ncord furnishes,
with the varieties that have sprung from it, seventy-five per cent of
the grapes grown in eastern America. The characters which distinguish
the vine are: Adaptability to various soils, fruitfulness, hardiness
and resistance to diseases and insects. The fruits are distinguished
by certainty of maturity, attractive appearance, good but not high
flavor, and by the fact that they may be produced so cheaply that no
other grape can compete with this variety in the markets. Concord is,
as Horace Greeley well denominated it in awarding the Greeley prize
for the best American grape, "the grape for the millions."

The histories of these two grapes are typical of those of five hundred
or more other Labruscas. Out of a prodigious number of native
seedlings, an occasional one is found greatly to excel its fellows and
is brought under cultivation.

_The Rotundifolia or Muscadine grapes._

Long before the northern Labruscas had attained prominence in the
vineyards of the North, a grape had been domesticated partially in the
South. It is _Vitis rotundifolia_ (Fig. 3), a species which runs riot
from the Potomac to the Gulf, thriving in many diverse soils, but
growing only in the southern climate and preferring the seacoast.
Rotundifolia grapes have been cultivated somewhat for fruit or
ornament from the earliest colonial times. It is certain that wine was
made from this species by the English settlers at Jamestown. Vines of
it are now to be found on arbors, in gardens or half wild on fences
in nearly every farm in the South Atlantic states. That the
Rotundifolias have not been more generally brought under cultivation
is due to the bountifulness of the wild vines, which has obviated the
necessity of domesticating them. The fruit of its varieties, to a
palate unaccustomed to them, is not very acceptable, having a musky
flavor and odor and a sweet, juicy pulp, which is lacking in
sprightliness. Many, however, acquire a taste for these grapes and
find them pleasant eating. The great defect of this grape is that the
berries part from the pedicels as they ripen and perfect bunches
cannot be secured. In fact, the crop is often harvested by shaking the
vines so that the berries drop on sheets beneath. Despite these
defects, a score or more varieties of this species are now under
general cultivation in the cotton-belt, and interest in their
domestication is now greater than in any other species, with great
promise for the fu