9. Vitis candicans, Englem. Mustang Grape.
Vine very vigorous, climbing; shoots and petioles densely wooly, whitish or rusty; diaphragm thick; tendrils intermittent. Leaves with large stipules; blade small, broadly cordate to reniform-ovate, entire or in young shoots and on young vines and sprouts usually deeply three- to five-, or even seven-lobed; teeth shallow, sinuate; petiolar sinus shallow, wide, sometimes lacking; dull, slightly rugose above, dense whitish pubescence below. Clusters small. Berries medium to large, black, purple, green, or even whitish, thin blue bloom or bloomless. Seeds usually three or four, large, short, plump, blunt, notched; chalaza oval, depressed, indistinct; raphe a broad groove.
The habitat of this grape extends from southern Oklahoma, as a northern limit, southwesterly into Mexico. The western boundary is the Pecos River. It is found on dry, alluvial, sandy or limestone bottoms or on limestone bluff lands and is said to be especially abundant along upland ravines. Candicans grows well on limestone lands, enduring as much as 60 per cent of carbonate of lime in the soil. The species blooms shortly before Labrusca and a week later than Vulpina. It requires the long hot summers of its native country and will stand extreme drouth but is not hardy to cold, 10 or 15 degrees below zero killing the vine outright unless protected; and a lesser degree of cold injuring it severely. The berries, which are large for wild vines, have thin skins under which there is a pigment which gives them, when first ripe, a fiery, pungent taste but which partly disappears with maturity. The berries are very persistent, clinging to the pedicel long after ripe. Candicans is difficult to propagate from cuttings. Its roots resist phylloxera fairly well. It makes a good stock for Vinifera vines in its native country, but owing to the difficulty of propagation is seldom used for that purpose. In the early days of Texas, it was much used for the making of wine but as it is deficient in sugar, and as the must retains the acrid, pungent flavor, it does not seem to be well adapted for this purpose. It is not regarded as having great promise for southern horticulture and certainly has none for the North.
10. Vitis Labrusca, Linn. Fox-Grape.
Vine vigorous, stocky, climbing; shoots cylindrical, densely pubescent; diaphragms medium to thick; tendrils continuous, strong, bifid or trifid. Leaves with long, cordate stipules; leaf-blade large, thick, broadly cordate or round; entire or three-lobed, frequently notched; sinuses rounded; petiolar sinus variable in depth and width, V-shaped; margin with shallow, acute-pointed, scalloped teeth; upper surface rugose, dark green, on young leaves pubescent, becoming glabrous when mature; lower surface covered with dense pubescence, more or less whitish on young leaves, becoming dun-colored when mature. Clusters more or less compound, usually shouldered, compact; pedicels thick; peduncle short. Berries round; skin thick, covered with bloom, with strong musky or foxy aroma. Seeds two to four, large, distinctly notched, beak short; chalaza oval in shape, indistinct, showing as a depression; raphe, a groove.
Labrusca is indigenous to the eastern part of North America, including the region between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains. It is sometimes found in the valleys and along the western slopes of the Alleghanies. Many botanists say it never occurs in the Mississippi Valley. In the first-named area it ranges from Maine to Georgia. It has the most restricted habitat of any American species of horticultural importance, being much exceeded in extent of territory by V. rotundifolia, V. æstivalis and V. vulpina.
Labrusca has furnished more cultivated varieties, either pure-breeds or hybrids, than all other American species together. The reason for this is partly, no doubt, that it is native to the portion of the United States first settled and is the most common grape in the region where agriculture first advanced to the condition at which fruits were desired. This does not wholly account for its prominence, however, which must be sought elsewhere. In its wild state, Labrusca is probably the most attractive to the eye of any of our American grapes on account of the size of its fruit, and this undoubtedly turned the attention of those who were early interested in the possibilities of American grape-growing to this species rather than to any other.
The southern Labrusca is quite different from the northern form and demands different conditions for its successful growth; in the North, at least two types of the species may be distinguished. Vines are found in the woods of New England which resemble Concord very closely in both vine and fruit, excepting that the grapes are much smaller in size and more seedy. There is also the large-fruited, foxy Labrusca, usually with reddish berries, represented by such cultivated varieties as Northern Muscadine, Dracut Amber, Lutie and others. Labrusca is peculiar amongst American grapes in showing black-, white- and red-fruited forms of wild vines growing in the woods. Because of this variability, it is impossible to give the exact climatic and soil conditions best adapted to the species. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that the ideal conditions for this species under cultivation are not widely different from those prevailing where the species is indigenous. In the case of Labrusca, this means that it is best adapted to humid climates, and that the temperature desired varies according to whether the variety comes from the southern or northern form of the species.
The root system of Labrusca does not penetrate the soil deeply, but the vine is said to succeed better in deep and clayey soils than Æstivalis. It endures an excess of water in the soil, and, on the other hand, requires less water for successful growing than Æstivalis or Vulpina. In spite of its ability to withstand clayey soils, it seems to prefer loose, warm, well-drained sandy lands to all others. The French growers report that all varieties of this species show a marked antipathy to a limestone soil, the vines soon becoming affected with chlorosis when planted in soils of this nature. In corroboration of this, it may be said that Labrusca is not often found wild in limestone soils. The Labruscas succeed very well in the North and fairly well in the Middle West as far south as Arkansas, where they are raised on account of their fruit qualities, for here the vines are not nearly so vigorous and healthy as are those of other species. In Alabama, they are reported to be generally unsatisfactory, and in Texas the vines are short-lived, unhealthy, and generally unsatisfactory, particularly in the dry regions. There are some exceptions to this, as for instance, in the Piedmont region of the Carolinas, where, owing to elevation or other causes, the climate of a southern region is semi-northern in its character.
The grapes of Labrusca are large and usually handsomely colored. The skin is thick, covering a layer of adhering flesh, which gives the impression of its being thicker than it actually is; the berry is variable in tenderness, sometimes tough, but in many cultivated varieties is so tender that it cracks in transportation. The skin of this species usually has a peculiar aroma, generally spoken of as foxy, and a slightly acid, astringent taste. Beneath the skin there is a layer of juicy pulp, quite sweet and never showing much acidity in ripe fruit. The center of the berry is occupied by rather dense pulp, more or less stringy, with considerable acid close to the seeds. Many object to the foxy aroma of this species, but, nevertheless, the most popular American varieties are more or less foxy. Analyses show that the fruit is usually characterized by a low percentage of sugar and acid, the very sweet-tasting fox-grapes not showing as high a sugar-content as some of the disagreeably tart Æstivalis and Vulpina sorts. This, in addition to the foxiness which furnishes an excess of aroma in the wine, has prevented Labrusca varieties from becoming favorites with the wine-makers, but most of the grape-juice now manufactured is made from them.