Chapter 15
Section 15 of Birds and All Nature, Volume 5, Number 4, April 1899. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Grape. The name grape is from the French grap, a bunch of grapes, from the same root as gripe, or grab, to grasp. It is one of the most valuable fruits, not only because of its use in the manufacture of wine, and is the source also
from which brandy, vinegar, and tartaric acid are obtained, but because, both in a fresh and dried state, it forms not a mere article of luxury, but a great part of the food of the inhabitants of some countries. The cultivation of the vine was introduced into England by the Romans, and of late years its cultivation has much increased in gardens, on the walls of suburban villas and of cottages, but chiefly for the sake of the fresh fruit, although wine is also made in small
quantities for domestic use. The first attempt at the culture of the vine in the United States for winemaking was in Florida in 1564, and another was made by the British colonists in 1620. In Delaware, wine was made from native grapes as early as 1648. In 1683, William Penn engaged in the cultivation of the vine near Philadelphia, but with only partial success. In 1825, the Catawba vine, a native of North Carolina, came into prominence, and it was afterward cultivated
extensively near Cincinnati by Nicholas Longworth, who has been called the father of this culture in the United States. In 1858, the entire production of the Catawba wine in Ohio amounted to 400,000 gallons. In the states east of the Rocky Mountains, the greatest extent of territory in vineyards occurs in Ohio, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, but at present they exist in nearly every state in the Union. Of all the states, however, California is the most
important for vine growing. The vineyards were first cultivated there during the middle of the last century, the first grape planted being the Los Angeles, which was the only one grown till 1820. The cultivation of the vine varies much in different countries. In the vineries of Britain, the vines are carefully trained in various ways so as most completely to cover the walls and trellises and to turn the whole available space to the utmost account. The luxuriant growth of
the plant renders the frequent application of the pruning knife necessary during the summer. The bunches of grapes are generally thinned out with great care in order that finer fruit may be produced. By such means and the aid of artificial heat, grapes are produced equal to those of the most favored climates, and the vine attains to a large size and a great age. The famous vine at Hampton Court has a stem more than a foot in circumference, one branch measuring 114 feet
in length, and has produced in one season 2,200 bunches of grapes, weighing on an average one pound each, or in all about a ton. End of section 15.
