THE ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1927, 29 January 1891, Page 5

THE ORCHARD.

PHYLLOXERA - RESISTANT VINES FOR NEW ZEALAND. Letteb prom Phofbssob Sir Chables V. Riley, K.L.H. (of France), to Me R. Allan Wight. In tbe present very unsettled state of New Zealand, and in view of tbe immense benefit that would result to tbe colony from the establishment of a wine trade,' it cannot fail to interest those even in the colder districts not «o suitable for the growth of the vine to know that tbe objections which have been from time to time raised to^the use of phylloxeraresisting stock are in a great measure removed ! by a oloser knowledge of the peculiarities of the various sorts and their adaptability to. different soils. j

It appears that there are many native Amerioan vines whioh ; effectually resist the phylloxera, and which at the same time bear excellent fruit that makes valuable wine ; and there are other varieties which, whilst their fruit is of little or no value, are easily grown from cuttings and grafted, thus removing what baa hitherto been a very serious objection to the use of these vines as stocks— that is, owing to the great difficulty of getting the stock and scions of some varieties to unite properly. The great many disappointments that have hitherto ooourred have resulted from not knowing which vines to choose for different purposes, and also whioh vineß to use in particular soils. It will be also seen from the following letter . that there are certain vines which will thrive in very poor soils— in fact, there are soils that will grow hardly anything else, in which the vine grows and produces excellent wine. The climate of Otago is no colder than that of Germany, where the best of wine ib made, but there are varieties which bear well even in Canada, and therefore the fruit growers of Otago might do a great deal worse than turn their attention to vitioulture and wine making. The writer has taken some trouble to have the points of the different varieties of vines settled, and trusts that the very kind and considerate letter of Sir Charles Riley may be of use to anyone who feels inclined bo try viticultural experiments in Otago. The letter is as follows :—

Dear Sir,— l undertake now to reply more at length to your letters relating to phylloxera work, and particularly the subject of American resistant stocks. This subject of resistant stocks is a most interesting one to me, and was pretty fully treated in my Missouri reports. The subsequent; experience of French scientists and horticulturalists has added much to our knowledge of the subjeot, but much still remains to be learned, particularly in the matter of adaptation of the various resistant stocks to different soils.

It must be remembered that the resistance of certain American vines is to the root-inhabiting form of the pbylloxera only. The leaf-gall form occurs at times abundantly on many American speoies and varieties, especially those with smooth, thin leaves. Thus it is very common on the varieties of the Vitis riparia.and the cultivated varieties derived from that •pecles— Clinton, Solonls, Taylor, &c, all of which have proved to be of great value as resistant stocks in the experience of the French vineyardi*ts. The gall-form i 9, in other words, as you have doubtless gathered from my writings, but a transient and comparatively harmless form of the speoies. With European vines, which are altogether derived from the single species of Vitis vinifera, the leaf-galls rarely occur, and are rudimentary and contain fewer eggs than with the American vines. The susceptibility of these eorts to the attack of the root form is too well known to need further iteration. Before taking up your direct question as to the merits of the Isabella as a resistant stock, it may be well to go briefly into the general subject Qf resistant American stocks. The American spe oies of Vitis of Importance to the grapegrower are — V. aestivalis, V. raparia, and V. labueca. - The different varieties derived (from seedlings) from aestivalis are commonly employed in France for direct production on account of the superior qualities of their fruits. They are propagated with comparative ease from cuttings, and Borne of them are also widely used for stocks on which to graft European vines, but are somewhat inferior to other varieties for this purpose. The American varieties ordinarily grown, and most highly prized in France for their fruits, are Jacques, Herbemont, Black July, and Cunningham. The varieties of Vitis riparia, both wild and cultivated, are used almost exclusively as resistant stocks In Prance, for which purpose they easily take first rank. They are remarkably suited to this role, not only by reason of their immunity from phylloxera, but by the ease with which they may bo grown from cuttings and afterwards grafted. The following varieties have shown themselves to be specially adapts d to this purpose:— (l) The wild varieties generally, which for a number of years have been exported from our central States in large quantities Into France ; and (2) the cultivated varieties, particularly the Solonis, Clinton, and Taylor,

la reference to your questioning my auertlon of the phylloxera-resisting character of the Clinton, it will only be necessary to call your attention to the fact that the Clinton was the first variety noted in France to resist the phylloxera, and has. of all American vines, been most widely cultivated. It is also extensively used for stocks, bub it requires special conditions of coll and climate to ensure favourable remits* I have teen mot(i admirable w

'alts on this variety in the vineyards of the Duohesß of Fitzjames at Fageset. The Taj lor is quite similar in these respeots to the Clinton. The Solonis, which is either a wild race of the raparia or a hybrid with t that speoies, is absolutely valueless for its grapes, j but it excels the others in its resistance to' phylloxera, and will thrive in very moist Boils under conditions v,!;sru other varieties of the riparia fail. In fact tbe o JiHary wildiipariais more used than any other for resistant Btocks, and I noticed in my summer's journeyings that it had given rise to some variations, some of which were better than others. The varieties of V. labusca, while resisting the phylloxera better than the vines of Europe, are inferior in this respect to other American vines. Certain varieties, as for instance the Concord, can be grown successfully in France, but others (the Isabella and Catarola for example) succumb to the root-louse. They are employed in France chiefly as resistant stocks, and for this purpose the Concord is almost the only variety used. They are inferior to the riparia varieties for this purpose, and canoalybe recommended where better sorts are not procurable. You will see from this that the Isabella, of which you inquired particularly, ia of bub secondary value in its power of relisting phylloxera ; and in fact, in the newer plantations in France this variety is no longer employed. The reason why a particular inquiry was made respecting Isabella was because of all vines known this grows the most luxuriantly, and bears the heaviest crops in the northern dißtriots of New Zealand, running wild on the ground among the weeds totally uncared for. It also resists, as long as left on the ground, the fatal effects of mildew, and it has for some reason been supposed to be phylloxera-proef by many vineyardiets. Professor Riley's very instructive letter will be concluded next week. ———————