The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-02-21
FARM AND GARDEN.

The Latest Facts About the Grape Disease.
For many years grape culture in the Unit
en- States has been very uncertain Innulher,
able fine varieties have been raised. some OF
them In quality equal to the best from the
Rhine But one by one the varieties nave
failed, until now only two or three-Concord'
Clinton, and perhaps Hartford Proiilic-are
planted with any certainty that they VIII
grow tolerably well.
Various causes have from time to time
been suggested to account for this failure of
so many cranes TO do well, Most people,
boWcyc, fall back on the nearest cause to the
evidence of their senses, and simply say,
these varieties are to tender for this latitude.
OF course this explains nothing; and the rea.
son why these grapes are too tender, if the
climate really should be found to have any
thing to do with it, is yet open for investga-
ton.
OF late years the vineyards of France have
failed in many cases seriously. AS they had
for hundreds of years done very well, and the
trouble, whatever it was, was of recent intro
duction, the French, more sensible than we,
did not think the climate had anything to DO
with it, and set about investigating the cause,
and found in the diseased vines myrads of
small insects ut the roots, which, without any
doubt in the world, inaugurated the disease.
Fortunately for the scientific credit of our
country, that ardent young investigator, Prof.
Riley, the State Entomologist of Missouri,
found the same insects on American vines,
and, entirely independent Of the European
discovery, divides the honor with our foreign
friends. But the discovery in America set
our French friends to thinking; and they
concluded that their insects must have come
from America, and they at once sent one OF
their most careful scientists, Prof Planchon,
who ranks in France as Prof. Gray would
here, to investigate the habits of the insect in
its native home. The writer of tdiS had the
advantage Of aiding Prof. Planchon in his
investigations among American vines. 1t was
found that the insect was at the root Of many
diseased vines. They puncture the root, alb
sorb the sap, small tubercles about the size
of grains of wheat follow, and soon after the
young root decays. The reason why the Con
cord and Clinton do SO much better than 9th.
ers, is On account OF an extra power Of pro-
ducing fibres They push out these small
roots so freely and so abundantly that one is no
sooner injured by the insect than several 9th.
crs push out to take the place. In this way
the plant growth keeps ahead of the insect
damage The kinds which suffer most have
least renewing root power, and thus they suf
fer. The result of Mr.. Planchon's mission is
the report in favor of the extensive introduc-
ton of these two American varieties as a
stock on which the French vneyardists may
graft their vines Besides this, he finds IN
America very small parasite, which loves
to feed on the grapevine insect, and thus
keeps it down to a great extent
Now that the cause of grape failure in
America is shown not to be climate, but an
insect. and we see how the insect works and
how its raAases may in Il measure be coun.
teractcd, lhere seems more hope of success
in grape culture than ever before. One of
the chief objects now, with grape improvers,
will be to produce varieties which have
tendency to make large numbers Of tibres to
their rOOtS.-forneYs Press.