Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-07
NEED AMERICAN GRAPE
VINES IN THE OLD WORLD
American Stock Immune to Para
site that Threatens Vine
yards of Europe

PHILADELPHIA, July eff there
is one thing more than another that
Europe prides and plumes 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 its wine tree as
a sure sign from heaven that Europe
is the worlds only real true mans
land, saying America is harsh lanu
and inhospitable, 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, ana
without them Morgan or Rothschlld OF
King William for all the worlds power
and wealth could not take one sip Oh
Iiebfraumilch and be assured of nav
ing it from year to year. Yet never
a Johnny Crapaud or a Dutchman or
them all but would laugh Tip to scorn
at such a statement, says the New
York Press.
Tlnis is the only wine land on this
great whirling globe where the Amer
ican grape vine 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 into
grape vines they show their presence
and devilment only too plainly. The
vine crows 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 ana
| burst had he seen the wales of Sicily
stricken with this louise. Better an
aeon of earthquakes than this lousy
|
a stricken vine are examined with
microscope they are seen to be full OF
little knotty swellings, and in these
tiny knots the siX-legged lice are found
swarming in clusters. They pierce the
root-bark and suck away the living
sap AS might be expected, the root
lice are wingless females; 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
| were 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 just and mer-
ciful provision that nature should pro-
vide from the same country the salVa-
tion of the grape and the vine grower.
After years of struggle many native
American vines have become immune
from the grape louise, have an antioxin,
an antiserum in their root sap that
makes the lice grippe. bellyache and die.
And the cure the world over that mas
met far and away the surest success
consists in grubbing up and burning
Old Worlds diseased vines and plant
ing American "phylloxera-re 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 louse and
a grape that upholds the local reputa-
ton and pockets and bread and makes
the priceless wine. The vines OF runs
have so far escaped the pest.
Now, It seems that most French wine
brought here Is not really our own, not
the reimported and relabeled California
wine as most of US believed several
wears ago. But they do make a wine
| from dried grapes in France, and
good and bad part of 1t goes to the
Yankees. over 2O0,OOO.OO0 pounds of
dried grapes are imported every year
| into France, mostly from Greece, from
which about 100, 900 gallons Of wines
and brandies are made