Home, Field and Forum (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 2, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 1, 1898 Page: 4 of 16
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HOME, FIELI> AND FORUM.
FEBRUARY.
JBorticufhirc.
01 LAHOMA GRAPE PROSPECTS
Viewed From a Scientific Stand-
point.
HI T. T. HI'MHOM.
This Is a question of adaptation. and
spring* another question Can Oklahoma
condldtlons l>e profitably fitted t>v known
varieties of grapes. and if so. which arc
beet suited thereto*
A* with any region under considera-
tion. Oklahoma conditions are properly
considered under three sulKlivisions,
vlf., (a) climatic conditions. lb) Boils,
(c) diseases id) artificial aid* Cli-
matic condition® further divide them-
selves Into (1) ran*"* of temperature.
(21 rainfall and prevailing atmospheric
moisture. (3) prevailing winds and
storms. Soils are considered under ll)
chemical constituents. (2) mechanical
character Disease* divide into fungous
and Insect Artificial aids are such as
Irrigation, winter protection, methods
of training and cultivation.
After having determined sufficiently j
the Oklahoma conditions, as outlined
above. It will then be in order to try to
answer the second part of the main
question. "Can Oklahoma be profitably
fitted with varieties of grapes for table
and wine, and what are they'"
1 can quickly dispatch the first part of
my subject. whi< h relates to Oklahoma
conditions, for 1 am addressing citizens
of Oklahoma who understand these con-
ditions better than the writer. However,
let us review thern briefly
In climate, the range of temperature
In Oklahoma is great, and often sudden,
as that Is of all the eastern Rocky moun-
tain slope; ranging from 110 in sum-
mer occasionally, to 1« . and rarely
15° below zero in winter, in the
northern parts, rarely lower than zero
In aouthern parts. The summer heat in
ita greatest extremes is not so high in
the southern parts as in the northern
parts. The extremes are what hurt, n it
the averages; consequently, in selecting
varieties, one must be careful to take
those which can well endure the ex-
tremes.
The rainfall varies much in different
parts of the Territory, averaging forty or
more inches annually in eastern parts,
and gradually decreasing westwardlv.
according tc> altitude; until in the cen-
tral parts it averges fiften to twenty-
five inches isemi-arid), and in extreme
western parts it is quite arid, averaging
six to ten inches.
The prevailing atmospheric moisture
conforms to the rainfall in degree, so
that the fungous diseases are prevalent
In the eastern parts, and absent in west-
ern parts, and of slight consequence in
central parts; all easily controlled in any
part, by the copper-sulphate sprays.
The winds and sudden storms are less
damaging in eastern than in central and
western parts. The dry southwest winds
are probably most severely felt in central
parts. Their influence is l>est counter-
acted (1) by selection of deep-rooting
drought-resisting varieties, which will
be further elal¥ rated when we come to
consider varieties; (2) by growing arti-
ficial wind-breaks, where natural ones
do not exist, and (3) by method of plant-
ing and trellising the rows running
from southwest to northeast is best di-
rection, and the canopy trellis, in my
experience, the l>e*t form now gener
ally known as the Munson trellis and
the training thereon a variety of the
Knlfer system. (See Prof I,. H Bai
ley's book on Trellising and Training
American Grapes >
The Oklahoma soils are somewhat va
rlable, yet chiefly of the red or choco-
late Rocky mountain drift variety; eas-
ily pulverized and cultivated; easily pen-
etrated by roots to great depths, being
very porous, and well drained by nat-
ural topography of the country. They
are also easily washed by heavy rains,
and drifted by high winds. Wind-breaks
and methods of cultivation can control
to a large extent Their chemical con-
stitution Is generally good; potash Is
abundant, iron and lime sufficient, but In
nitrogenous elements they quickly be-
come exhausted, and this weakness ran
be overcome by growing alfalfa. South
ern peas and the use of nitrate* In
phosphoric acid they are fairly supplied
but will require renewing in this fre-
quently—using commercial fertilizers
Aa the country grows grains, cotton and
punt well, they will furnish the cheap
Mt f«rtili«em In waste products from
gtock feeding On the whole, the cll-
mate and aotl conditions could hardly
be better for most varieties of grapes
A, to fnagooa and bacterial diseases.
W0 laiUfMtrt HMaewhai. In speaking of
the atmospheric moisture In in<u><-ts.
they are abundant, as elsewhere in the
Southwest, but now, with the fungous
diseases generally, easily kept under
control by spraying
The phylloxera are native throughout
the Territory wherever native grapes
are found. If the non-resistant Vlni-
ferla varieties are planted, they should
Ik* grafted upon natives, all of whi<-h
are resistants. The V. Doaniana. which
grows naturally, but not very abun-
dantly. in some of the western parts of
the Territory, especially in Greer county,
is probably as good, or l>etter than any
other, as it grows readily from cuttings,
is fully resistant, roots very deeply, is
long-lived, and takes and carries the
graft well, in all but seepy soils, and
as well In them as any species It en-
dures both severe cold and drought.
When we come to consider species and
varietites more fully, other graft stocks
will be mentioned for various climates
and soils. The V. Solonis (or accord-
ing to Prof. L. H. Bailey, in treating
of classifications of native grapes in
"Gray's North American Flora.' V.
Ijongii), is found along the river bor-
ders and ravine beds of all western
Oklahoma, and is a good stock in all
soils, with permanent moisture within a
few feet of surface, but not so good for
the drier uplands.
Concerning artificial aids. 1 need not
occupy your time with them, as your
program provides abundant considera-
tion of them in papers on irrigation, cul-
tivation. training and winter protection,
all of which your practical vineyardists
in Oklahoma understand better than any
one not having lived in the region and
engaged practically in the work.
We now come to the main and difficult
part of the subject: Species of grapes
valuable to viticulture; their habits, im-
portant characteristics, and leading va-
rieties for fruit production and graft
stocks, considered with reference to
their adaptability to Oklahoma. This
alone is subject enough for a book, so
you will excuse me in presenting a mere
outline mention, with illustrations by
one-year-old plants of some of the spe-
cies, and some of their pure and hybrid
varieties In cultivation, as grown in a
thin sandy soil on red clay, fertil-
ized well with manure from cattle yard,
cat'le fed on cottonseed meal. The spec-
imens are shown for the purpose of il-
lustrating character of root growth, by
which you can better Judge of the adap-
tability to your soil and climate in the
different parts of Oklahoma.
Note that some species have very
fleshy semi-tuberous roots, and such can
endure greater drought than those with
slender, wiry roots; that others have
very fibrous, shallow roots, capable of
enduring least drought of any; while
others have large, hard, little divided
roots, going straight or nearly straight
down, deeply into the earth; these en-
dure great heat and drought. Some have
thin, smooth', porous leaves, and endure
heat and drought poorly, such as the
Riparla, of the North, yet endure tlje
greatest cold of any, even to 40° and 50
below zero in Minnesota. Others, like
Montlcola, of central southern Texas,
have small, glossy, very smooth in tex-
ture leaves, and at same time deeply
penetrating roots, consequently endure
great drought; others have large wrin-
kled, downy, porous leaves, and at same
time very fibrous, shallow roots, such as
l«itnbrusea, and these can endure great
lieat and drought poorest of any. Others
have large, but very leathery, close-
textured leaves,.evaporating little moist-
ure, while the roots are large, firm,
deeply penetrating, %nd endure great
heat and drought, also sudden and great
changes of temperature, such as the Post
Oak grapes (V. LincecunnilI. Others have
smaller, very firm leaves, with still more
deeply penetrating roots, such as V. Do-
aniana, V. Canadians, "Mustang' grapes,
and V. Champlnl. The drier, hotter and
longer the drought, the better these seem
to thrive, and bear great loads of fruit
to perfection—rain or no rain.
But you will learn these things better,
as we take up each in its order. Now
your attention has been directed how to
study the capabilities of each species by-
its general make-up.
V. Vinifera. This is a native of south-
eastern Asia. Persia probably repre-
sents the central region of Its habitat;
a very arid region, in which fungous dis-
eases cannot exist to any great extent in
the atmosphere. The soli is porous, and
originally devoid of phylloxera, hence,
we find these vines with small, firm
textured leave*, fleshy, rather deeply-
penetrating roots; the vines capable of
enduring drought well, but phylloxera,
mildews and rot very poorly
Here Is Chavoochoo, one of the beet
Persian varieties, recently sent to this
country by a United States Consul to
Persia. And here U Clabrlan, one of the
best south Italian varieties As you all
know, this species, until after the set-
tlement of the l'nlted States, supplied
the world with table raisins and wine
grapes, and does yet, throughout all the
world, except In North America, east of
the Rocky mountains. Phylloxera, mil-
dews. rots and cold prevented Its profita-
ble growth. Thanks to France, for teach-
ing us bow to grow these grand grapes
successfully—at least, In the larger part
of the Southern States, where the win-
ters are mild, so that these vines with
slight protection, even in a good part of
Oklahoma, can l>e enjoyed by amateurs,
if not made profitable to the vineyard-
ists.
Grafting upon American resistant
roots and the use of the copper solution
sprays does the work effectually, as I
have demonstrated at Denison. Texas.
These life-size photographs of the
Gries de I*iermonte and Olivet de Cadi-
net, two very fine Italian varieties, show
the fruit as it grows in ordinary vine-
yard culture with me, when grafted on
resistant roots, and sprayed, as we do, to
preserve Concords from the black rot.
Just think, however, what strides we
shall make when hybrids of such are
made w ith some of our fine, large-fruited,
phylloxera and rot-resistant Post Oak
grapes, as is possible to be done, without
a doubt, or with the absolutely disease-
resisting Scuppernong of the South.
V. Boweglniana, formerly (but erro-
neoaly) considered to be native Southern
Aestivalis varieties. This specics is rep-
resented by the well-known Herbemont
and Le Noir varieties. Here is a year-
ling vine of each. These varieties I have
certainly traced back through the Bour-
quin family, by progenitors, who settled
in Savannah, Ga.. over one hundred and
fifty years ago, having migrated from
southern France during the Huguenot
persecution there, and brought these
grapes, among many European varieties,
with thorn, and their descendants having
ever grown since as the "Brown French"
(Herbemont) and "Blue French" I Le
Noir).
When Savannah was settled, all the
South was a vast wilderness, with no
European living in it anywhere that the
native summer grape (V. Aestivalis)
grew: hence it is impossible that they
are natives.
All the European varieties brought by
the Bourquins perished, as probably they
were Vinifera varieties. Thus it would
seem that these varieties represent a
very distinct, fine phylloxera-resisting
species, probably a native of southern
Europe, and that during the last few
centuries the wild vines there have been
practically exterminated by clearing and
stock browsing, just as we see our wild
crapes rapidly disappearing in this coun-
try. Be that as it may, this species is
represented by a dozen varieties, prob-
ably mostly bearing French names, and
w hose origin is unknown. Some of these
are Deverenn, Rulader, Pauline.
The species has great vigor, bears
heavily of fruit of finest quality. The
vines root deeply, and endure great
drought and heat and moderate cold,
say 10 to 15° below zero. They are
choice wine grapes and excellent graft
stocks, yet hardly resistive enough to
phylloxera to use, when we have so
much better natives. They give excel-
lent results hybridized with our large-
fruited Post Oak grapes, as I have
proven. They can be profitably grown
for wine in southern Oklahoma, as they
are in western and southwestern Texas.
They are sensitive to black rot in moist
regions.
V. I>abrusca, the "Northern Muscatine
grape." The species Is naturally, almost
entirely confined to loamy, moist, sandy
soils of little altitude, along the moist
Atlantic slope. There is a limited re-
gion in southern Indiana and in Tennes-
see where vines of this species are now
known wild, and have been for fifty years
or more, but these were probably intro-
duced by Indians, immigrants or birds
from east of the mountains.
Here is a vine each of Concord, Ives
and Perkins, cultivated varieties, as you
all know, of the pure specific type. Note
that the roots are very fibrous, shallow,
spreading, Just as we would exepect of a.
native of the region where it grows, and
is not adapted for enduring long
drought; neither are its large wrinkled,
downy, porous leaves, but suited to Just
contrary conditions—to live in a moist
soil and climate, and resist fungous dis-
eases well, but phylloxera poorly North-
eastern Oklahoma will grow these far
better than the western parts
Labrusca Hybrids with Vinifera
Now you can understand why tbese hy-
brids, such as Catawba, Salem, Agawam,
and a host of others are produced in
Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio and other parts of the cold, damp
Northeast, by pollenlzing wild
lAbrnsnui. with Vinifera varieties.
grown in hot-houses are neither very
successful In the Northeast nor else-
where, and never can be. The roots are
non-resistant, the foliage subject to mil-
dews and the fruits to rots Here Is a
vine each of above three varieties named
Their roots are soft, sweet and shallow
They promise well for a few seasons
then perish. They should be grafted on
resistant roots, when they will last much
better. Many of them have such large,
fine fruits and are much hardier In cold
than Vinifera that they will pay better,
by heeding their needs.
V. Aestavalls, the "Summer grai>e" of
the Atlantic slope, and parts east of the
Mississippi river. It Is represented by a
single pure variety In cultivation,
namely, the Norton Va (synonym, Cyn-
thlana). Here Is a one-year vine of It.
It can endure a little more drought than
Labrusca, but sometimes shrivels In
northern Texas before ripening, if the
weather in July Is dry. It cannot endure
cold quite so well as Coneord, yet abun-
dantly for any region south of 40". It re-
sists mildews and rots almost completely,
and phylloxera fairly well, much better
than the Labrusca. It has entered Into
a few hybrids with excellent results.
Here is Lanssel, one-half Post Oak
grape, one-fourth Norton, one-fourth
Martha, a White Concord seedling; and
here is Gold Coin, one-half Norton and
one-half Martha; it Is the male parent of
l.anssel. Gold Coin is better at home In
the eastern and central South, although
it has given very tine results at Denison,
Texas. LansHel endures drought much
better; both are almost entirely exempt
from disease. Here is Hopkins, a hy-
brid of Norton, with a different Post Oak
grape from the one entering into Lans-
sel, and the vine has no Labrusan in It.
It much resembles the Post Oak species,
wl\ich I shall now notice specially, under
Its specific name.
V. Lincecunnil is the "Post Oak," or
"Turkey grape" of the well-drained,
loamy, sandy, Post Oak lands of the
Southwest, from where it derives its
common name, "Post Oak grape." It
extends from southwest Missouri, west-
ern Arkansas, Indian Territory, eastern
Oklahoma, on throughout the sandy
lands on red clay foundation (such as
your black-jack lands in Oklahoma), to
southern Texas. The vines are very ro-
bust, long-lived, have strong, hard,
deeply penetrating roots, large firm-
textured leaves, which evaporate moist-
ure very slowly after fully grown, thus
enabling the vine to pass through the
severest heat and drought with impu-
nity, though loaded with fruit, which It
rarely fails to ripen, and uniformly, to
perfection. Often vines are found wild
with fine, large clusters of berries.
Lincecunnil Hybrids, the finest varie-
ties found, have entered into numerous
hybrid combinations,with most excellent
refcults, as witnessed In Carman, Beacon
(of which here is a photograph), R W.
Munson. Fern, and many others. With
Herbemont, it gives such as Dr. Kemp
and Marguerite, the latest bunch grapes
yet introduced, ripening in October, in
Texas. With V. Rupestris, it gave Amer-
ica one of the finest wine grapes, and
also a good market grape. Even with
Scuppernong. it promises to combine
into wonders, as shown in this life-size
photograph. In the variety, San Jacinto,
not yet disseminated, equally hardy, and
free from disease, as Scupj>ernong. with
clusters twice as large; it comes to the
South as a revelation, promising a revo-
lution. These Lincecunnil hybrids, It
would seem, find their most congenial
home in Oklahoma, although they are
making excellent records In many parts
of the South.
V. Vulplna of Linnaeus, and V. Riperia
of Michanx, the Riverside grape, border-
ing lakes and streams where perpetual
moisture can be reached, from British
America to Red river, though very spar-
ingly In the latter region. It has
slender, wiry, resistant roots to phyl-
loxera, but little resistant to heat and
drought, vine a moderate grower. It Is
used extensively In northern France as
a graft stock, but of little value In Ok-
lahoma and the Southwest.
V. Vulplna Hybrids In Cultivation
No pure-blood varieties are In cultiva-
tion for fruit, although the Clinton is
often stated to be such. The Clinton Is
unquestionably a wild hybrid of Vulplra,
with Labrusca, found In New York, It
Is of little value anywhere, or for any
purpose. A Kentucky wild hybrid of the
Vulplra Riverside species with Labrusca,
the Taylor, a small exquisite white grape, '
has given rise to more valuable varie-
ties, such as Elvira, Noal, Missouri Rels-
llng, and a good many others, In the
hands of Mr. Runnel, of Missouri. His
Elvira pollinated by Triumph, gave the
Ronnel grape, the best of the lot, which
has proven valuable In northern Texas
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Soule, J. S. Home, Field and Forum (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 2, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 1, 1898, newspaper, February 1, 1898; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc102581/m1/4/: accessed March 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.