grape-growers and
is a serious weakness in some varieties. Labrusca is said to be more
sensitive in its wild state to mildew and black-rot than any other
American species, but the evidence on this point does not seem to be
wholly conclusive. In the South, and in some parts of the Middle West,
the leaves of all varieties of Labrusca sunburn and shrivel in the
latter part of the summer. The vines do not endure drouth as well as
AEstivalis or Vulpina and not nearly so well as Rupestris.

11. _Vitis vinifera_, Linn.

Vine variable in vigor, not so high climbing as most American
species; tendrils intermittent. Leaves round-cordate, thin,
smooth, and when young, shining, frequently more or less deeply
three-, five-, or even seven-lobed; usually glabrous but in some
varieties the leaves and young shoots are hairy and even downy
when young; lobes rounded or pointed; teeth variable; petiolar
sinus deep, narrow, usually overlapping. Berries very variable in
size and color, usually oval though globular. Seeds variable in
size and shape, usually notched at upper end and characterized
always by a bottle-necked, elongated beak; chalaza broad, usually
rough, distinct; raphe indistinct. Roots large, soft and spongy.

The original habitat of the species is not positively known. De
Candolle, as noted in the first part of this work, considered the
region about the Caspian Sea as the probable habitat of the Old World
grape. There is but little doubt that the original home of _V.
vinifera_ is some place in western Asia.

Neither American nor European writers agree as to the climate desired
by Vinifera, for the reason, probably that all of the varieties in
this variable species do not require the same climatic conditions.
There are certain phases of climate, however, that are well agreed on:
the species requires a warm, dry climate and is more sensitive to
change of temperature than American species. Varieties of this species
can be grown successfully in a wide variety of soils, being much less
particular as to soils than American sorts.

Certain characters of the fruit of this species are not found in any
American forms: First, the skin, which is attached very closely to the
flesh and which is never astringent or acid, can be eaten with the
fruit; second, the flesh is firm, yet tender, and uniform throughout,
differing in this respect from all American grapes which have a sweet,
watery and t