Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-07-24
THE CULTURE OF AMERICAN VINES
IN FRANCE.

About fifteen years ago the phylloxera
pest assailed the vineyards of large por-
ton of France A vast number of rene
dies were tried, not one of which proved
a specific save the flooding of low-lying
vineyards. It was proposed about FIVE
years ago to substitute for the French
vines affected, American plants, and the
plan was adopted over large areas. This
displacement, of course, took long time,
and it is only recently that any pratical
Judgment as to the result could be formed.
Consul Mason, of Marseilles, in obedience
to the directions of the State Department
of our Government has made a report on
the subject, which is of high value to our
viticulturists as light upon the subject of
vine displacement as a remedy for the evil
complained Of
At the close of the year 1884, in fifty
three French departments containing g.
214,572 acres of vineyards, had been
assailed by the pest and 2511, $40 acres of
vines in whole Or in part destroyed.
Among those that suffered more severely
were the departments of Herault, Ardeche,
Bouches-du-Rhone, Var, Aude, Pyrenees-
Orientales, Gard and Vaucluse, all in the
Marseilies district and largely devoted to
wine making The close of the year 1884
witnessed growing in FIVE of these depart
ments 100,614 acres of American vines.
The sulphide-of-carbon process had
been tried and failed upon So
615 acres, and 58,297 acres had
been saved by immersion with
water, thus drowning the parasite.
The introduction of American roots had
begun in an irregular and scattered line of
experimenting prior to the PhylIoxera in
vasion, for the purpose of resisting vine
disease known as oidium When the par
asite appeared it will be remembered that
the charge was made that he pest came
with the American ,.Ies-was an I'M
portation. But this was disproven, tor it
presently became apparent, as the phyl-
loxera appeared, that native vines sue
c~.9bed while American roots in adjacent
rows resisted the assault. Scientific in
vestigation was had, and demonstrated
that our vines are of different woody
fiber and characteristic quality Of vital
ity. For instance, the native vine stung
by the parasite rots, while the imported
vine shows blotches and knots, does not
die, and retains ordinary health. So, too,
when the leaves are assaulted, the Amer
lean growth shows wounds but does not
die.
This is not, however, true of all Amer
lean vines, for not all successfully resisted.
Some in course of time became as sascept-
ible to attack and as unable to resist as the
native roots, while others proved their
ability to Withstand the parasitic attack
Mr.. Mason says this judgment was not
established without great cost, and
arduous labor and long waiting The re-
suit was so favorable, as whole, that all
vine-growing France rushed into the i'm
portation of American stocks, and very
naturally, in the enthusiasm of the new
idea, made some eggregious and painful
blunders. On this subject he says:
Hundreds Of thousands of roots and cuttings
were imported from the United States and
planted fndiscriminately wherever they were
needed. Instead Of experimenting on small
scale with different varieties to ascertain their
fitness for new conditions of soil and climate,
many farmers planted whole vineyards with
the Clinton the Concord, the Taylor and Nor
TOMS Virginia all of which showed for time
great promise but eventually, in certain loca-
growers, and had to be abandoned.
So the French vineyardists discovered
that the American vines were more capri
eious and exacting than the standard Eu-
ropean varieties, such as the Aramont,
Cbasselas and Clairette. The climate of
south France is wholly dissimilar from
that of the United States, except portion
of California. The American vines were
accustomed to a virgin soil, rich in all the
elements of vitality, whereas they were
transplanted to soils fatigued by " centu-
ries of culture" Again, the French ap-
piled their system of close pruning, which
the American vines i'll sustained. Some