The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-08-07


| II there is one thing more than another
that Europe prides and piumes herself
upon and crows and brags more about
10 prove her undoubted superiority to
America in land blood. and brain, that
thing is surely wine.
every European regards his vine and
fits wine tree as a sure sign from Heaven
that Europe is the worlds only real true
mans land. saying America is a harsh
land and inhospitsble where the grape
can never. never mellow into the true
bliss Of a perfect wine. American grape
vines are the salvation Of the wine in
dustry Of this whole great world, and
without them Morgan or Rothschnd or
King William for all the worlds power
and wealth could not take one sip Of
/ champagne, Johannesberger. Hook, or
/ Liebfraumllch and be assured Of having
/ II from year 20 year. Yet never Johnny
[ Crapaud or a Dutchman OF them all but
would laugh 20 scorn such a statement.
Plant Louise at Work.
Tunis the only wine land on this
great whirling globe where the American
! grapevine does not root and rule as king.
How comes It? Phylloxera is an insect
OF the common plant-louse species. and
when these lice get In grapevines they
show their presence and devilment only
/ too plainly. The vine grows very few
| leaves, and these soon shrivel and their
! edges roll back and they turn sere and
yellow. Any grapes coming on the vine
are few and far between, and shrunken
and wrinkled. Bacchus' heart would have
/ given one thump, then swollen and burst
! had he seen the value OF Sicily stricken
with the louise. Better an aeon OF earth
/ quakes than this lousy death of the
grape. II the roots Of such a stricken
vine are examined with a microscope they
are seen to be full of little knOtty swell
ings. snd In these tiny knots the six
/ legged lice are found swarming in clust-
( ers. They pierce the root bark and suck
away the living sap. AS might be ex-
pected, the root lice are wingless fe<
males: the males are in the leaves, lying
low and waiting to increase the census Of
the louise world.
Phylloxera first showed up in the very
heart Of the wine world in France itself;
then spread into Italy, Spain. Austria,
Germany. Hungary. Then they ravaged
the vineyards OF the East. with a return
to Algeria; next these lice went to the
! Cape Of Good Hope. Australia, and New
Zealand. North America is the home Of
this ferocious pest, and it seems only
I u,
snould provide from the same country the
salvation Of the grape and the wine
grower.
Vines Become Immune,
After years OF struggle many native
American vines have become Immune
from the grape louise, have an antitoxin.
an antiserum in their root sap that
makes the lice grippe, bellyache, and die.
And the cure the world over that has
met far and away the surest success
consists in grubbing I'D and burning old
worlds diseased vines and planting
American phylloxera-resisting vines.
When these are growing good and strong
cuttings from old rich wine vines are
grated upon the life-saving American
/ stock so there Is composite plant-a
root that resists the louise and a grape
that upholds the local reputation and
pockets and bread and makes the price
less wine The vines OF Tunis have so
far escaped the pest.
Now. il seems that most French wine
brought here is not really our own. not
the reimported and relabeled California
] - boIf
ago. But they do make a wine from
drieG grapes in France. and a good and
bad part Of il goes to the Yankees. over
200o00,oOo pounds OF dried grapes are i'm
ported every year into France. mostly
from Greece. from which about 100000 900
gallons of wines and brandies are made.
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