y distributed of any American species of
grape. It has been discovered in parts of Canada north of Quebec and
from thence southward to the Gulf of Mexico. It is found from the
Atlantic coast westward, most botanists say, to the Rocky Mountains.
Usually it grows on river banks, on islands or in upland ravines.
Vulpina has always been considered of great promise in the evolution
of American grapes. It can hardly be said that it has fulfilled
expectations, there probably being no pure variety of this species of
more than local importance, and the results of hybridizing it with
other species have not been wholly successful. Attention was early
turned to Vulpina because of the qualities presented by the vine
rather than those of the fruit, particularly its hardiness and vigor.
However, both of these qualities are rather variable, although it is
only reasonable to suppose that in such a widely distributed species,
plants found in a certain region would have adapted themselves to the
conditions there present; thus, it should be expected that the
northern plants would be more hardy than those from the South, and
that the western prairie forms would be more capable of resisting
drouth than those from humid regions. It is, consequently, impossible
to say what conditions best suit this species. It may be said,
however, that Vulpina is adapted to a great variety of soils and
locations; vines have withstood a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees
below zero and they show equal ability in withstanding the injurious
effects of high temperatures in the summer. On account of its habit of
early blooming, the blossoms sometimes suffer from late frosts in the
spring.

While Vulpina is not a swamp grape and is not found growing under
swampy conditions, it is fond of water. In the semi-arid regions
always, and in humid regions usually, it is found growing along the
banks of streams, in ravines, on the islands of rivers and in wet
places. It is not nearly so capable of withstanding drouth as
Rupestris. Vulpina likes a rather rich soil, but in France has been
found to do poorly on limestone land and calcareous marls. The French
tell us, however, that this is a characteristic of all our American
grapes, and that Vulpina is more resistant to the injurious effects of
an excess of lime than either Rupestris or AEstivalis.

The fruit of Vulpina is usually small, there being occasional
varieties of medium size or above. The clusters are of medium size