ture.

[Illustration: FIG. 3. A shoot of _Vitis rotundifolia_.]

_The AEstivalis or summer-grapes._

The South has another grape of remarkable horticultural possibilities.
This is _Vitis aestivalis_ (Fig. 4), the summer-grape or, to
distinguish it from the Rotundifolias, the bunch-grape of southern
forests. There are now a score or more well-known varieties of this
species, the best known being Norton, which probably originated with
Dr. D. N. Norton, Richmond, Virginia, in the early part of the
nineteenth century. The berries of the true AEstivalis grapes are too
small, too destitute of pulp and too tart to make good dessert fruits,
but from them are made our best native red wines. Domestication of
this species has been greatly retarded by a peculiarity of the species
which hinders its propagation. Grapes are best propagated from
cuttings, but this species is not easily reproduced by this means and
the difficulty of securing good young vines has been a serious
handicap in its culture.

There are two subspecies of _Vitis aestivalis_ which promise much for
American viticulture. _Vitis aestivalis Bourquiniana_, known only under
cultivation and of very doubtful botanical standing, furnishes
American viticulture several valuable varieties. Chief of these is the
Delaware, the introduction of which sixty years ago from the town of
Delaware, Ohio, raised the standard in quality of New World grapes to
that of Old World. No European grape has a richer or more delicate
flavor, or a more pleasing aroma, than Delaware. While a northern
grape, it can be grown in the South, and thrives under so many
different climatic and soil conditions and under all is so fruitful,
that, next to the Concord, it is the most popular American grape for
garden and vineyard. Without question, however, Delaware contains a
trace of European blood.

[Illustration: FIG. 4. A shoot of _Vitis aestivalis_.]

Another offshoot of this subspecies is Herbemont, which, in the South,
holds the same rank that Concord holds in the North. The variety is
grown only south of the Ohio, and in this great region it is esteemed
by all for a dessert grape and for its light red wine. It is one of
the few American varieties which finds favor in France, being
cultivated in southwest France as a wine-grape. Its history goes back
to a colony of French Huguenots in Georgia before the Revolutionary
War. Very similar to Herbemont is Lenoir, also with a history tracing
back to