The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-02-07
The Latest Facts About the Grape Dis
ease.

For many years grape culture in, the
United States has been very uncertain.
Innumerable fine varieties have been rails
ed, some of them in quality equal to the
best from the Rhine. But one by one the
varieties have failed, until now only two
or three-Concord, Clinton, and perhaps
Hartford Pr0lific-are planted with any
certainty that they will grow tolerably
well.
Various ca{lses have from time to time
been suggested to account for this failure
of so many grapes to do well. Most peo-
pie, however, fall back on the nearest
cause to the evidence of their senses, and
simply say, these varieties are too tender
for this latitude. OF course this explains
nothing; and the reason why these grapes
are too tender, fthe climate really should
be found to have anything to dowith it, is
yet open for Investigation.
Of late years the vineyards of France
have failed, ih many cases seriously. As
they had for hundreds of years done very
well, and the trouble. whatever it was, was
of recent introduction, the French, more
sensible thanIwe, did not think the climate
had anything to do with it, and set about
investigating the causes, and found in the
diseased vines myriads of small insects at
IOVlS5 WHICH,, HlJlIOuG dIl1 Q0uUb tilG
world, inaugurated the disease. Fortu-
nately for the scientific credit of our coun-
try, that ardent young investigator, Prof.
Riley, the State Entomo1ogtst of Missouri,
found the Same insects On American vines.
and. entirely independent of the European
discovery, divides the honor with our for
eign friends. But the discovery in Amer
lea set our French friends to thinking;
and they concluded that their insects must
have come IRON America, and they at
once sent ono of their most careful scien-
lists, Prof. Planchon, who ranks in
France as Prof. Gray would here, to in
yestigate the habits of the insect IN its ma
tive home. The writer of this had the adj
vantage of aiding Prof. Planchon in his
Investigations among American vines. Ii
was found thai the insect was at the root
OF many diseased vines. They punctllre
the root, absorb the sap, small tubercles
about the size of grains of wheat follow,
and soon after the young root decays.
The reason why the Concord and Clinton
doso much better than ethers, is on ae-
count OF AM extra power of producing
fibres. They pushout these small roots
so freely and so abundantly that one isno
sooner injured by the insect than several
others 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 suffer. The result of Mr.. Plan
chon's mission is the report in favor of the
extensive introduction of these two Amer
lean varieties, as a stock on which the
French vineEardists 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 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 itslrayages may in a measure be
counteractel, there 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
oftibres to their roots.-FoTueg's
Press.