana Hamburg and Concord. In 1882 Moore’s third grape of note, the Diamond, was introduced, its parents being Concord, fertilized by Iona. One other grape completes his list of varieties of this fruit—the Geneva, a Vinifera-Labrusca hybrid from seed planted in the spring of 1874. Beside these grapes, Moore was the originator of the Ruby, Red Cross and Diploma currants and the Bar-seckel pear. Jacob Moore died in January, 1908, having devoted a life to the improvement of fruits and having spent a patrimony of no small amount and all of his earnings in carrying on experiments in horticulture. It saddens one to know that after having devoted a half century to the enrichment of agriculture, poor Moore should have passed his last years in comparative poverty, and that they were embittered with the thought that, unlike the inventor, the producer of new fruits can in no way protect the products of his originality, even though they added millions to the wealth of the country as have his fruits.[169]Advertising circular sent out by Wm. B. Brown in 1899.[170]George W. Campbell was born in Cortlandville, New York, in 1817. The family moved to Ohio in 1821. In early life Campbell was a printer and editor, as his father had been before him. In 1849 he moved from Sandusky, Ohio, to Delaware in the same State and it was in the latter place that his attention was first turned to horticulture as a livelihood, although he had been interested in it as an amateur much earlier. He was a continuous member of the American Pomological Society from the time of its organization in 1850 until his death. He raised thousands of seedling grapes, of which the following were given names: Campbell Early, Concord Chasselas, Concord Muscat, Juno, Lady, Purity, Triumph, White Delaware. All of these are practically obsolete in the North except Campbell Early and Lady.Campbell died at his home in Delaware, Ohio, in 1898. For many years before his death he had been the leading writer and speaker in the North on the culture of the grape and on grape-breeding, and his work had a marked influence on the improvement of viticulture.[171]Charles Arnold was born in Bedfordshire, England, in 1818. In 1833 he removed to Paris, Ontario. He was an enthusiastic hybridizer in many lines, producing a white wheat, the Ontario apple, and the American Wonder pea. In 1853 he established the Paris Nurseries. Of his numerous seedling grapes he gave names to Autuchon, Brant, Canada, Cornucopia and Othello. He was for many years prominent in the agricultural and scientific associations of his adopted country. His object in crossing grapes was to secure varieties sufficiently hardy and early for the Canadian climate. In this he was in a measure successful but his crosses are so susceptible to mildew and rot that their culture has been generally abandoned in both Canada and the United States. He died at his home in Paris, Canada, in 1883.[172]Cat.,1908:18.[173]Ephraim W. Bull was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1805 and died in 1895. He will long be remembered by grape-growers as the originator and introducer of the Concord grape, the history of which is given in the above account of that variety. Bull grew many other seedlings, none of which attained a reputation among growers unless it be Cottage. Ephraim Bull’s ninety years were spent in the quiet of his Concord home and he would have remained unknown by others than his neighbors, who honored and loved him, had it not been for his fortunate discovery of the Concord grape, which must always give him a place in the history of American grape culture. The grape which has added immensely to the wealth of a nation, brought its originator scarcely a year’s competence. As a partial recompense for his great service to horticulture and to the nation, the memory of Ephraim W. Bull should live long.[174]No one family has furnished so many members who have been prominent in American grape-growing as the Underhills. The first of this remarkable family, Robert Underhill, was born in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, in 1761. During his early life he appears to have been engaged in various enterprises. At one time he was part owner and conductor of a flouring mill at the head of navigation on the Croton River; later he sold his interest in this business and in 1804 removed to Croton Point, which he had previously bought. Here, during the War of 1812, the supply of watermelons from the South being cut off, he planted eighty acres of melons, and it is said that as many as six vessels were lying off Croton Point at one time waiting for the melons to mature. Among other of his ventures was the growing of castor beans, and toward the end of his life he became interested in viticulture. An account of his operations cultivating grapes is given in the first part of this work. Robert Underhill died at Croton Point in 1829. After his death his two sons, William Alexander Underhill and Robert T. Underhill, bought from their father’s estate the two hundred and fifty acres comprising Croton Point. Their holdings were not in common, William A. Underhill having about one hundred and sixty-five acres and his brother the balance.R. T. Underhill was born on the Croton River in 1802 and died in 1871 at Croton Point. William A. Underhill was born at the same place as his brother in 1804, and died suddenly while on a trip to New York City in 1873. The first three Underhills were pioneer vineyardists in this State, and were men of great enterprise and initiative, contributing much to American viticulture by precept and example; but none of them was an originator of new varieties.Stephen W. Underhill, son of William A. Underhill, was born at Croton Point in 1837. In his boyhood he became familiar with the grape-growing operations of his father and uncle, and about 1860 became interested in hybridizing as a means of originating new varieties. Most of his work was done between 1860 and 1870. He originated Black Defiance, Black Eagle, Croton, Irving, Senasqua and many other named and unnamed sorts. Of his varieties it may be said that they generally show too many Vinifera weaknesses for profitable commercial sorts. S. W. Underhill is still living at Croton-on-Hudson, a short distance from Croton Point, the scene of the labors of three generations of the Underhill family. Since the death of his father, in 1873, he has devoted himself almost exclusively to brick-making, an occupation in which his father had been interested.[175]Bush. Cat.,1883:89.[176]Traité gen. de vit.,6:278. 1903.[177]Ib., p. 279.[178]The grape vine in the vineyard is not ornamental, but only because its beauty is marred by the formal shapes in which it must be trained to meet the purposes of the cultivator. But as a festoon for an arbor, or for hiding a neglected building, for the porch of the farmhouse, or for any place where a bold or picturesque effect is wanted, or for giving an expression of strength, no vine surpasses some of the varieties of our native grapes. Properly planted they are not only beautiful in themselves but attractive through their suggestiveness. To sit under one’s own vine and fig tree is the ancient idea of a life of peace, contentment and security; and this association with the patriarchal use of the vine is one of the charms of the grape.[179]Often incorrectly spelled Devereux.[180]Horticulturist,12:458. 1857.[181]Gar. Mon.,2:265. 1860.[182]Bush. Cat.,1894:116.[183]After the above was in type we received a communication from Ricketts stating that Downing came from seed of Concord fertilized by Muscat Hamburg. If this is true it is difficult to account for the apparent Aestivalis characters.[184]This variety was named after Dutchess County, New York, and the spelling is as given in this text and not “Duchess” as usually spelled.[185]Andrew Jackson Caywood was born near Modena, Ulster County, New York, in 1819. During his early life he was a mason and contractor and engaged in building operations in Orange and Ulster counties. When about twenty-five years of age he became interested in fruit culture and was soon one of the leading fruit-growers in his section. Caywood’s grape-breeding work appears to have started about 1850, while he still lived at Modena. In 1861 he removed to Poughkeepsie, and about 1865, what was probably his first grape, the Walter, was brought to the attention of the public. In 1877 he removed to Marlboro, where for many years he conducted a nursery business in connection with fruit raising, first under the firm name of Ferries & Caywood, and later as Caywood & Son, his son Walter having entered the business. Caywood’s last years were clouded with financial troubles and failing health. In 1889 he died at his home in Marlboro. No record is available of Caywood’s productions nor his manner of work. He appears to have differed from the grape-breeders of his day in that he produced second rather than first generation hybrids. Of these his most important productions are: Dutchess, Metternich, Nectar, Poughkeepsie, Ulster and Walter, though he raised many others, most of which were never named nor disseminated. Caywood’s years of unremitting labor in improving grapes will long make his name prominent in American viticulture.[186]John Burr was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1800. In early life he removed to Ohio, where, although he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, he passed his leisure time in experimenting with strawberries. In this work he was quite successful, producing Burr’s Pine and Burr’s Seedling, once popular sorts. In 1858 Burr moved to Kansas and soon after began breeding grapes. For this work he was a believer in natural pollination and planted the varieties which he desired to use as parents in close proximity that they might pollinate each other. Burr at first used Concord, Hartford, Isabella, and other grapes of this class as parents, but later he destroyed all of the seedlings of these and used Delaware, Goethe, Salem, Catawba, and other Vinifera hybrids. He did not take trouble to note from which variety the seed came but mixed and planted all together. The records of the parentage of his productions are consequently usually unsatisfactory. Most of his grape productions were introduced to the public by Stayman & Black, a nearby nursery firm. Of Burr’s many seedlings he gave names to the following: Cochee, Early Victor, Eclipse, Evaline, Ideal, Iola, Jewel, Magnate, Matchless, Mendota, Omega, Osage, Osee, Paragon, Peola, Primate, Pulasky, Seneca, Superior, Standard, Supreme, and White Jewel. Burr died at his home in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1892.[187]Traité gen. de vit.,6:192. 1903.[188]Cat.,1907-8:18.[189]This variety was named Glenfeld by Mr. Magee, its originator, not Glenfield as it is frequently spelled.[190]Tex. Sta. Bul.,56:267. 1900.[191]Munson regards them as identical.[192]Dr. C. W. Grant was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1810. Early in life he became a Doctor of Medicine but soon became dissatisfied with that profession as it was then practiced, and entered dentistry. He settled in Newburgh, New York, where he built up a very large dental practice. Dr. Grant was an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist and numbered among his friends such men of national note as A. J. and Charles Downing, Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, W. C. Bryant, Donald G. Mitchell and others like these who were interested in rural pursuits. He bought Iona Island in the Hudson River and planted thereon a commercial vineyard. On the death of his wife in 1856 he gave up his dental practice and took up his residence on Iona Island. Here for twelve years he grew grapes and conducted a grape nursery. Unfortunately Dr. Grant’s business experience was not such as to enable him to make a success of a commercial nursery. In 1868 he retired from active pursuits and returned to his old home at Litchfield, where he died in 1881. Dr. Grant’s chief interest to grape-growers lies in the fact that he was the originator of Iona and Israella and the introducer of Anna and Eumelan. He was one of the first and a most ardent grape-breeder, working especially toward improving the quality of commercial varieties of grapes.[193]On account of criticisms of the justice of the award, Grant returned the prize to be competed for a second time. At the second trial it went to Concord on vine characters.[194]Sou. Agr.,2:552. 1829.[195]In 1889 Munson sent out a grape under the name Jaeger and in 1890 he introduced the variety here described under the name Hermann Jaeger, at the same time withdrawing the former variety from further dissemination. As the first named Jaeger is apparently obsolete there seems to be no objection to shortening the name so as to conform in nomenclature with the recommendations of the American Pomological Society.[196]James H. Ricketts was born in Oldbridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1830, the family moving to Indiana while Ricketts was still a child. When a young man Ricketts learned the trade of bookbinding in Cincinnati and later practiced this art in New York City. In 1857 he established a bookbinding business at Newburgh, New York; here he became interested in raising fruit, devoting to it such time as could be be spared from his business. In 1861 he started his work in grape improvement, reading all the books then published on this subject in order to prepare himself to carry on the work intelligently. His first production was Raritan which he says he thought not much improvement. In 1862, he built a glass house in order that he might have Vinifera vines for crossing with natives outside. His first production of foreign cross-breeds was the Charles Downing, now known as Downing.Ricketts produced many hundred seedlings, and for ten or twelve years exhibited them at various fairs, horticultural society meetings and other places, where their magnificent appearance and fine flavor attracted universal and favorable attention and made him the recipient of many medals and prizes. Unfortunately Ricketts, like many other American grape-breeders, fell into financial difficulties, and in 1877 lost his vineyard and home by foreclosure. In 1888, he moved to Washington, D. C., to work at his trade but has again started to improve grapes and is now growing a number of new varieties which will probably be shown to the public in the near future.JEFFERSONJEFFERSONRicketts’ seedlings are characterized by a large size of bunch and berry, and by high quality. Unfortunately it has been the experience of growers in nearly all grape regions that the vine characters of his varieties are not equal to those of the fruit, the vines being subject to mildew and other Vinifera weaknesses. However, Ricketts produced magnificent specimens of his grapes, year after year, under conditions which every one admits were less favorable than those of the average grape-grower. The secret of his success seems never to have been discovered. This anomaly is so striking that Campbell did not hesitate to suggest that the fault was with the American grape-grower rather than with Ricketts’ grapes or the location of the vineyard. The best known of his varieties are: Advance, Bacchus, Don Juan, Downing, Eldorado, Empire State, Highland, Jefferson, Lady Washington and Secretary. Besides these he produced many others, some of which were named but many of which were known only under numbers.[197]Amer. Farmer,11:237, 412. 1829-30.[198]The illustrations inThe Grapes of New York, unless otherwise mentioned, are life-size; but it must be remembered that when objects having three dimensions are reproduced on a flat surface there is seemingly a considerable reduction in size. Allowance should be made for this illusion in comparing fruit with illustration.[199]Bush. Cat.,1883:120.[200]Downing,1857:341.[201]Pronounced Reezling.[202]Jacob Rommel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1837. The family moved to Hermann, Missouri, in 1838 where his father, Jacob Rommel, Sr., engaged in the nursery business and became interested in grape-growing and wine-making. In 1860 the younger Rommel removed to Morrison where he entered into partnership with H. Sobbe to grow nursery stock and cultivate grapes. At this time much dissatisfaction was felt among the grape-growers of the Middle West with the standard varieties then grown, most of which were table grapes secured from the East, and were poorly adapted to wine-making and to Missouri conditions. To remedy this defect Rommel originated many new varieties, using Taylor chiefly as a parent. Among others he produced Amber, Beauty, Black Delaware, Elvira, Etta, Faith, Montefiore, Pearl, Transparent and Wilding. Rommel’s seedlings are characterized by extreme vigor and productiveness. They were not designed for table grapes and they lack the qualities to recommend them as such. In 1900 Rommel retired from business and removed to Chamois, Missouri, where he still lives.[203]Nelson Bonney White was born in the town of Putney, Windham County, Vermont, in 1824. During his younger years he lived for a time in Ohio and in New York but finally settled in Norwood, Massachusetts. White was a cabinet maker by trade, but coming under the influence of E. S. Rogers at the time when Rogers’ hybrids were causing a stir in New England, he took up grape-breeding as a pastime. He is probably the oldest grape-breeder of note now alive, as he has been engaged in this occupation over fifty years. His best known productions are August Giant, Amber Queen, and Norfolk. Two other of his varieties, International and King Philip, are very highly spoken of but have not yet been distributed.[204]Horticulturist,16:286. 1861.[205]Mag. Hort.,9:430. 1843.[206]Traité gen. de vit.,6:166. 1903.[207]U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt.,1855:308.[208]A. J. Caywood, of Marlboro, New York, published the claim that this variety was originated by him, that he had named it Hudson but had delayed sending it out on the advice of several grape experts till it had been further tested. For this purpose Caywood says he sent the variety to about sixty men, among them J. W. Prentiss. Those who examined fruit from the two original vines said they were certainly very similar if not identical.

[135]Planchon is our authority for calling this Riparia.

[136]Translation from the Latin.

[137]Isadore Bush was born at Prague, Bohemia, in 1822. Bush was one of those Germans who, taking part in the troubles of the Fatherland in 1848, found it necessary to seek a home in the New World. He went to Missouri upon his arrival in the country and there spent the remainder of his life. During the Civil War he was secretary to General Frémont and at various times occupied many other positions of trust. He established the Bushberg nursery which for many years was the leading grape nursery of this country. With the aid of Engelmann and others he wrote theBushberg Catalogue and Grape Manual, a work which has passed through many editions and has probably been more popular and useful than any other book on American grapes published in the English language. Bush died in St. Louis in 1898, having been a citizen of that place for forty-nine years.

[138]Thomas Volney Munson, the well-known nurseryman, viticulturist, and plant-breeder, was born near Astoria, Illinois, September 26, 1843. He graduated from Kentucky University, Lexington, Kentucky, in 1870. His nursery has for thirty-one years been located at Denison, Texas. Munson has introduced more hybrid grapes than any other man in America and probably in the world. He has paid great attention to grape botany, particularly to the southwestern species. Monographs on grapes, from his hand, have appeared in the proceedings of various horticultural societies and in horticultural journals. Bulletins written by him have been issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas Experiment Station. He has at present a book ready for publication entitledFoundations of American Grape Culture. The varieties produced by Munson are particularly successful in the Southwest where conditions are such that most of our northern varieties fail. The most valuable of those that have been thoroughly tested are Brilliant, America, Carman, Gold Coin and Rommel.

[139]Seepage 21.

[140]Jules Emile Planchon, a French systematic and horticultural botanist, was born in Ganges (Herault) in 1823, and died at Montpellier in 1888. Planchon was a writer of many valuable monographs on botanical subjects and in combination with F. Sahut and J. Bazille discovered that the cause of a mysterious and serious malady which had been affecting the French vineyards for some years, was due to an insect on the roots, the phylloxera. Later, he and C. V. Riley determined that this insect was a native of America. Planchon was one of the first to suggest, and always urged, the reconstitution of French vineyards by the use of American stocks. During the later years of his life he was professor of botany in the School at Montpellier. His most noted contribution to grape literature is his monograph of the grape vine and other plants of the Ampelopsis family which appeared as the second half of the fifth volume of the continuation of De Candolle’sProdromus Systematis Naturalis.

[141]Martin Vahl, a Norwegian, was born in 1749, and died in 1804. As a pupil of the great Linnaeus, Vahl became a prominent worker in botany and natural history in Denmark and was an author and writer of note on these subjects, publishing much on botany. He traveled extensively, but it does not appear that he visited North America, though he wrote three large volumes on the flora of tropical America. It is probable that he named and describedVitis palmatafrom herbarium specimens.

[142]Jean Louis Berlandier was a Belgian pupil of the great De Candolle, but left Europe about 1828 for America and became a druggist in Matamoras, Mexico. He was one of the first botanists to explore northern Mexico and Texas. In attempting to cross one of the small streams south of the Rio Grande in 1851, he was drowned. Many of his papers, plants and some paintings are preserved in the herbarium of Harvard University and his services to botany are commemorated by the genus Berlandiera, dedicated to him by De Candolle, and the speciesVitis berlandierihere described.

[143]George Engelmann was born at Frankfurt-on-the-Main in 1809. He was educated at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Wurzburg, receiving a doctor’s degree in medicine from the latter institution. In 1832 Dr. Engelmann sailed for America and spent some months in exploring the forests of the Mississippi Valley studying the plants of the region, having become deeply absorbed in botany. He soon after began the practice of medicine in St. Louis where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1884. Engelmann was one of the most patient and devoted students of natural history of his time. He mastered several difficult genera of plants, doing his work so well that his monographs will long remain, not only authorities on the plants described, but models for the systematic botanist. Among the genera to which he devoted his time was Vitis, upon which he published several monographs. These appeared in various publications, particularly theProceedings of the Academy of Science of St. Louisin 1860, theAmerican Naturalistfor 1868, Riley’s reports as entomologist of Missouri for 1872 and 1874, and the third and all later editions of theBushberg Catalogue.

[144]George Bentham was born near Plymouth, England, in 1800. His father was a man of considerable wealth and the son was privately educated. Early in life he showed an inclination toward botany, writing a book onThe Plants of the Pyrenees and Lower Languedocwhich was published when he was only twenty-six years old. For a time he studied law in which he showed considerable talent and where his original views attracted some attention. Later, however, he gave his attention to botany almost exclusively, joined the London Horticultural Society and the Linnaean Society, and was more or less closely connected with the workers at Kew. In connection with J. D. Hooker he wrote theGenera Plantarum. Others of his well-known works areFlora AustraliensisandHandbook of the British Flora. Bentham died in 1884.

[145]This name has been spelled “Lincecumii” and “Linsecomii.” Buckley tells us (U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt.,1861:486) that this grape was named in honor of “Dr. Gideon Linsecom” of Long Point, Washington County, Texas. Engelmann changed the spelling to Lincecum without giving any reason for the change. Munson states that a daughter of Dr. Lincecum says that her father always spelled his name Lincecum. It is inconceivable that Buckley did not know how to spell his friend’s name. There is other corroborative evidence that Buckley was either a poor penman, or did not read proof, or both. In his Latin description of this species nearly every other word is misspelled, and the mistakes are those of a printer rather than of one whose Latin is weak, such as “totis” for “lobis,” etc. Munson says that on the different herbarium specimens of this species collected by Buckley, the name is spelled both ways but he is not able to tell which are in Buckley’s hand. As the original error seems to be one by the printer or amanuensis it does not seem desirable to perpetuate it. We have consequently adopted the spelling of Engelmann and Munson.

[146]Liberty Hyde Bailey was born in 1858 in South Haven, Michigan. He graduated from the Michigan Agricultural College in 1882 and then studied botany for two years with Asa Gray at Harvard University. He became professor of horticulture at his Alma Mater in 1885 and resigned in 1888 to accept the Chair of Horticulture in Cornell University, a position which he filled until 1904 when he became Director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and Dean of the New York State College of Agriculture. In 1907 he was given the degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Bailey is known as a teacher and experimenter but is better known for his horticultural and botanical writings. He has published many popular books on agricultural subjects. The best known of these are:The Nursery Book;The Rule Book;Principles of Vegetable Gardening;Garden Making;The Pruning Book;The Survival of the Unlike;The Evolution of Our Native Fruits. Besides these popular, or semi-popular works he has published two cyclopedias:The Cyclopedia of American HorticultureandThe Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. Dr. Bailey’s position in American horticultural literature is unique in that he represents the botanical side of horticulture. He has written monographs on several of our cultivated fruits, notably grapes and plums, both appearing inThe Evolution of Our Native Fruits.

[147]Am. Gard.,12:584. 1891.

[148]John Eaton Le Conte was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, in 1784 and died at Philadelphia in 1860. In 1817 he entered the army as a topographical engineer, and in 1831 was retired with the grade of major. Le Conte early became interested in natural history and his military expeditions gave him ample opportunity for studying the flora and fauna of eastern America. He published a number of important botanical papers, one of which wasThe Vines of North Americapublished in 1854-55. His contributions to the genus Vitis will be found under that head.

[149]Augustin Pyramus De Candolle was born at Geneva, Switzerland, 1778, and died at Turin, Italy, in 1841. He came of an ancient French family which had been driven out of Provence in the middle of the sixteenth century owing to their religion. He began his scientific studies at the College of Geneva, but later removed to Paris where he attended courses of lectures on natural science under the greatest scientists of that day. His best known works are:Historia plantarum Succulentarum;Synopsis plantarum in flora Gallica descriptarum; andProdromus Systematis regni vegetabilis(1824-), this last being only about two-thirds completed at the time of his death.Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyrame De Candolle was born in Paris, France, in 1806. Like his father, whose life is sketched above, he became a noted botanist. His most important works have been translated into English and are as follows:Geographical Botany, 1855;Origin of Cultivated Plants, 1883; and theMemoirsof his father, 1862. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1893.

Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyrame De Candolle was born in Paris, France, in 1806. Like his father, whose life is sketched above, he became a noted botanist. His most important works have been translated into English and are as follows:Geographical Botany, 1855;Origin of Cultivated Plants, 1883; and theMemoirsof his father, 1862. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1893.

[150]The name Labrusca is an old one originally applied to a grape growing wild in Italy. Engelmann states that this grape is still known to the Italians by the name Brusca. It was probably applied to the American species by Linnaeus under the mistaken supposition that our northern Fox grape was the same as the wild Italian species.

[151]Carl von Linne, better known in the Latin form of Carolus Linnaeus, was born in 1707 at Rashult in the province of Smäland, Sweden. His father, a minister, endeavored to educate his son to follow the same profession. In this he failed, as Linnaeus from his earliest years took no interest in the classical studies then taught. His father was finally induced to educate young Linnaeus as a physician. Linnaeus was the greatest systematist in the history of botany. His general system, though much modified, is still in use. Although he named many species of plants, it was not as a traveler and explorer but as a recipient of the results of travels of others that the specimens were secured from which the descriptions were made. Linnaeus died at Upsala, Sweden, in 1778. His herbarium after his death was sold and finally became the property of the Linnaean Society of London, where the specimens are frequently used by botanists from various parts of the world for purposes of comparison.

[152]Husmann,1895:189.

[153]Grape Cult.,1:4. 1869.

[154]U. S. D. A. Rpt.,1862:198.

[155]Gar. and For.,2:584. 1889.

[156]Numbers in parentheses designate authors or publications cited in the list of references.

[157]Adlum, John.Cultivation of the Vine: 149. 1828.

[158]Downing,1872:119 app.

[159]Traité gen. de vit.,5:201. 1903.

[160]Bush. Cat.,1883:71.

[161]Bush. Cat.,1894:89.

[162]Dr. A. P. Wylie was a southern hybridizer. His life was one of exceptionally varied usefulness. Besides being a physician he worked with many different plants, producing new varieties of cotton, peach, nectarine, magnolia and other species. His hybrids were produced chiefly during the sixties and early seventies. His method of testing hybrid grapes was unique; as soon as the fruit from the cross-fertilized blossoms ripened, the seeds were planted and the seedlings forced the first winter in a hothouse. In the spring it was planted by the side of a mature vine outside and the seedling grafted by inarching on the established vine. In this manner, his son writes us, he frequently secured fruit the second summer. In 1873 he suffered the irreparable misfortune of losing his residence by fire. This destroyed all of his seeds and also his seedlings, which were in an adjacent hothouse. The number of Dr. Wylie’s grape seedlings cannot be accurately told as many of them were never disseminated. Of his better known sorts there are Berckmans, Dr. Wylie, Mrs. McClure, and Peter Wylie, the best known of which is the first. Dr. Wylie was the first man to hybridize theVitis rotundifoliawith other species of grapes. Unfortunately these hybrids appear to have been lost to cultivation. He died at his home in Chester, South Carolina, in 1877.

[163]Tex. Sta. Bul.,48:1153. 1898.

[164]Mag. Hort.,1863:67.

[165]Fuller,1867:237.

[166]Bush. Cat.,1883:75.

[167]Downing,1869:532.

[168]Jacob Moore was born in Brighton, New York, in 1835. He early engaged in the nursery business and about 1860 began to experiment in hybridizing grapes, his first production of note being Diana Hamburg which proved too tender to be of value in New York. In 1873 he sold the Brighton to its introducer, the grape having come from a union of Diana Hamburg and Concord. In 1882 Moore’s third grape of note, the Diamond, was introduced, its parents being Concord, fertilized by Iona. One other grape completes his list of varieties of this fruit—the Geneva, a Vinifera-Labrusca hybrid from seed planted in the spring of 1874. Beside these grapes, Moore was the originator of the Ruby, Red Cross and Diploma currants and the Bar-seckel pear. Jacob Moore died in January, 1908, having devoted a life to the improvement of fruits and having spent a patrimony of no small amount and all of his earnings in carrying on experiments in horticulture. It saddens one to know that after having devoted a half century to the enrichment of agriculture, poor Moore should have passed his last years in comparative poverty, and that they were embittered with the thought that, unlike the inventor, the producer of new fruits can in no way protect the products of his originality, even though they added millions to the wealth of the country as have his fruits.

[169]Advertising circular sent out by Wm. B. Brown in 1899.

[170]George W. Campbell was born in Cortlandville, New York, in 1817. The family moved to Ohio in 1821. In early life Campbell was a printer and editor, as his father had been before him. In 1849 he moved from Sandusky, Ohio, to Delaware in the same State and it was in the latter place that his attention was first turned to horticulture as a livelihood, although he had been interested in it as an amateur much earlier. He was a continuous member of the American Pomological Society from the time of its organization in 1850 until his death. He raised thousands of seedling grapes, of which the following were given names: Campbell Early, Concord Chasselas, Concord Muscat, Juno, Lady, Purity, Triumph, White Delaware. All of these are practically obsolete in the North except Campbell Early and Lady.Campbell died at his home in Delaware, Ohio, in 1898. For many years before his death he had been the leading writer and speaker in the North on the culture of the grape and on grape-breeding, and his work had a marked influence on the improvement of viticulture.

Campbell died at his home in Delaware, Ohio, in 1898. For many years before his death he had been the leading writer and speaker in the North on the culture of the grape and on grape-breeding, and his work had a marked influence on the improvement of viticulture.

[171]Charles Arnold was born in Bedfordshire, England, in 1818. In 1833 he removed to Paris, Ontario. He was an enthusiastic hybridizer in many lines, producing a white wheat, the Ontario apple, and the American Wonder pea. In 1853 he established the Paris Nurseries. Of his numerous seedling grapes he gave names to Autuchon, Brant, Canada, Cornucopia and Othello. He was for many years prominent in the agricultural and scientific associations of his adopted country. His object in crossing grapes was to secure varieties sufficiently hardy and early for the Canadian climate. In this he was in a measure successful but his crosses are so susceptible to mildew and rot that their culture has been generally abandoned in both Canada and the United States. He died at his home in Paris, Canada, in 1883.

[172]Cat.,1908:18.

[173]Ephraim W. Bull was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1805 and died in 1895. He will long be remembered by grape-growers as the originator and introducer of the Concord grape, the history of which is given in the above account of that variety. Bull grew many other seedlings, none of which attained a reputation among growers unless it be Cottage. Ephraim Bull’s ninety years were spent in the quiet of his Concord home and he would have remained unknown by others than his neighbors, who honored and loved him, had it not been for his fortunate discovery of the Concord grape, which must always give him a place in the history of American grape culture. The grape which has added immensely to the wealth of a nation, brought its originator scarcely a year’s competence. As a partial recompense for his great service to horticulture and to the nation, the memory of Ephraim W. Bull should live long.

[174]No one family has furnished so many members who have been prominent in American grape-growing as the Underhills. The first of this remarkable family, Robert Underhill, was born in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, in 1761. During his early life he appears to have been engaged in various enterprises. At one time he was part owner and conductor of a flouring mill at the head of navigation on the Croton River; later he sold his interest in this business and in 1804 removed to Croton Point, which he had previously bought. Here, during the War of 1812, the supply of watermelons from the South being cut off, he planted eighty acres of melons, and it is said that as many as six vessels were lying off Croton Point at one time waiting for the melons to mature. Among other of his ventures was the growing of castor beans, and toward the end of his life he became interested in viticulture. An account of his operations cultivating grapes is given in the first part of this work. Robert Underhill died at Croton Point in 1829. After his death his two sons, William Alexander Underhill and Robert T. Underhill, bought from their father’s estate the two hundred and fifty acres comprising Croton Point. Their holdings were not in common, William A. Underhill having about one hundred and sixty-five acres and his brother the balance.R. T. Underhill was born on the Croton River in 1802 and died in 1871 at Croton Point. William A. Underhill was born at the same place as his brother in 1804, and died suddenly while on a trip to New York City in 1873. The first three Underhills were pioneer vineyardists in this State, and were men of great enterprise and initiative, contributing much to American viticulture by precept and example; but none of them was an originator of new varieties.Stephen W. Underhill, son of William A. Underhill, was born at Croton Point in 1837. In his boyhood he became familiar with the grape-growing operations of his father and uncle, and about 1860 became interested in hybridizing as a means of originating new varieties. Most of his work was done between 1860 and 1870. He originated Black Defiance, Black Eagle, Croton, Irving, Senasqua and many other named and unnamed sorts. Of his varieties it may be said that they generally show too many Vinifera weaknesses for profitable commercial sorts. S. W. Underhill is still living at Croton-on-Hudson, a short distance from Croton Point, the scene of the labors of three generations of the Underhill family. Since the death of his father, in 1873, he has devoted himself almost exclusively to brick-making, an occupation in which his father had been interested.

R. T. Underhill was born on the Croton River in 1802 and died in 1871 at Croton Point. William A. Underhill was born at the same place as his brother in 1804, and died suddenly while on a trip to New York City in 1873. The first three Underhills were pioneer vineyardists in this State, and were men of great enterprise and initiative, contributing much to American viticulture by precept and example; but none of them was an originator of new varieties.

Stephen W. Underhill, son of William A. Underhill, was born at Croton Point in 1837. In his boyhood he became familiar with the grape-growing operations of his father and uncle, and about 1860 became interested in hybridizing as a means of originating new varieties. Most of his work was done between 1860 and 1870. He originated Black Defiance, Black Eagle, Croton, Irving, Senasqua and many other named and unnamed sorts. Of his varieties it may be said that they generally show too many Vinifera weaknesses for profitable commercial sorts. S. W. Underhill is still living at Croton-on-Hudson, a short distance from Croton Point, the scene of the labors of three generations of the Underhill family. Since the death of his father, in 1873, he has devoted himself almost exclusively to brick-making, an occupation in which his father had been interested.

[175]Bush. Cat.,1883:89.

[176]Traité gen. de vit.,6:278. 1903.

[177]Ib., p. 279.

[178]The grape vine in the vineyard is not ornamental, but only because its beauty is marred by the formal shapes in which it must be trained to meet the purposes of the cultivator. But as a festoon for an arbor, or for hiding a neglected building, for the porch of the farmhouse, or for any place where a bold or picturesque effect is wanted, or for giving an expression of strength, no vine surpasses some of the varieties of our native grapes. Properly planted they are not only beautiful in themselves but attractive through their suggestiveness. To sit under one’s own vine and fig tree is the ancient idea of a life of peace, contentment and security; and this association with the patriarchal use of the vine is one of the charms of the grape.

[179]Often incorrectly spelled Devereux.

[180]Horticulturist,12:458. 1857.

[181]Gar. Mon.,2:265. 1860.

[182]Bush. Cat.,1894:116.

[183]After the above was in type we received a communication from Ricketts stating that Downing came from seed of Concord fertilized by Muscat Hamburg. If this is true it is difficult to account for the apparent Aestivalis characters.

[184]This variety was named after Dutchess County, New York, and the spelling is as given in this text and not “Duchess” as usually spelled.

[185]Andrew Jackson Caywood was born near Modena, Ulster County, New York, in 1819. During his early life he was a mason and contractor and engaged in building operations in Orange and Ulster counties. When about twenty-five years of age he became interested in fruit culture and was soon one of the leading fruit-growers in his section. Caywood’s grape-breeding work appears to have started about 1850, while he still lived at Modena. In 1861 he removed to Poughkeepsie, and about 1865, what was probably his first grape, the Walter, was brought to the attention of the public. In 1877 he removed to Marlboro, where for many years he conducted a nursery business in connection with fruit raising, first under the firm name of Ferries & Caywood, and later as Caywood & Son, his son Walter having entered the business. Caywood’s last years were clouded with financial troubles and failing health. In 1889 he died at his home in Marlboro. No record is available of Caywood’s productions nor his manner of work. He appears to have differed from the grape-breeders of his day in that he produced second rather than first generation hybrids. Of these his most important productions are: Dutchess, Metternich, Nectar, Poughkeepsie, Ulster and Walter, though he raised many others, most of which were never named nor disseminated. Caywood’s years of unremitting labor in improving grapes will long make his name prominent in American viticulture.

[186]John Burr was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1800. In early life he removed to Ohio, where, although he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, he passed his leisure time in experimenting with strawberries. In this work he was quite successful, producing Burr’s Pine and Burr’s Seedling, once popular sorts. In 1858 Burr moved to Kansas and soon after began breeding grapes. For this work he was a believer in natural pollination and planted the varieties which he desired to use as parents in close proximity that they might pollinate each other. Burr at first used Concord, Hartford, Isabella, and other grapes of this class as parents, but later he destroyed all of the seedlings of these and used Delaware, Goethe, Salem, Catawba, and other Vinifera hybrids. He did not take trouble to note from which variety the seed came but mixed and planted all together. The records of the parentage of his productions are consequently usually unsatisfactory. Most of his grape productions were introduced to the public by Stayman & Black, a nearby nursery firm. Of Burr’s many seedlings he gave names to the following: Cochee, Early Victor, Eclipse, Evaline, Ideal, Iola, Jewel, Magnate, Matchless, Mendota, Omega, Osage, Osee, Paragon, Peola, Primate, Pulasky, Seneca, Superior, Standard, Supreme, and White Jewel. Burr died at his home in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1892.

[187]Traité gen. de vit.,6:192. 1903.

[188]Cat.,1907-8:18.

[189]This variety was named Glenfeld by Mr. Magee, its originator, not Glenfield as it is frequently spelled.

[190]Tex. Sta. Bul.,56:267. 1900.

[191]Munson regards them as identical.

[192]Dr. C. W. Grant was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1810. Early in life he became a Doctor of Medicine but soon became dissatisfied with that profession as it was then practiced, and entered dentistry. He settled in Newburgh, New York, where he built up a very large dental practice. Dr. Grant was an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist and numbered among his friends such men of national note as A. J. and Charles Downing, Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, W. C. Bryant, Donald G. Mitchell and others like these who were interested in rural pursuits. He bought Iona Island in the Hudson River and planted thereon a commercial vineyard. On the death of his wife in 1856 he gave up his dental practice and took up his residence on Iona Island. Here for twelve years he grew grapes and conducted a grape nursery. Unfortunately Dr. Grant’s business experience was not such as to enable him to make a success of a commercial nursery. In 1868 he retired from active pursuits and returned to his old home at Litchfield, where he died in 1881. Dr. Grant’s chief interest to grape-growers lies in the fact that he was the originator of Iona and Israella and the introducer of Anna and Eumelan. He was one of the first and a most ardent grape-breeder, working especially toward improving the quality of commercial varieties of grapes.

[193]On account of criticisms of the justice of the award, Grant returned the prize to be competed for a second time. At the second trial it went to Concord on vine characters.

[194]Sou. Agr.,2:552. 1829.

[195]In 1889 Munson sent out a grape under the name Jaeger and in 1890 he introduced the variety here described under the name Hermann Jaeger, at the same time withdrawing the former variety from further dissemination. As the first named Jaeger is apparently obsolete there seems to be no objection to shortening the name so as to conform in nomenclature with the recommendations of the American Pomological Society.

[196]James H. Ricketts was born in Oldbridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in 1830, the family moving to Indiana while Ricketts was still a child. When a young man Ricketts learned the trade of bookbinding in Cincinnati and later practiced this art in New York City. In 1857 he established a bookbinding business at Newburgh, New York; here he became interested in raising fruit, devoting to it such time as could be be spared from his business. In 1861 he started his work in grape improvement, reading all the books then published on this subject in order to prepare himself to carry on the work intelligently. His first production was Raritan which he says he thought not much improvement. In 1862, he built a glass house in order that he might have Vinifera vines for crossing with natives outside. His first production of foreign cross-breeds was the Charles Downing, now known as Downing.Ricketts produced many hundred seedlings, and for ten or twelve years exhibited them at various fairs, horticultural society meetings and other places, where their magnificent appearance and fine flavor attracted universal and favorable attention and made him the recipient of many medals and prizes. Unfortunately Ricketts, like many other American grape-breeders, fell into financial difficulties, and in 1877 lost his vineyard and home by foreclosure. In 1888, he moved to Washington, D. C., to work at his trade but has again started to improve grapes and is now growing a number of new varieties which will probably be shown to the public in the near future.JEFFERSONJEFFERSONRicketts’ seedlings are characterized by a large size of bunch and berry, and by high quality. Unfortunately it has been the experience of growers in nearly all grape regions that the vine characters of his varieties are not equal to those of the fruit, the vines being subject to mildew and other Vinifera weaknesses. However, Ricketts produced magnificent specimens of his grapes, year after year, under conditions which every one admits were less favorable than those of the average grape-grower. The secret of his success seems never to have been discovered. This anomaly is so striking that Campbell did not hesitate to suggest that the fault was with the American grape-grower rather than with Ricketts’ grapes or the location of the vineyard. The best known of his varieties are: Advance, Bacchus, Don Juan, Downing, Eldorado, Empire State, Highland, Jefferson, Lady Washington and Secretary. Besides these he produced many others, some of which were named but many of which were known only under numbers.

Ricketts produced many hundred seedlings, and for ten or twelve years exhibited them at various fairs, horticultural society meetings and other places, where their magnificent appearance and fine flavor attracted universal and favorable attention and made him the recipient of many medals and prizes. Unfortunately Ricketts, like many other American grape-breeders, fell into financial difficulties, and in 1877 lost his vineyard and home by foreclosure. In 1888, he moved to Washington, D. C., to work at his trade but has again started to improve grapes and is now growing a number of new varieties which will probably be shown to the public in the near future.

JEFFERSONJEFFERSON

Ricketts’ seedlings are characterized by a large size of bunch and berry, and by high quality. Unfortunately it has been the experience of growers in nearly all grape regions that the vine characters of his varieties are not equal to those of the fruit, the vines being subject to mildew and other Vinifera weaknesses. However, Ricketts produced magnificent specimens of his grapes, year after year, under conditions which every one admits were less favorable than those of the average grape-grower. The secret of his success seems never to have been discovered. This anomaly is so striking that Campbell did not hesitate to suggest that the fault was with the American grape-grower rather than with Ricketts’ grapes or the location of the vineyard. The best known of his varieties are: Advance, Bacchus, Don Juan, Downing, Eldorado, Empire State, Highland, Jefferson, Lady Washington and Secretary. Besides these he produced many others, some of which were named but many of which were known only under numbers.

[197]Amer. Farmer,11:237, 412. 1829-30.

[198]The illustrations inThe Grapes of New York, unless otherwise mentioned, are life-size; but it must be remembered that when objects having three dimensions are reproduced on a flat surface there is seemingly a considerable reduction in size. Allowance should be made for this illusion in comparing fruit with illustration.

[199]Bush. Cat.,1883:120.

[200]Downing,1857:341.

[201]Pronounced Reezling.

[202]Jacob Rommel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1837. The family moved to Hermann, Missouri, in 1838 where his father, Jacob Rommel, Sr., engaged in the nursery business and became interested in grape-growing and wine-making. In 1860 the younger Rommel removed to Morrison where he entered into partnership with H. Sobbe to grow nursery stock and cultivate grapes. At this time much dissatisfaction was felt among the grape-growers of the Middle West with the standard varieties then grown, most of which were table grapes secured from the East, and were poorly adapted to wine-making and to Missouri conditions. To remedy this defect Rommel originated many new varieties, using Taylor chiefly as a parent. Among others he produced Amber, Beauty, Black Delaware, Elvira, Etta, Faith, Montefiore, Pearl, Transparent and Wilding. Rommel’s seedlings are characterized by extreme vigor and productiveness. They were not designed for table grapes and they lack the qualities to recommend them as such. In 1900 Rommel retired from business and removed to Chamois, Missouri, where he still lives.

[203]Nelson Bonney White was born in the town of Putney, Windham County, Vermont, in 1824. During his younger years he lived for a time in Ohio and in New York but finally settled in Norwood, Massachusetts. White was a cabinet maker by trade, but coming under the influence of E. S. Rogers at the time when Rogers’ hybrids were causing a stir in New England, he took up grape-breeding as a pastime. He is probably the oldest grape-breeder of note now alive, as he has been engaged in this occupation over fifty years. His best known productions are August Giant, Amber Queen, and Norfolk. Two other of his varieties, International and King Philip, are very highly spoken of but have not yet been distributed.

[204]Horticulturist,16:286. 1861.

[205]Mag. Hort.,9:430. 1843.

[206]Traité gen. de vit.,6:166. 1903.

[207]U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt.,1855:308.

[208]A. J. Caywood, of Marlboro, New York, published the claim that this variety was originated by him, that he had named it Hudson but had delayed sending it out on the advice of several grape experts till it had been further tested. For this purpose Caywood says he sent the variety to about sixty men, among them J. W. Prentiss. Those who examined fruit from the two original vines said they were certainly very similar if not identical.

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