Grapes -- Varieties -- United States; Viticulture -- United States
Viticulture is commercially important in several other regions than
those outlined. Thus, in the valley of the Hudson River, grapes have
been grown commercially for nearly a hundred years, the industry
reaching its height between 1880 and 1890, when there were 13,000
acres under cultivation. For some years, however, grape-growing along
the Hudson has been on the decline. Another region in which
viticulture reaches considerable magnitude is in several islands in
Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio, the product going largely for the
manufacture of wine. At one time grapes were grown commercially on the
banks of the Ohio River about Cincinnati and westward into Indiana.
The industry here, however, is a thing of the past. Another region in
which grape-growing was once of prime importance but now lags has its
center at Hermann, Missouri. The newest grape-producing area worthy of
note is in southwestern Michigan about the towns of Lawton and Paw
Paw. A small but very prosperous grape-growing region has its center
at Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Ives is the mainstay among varieties in
this region. In the southern states, Muscadine grapes are grown in a
small way in every part of the cotton-belt and varieties of other
native species are to be found in home vineyards in the upland
regions, but nowhere in the South can it be said that grape-growing is
a commercial industry.
THE DETERMINANTS OF GRAPE REGIONS
Climate, soil, site, the surface features of the land, insects, fungi
and commercial geography are the chief factors that determine regions
for money-making in grape-growing. This has been made plain in the
foregoing discussion of grape regions, but the several factors must be
taken up in greater detail. To bound the regions is of less importance
than to understand why they exist--less needful to remember, more
needful to understand. From what has been said, the reader has no
doubt already concluded that successful grape-growing is in largest
measure due to kindliness in climate.
_Climate_
Under the assumption, then, that climate, of all factors, is chief in
playing providence to the grape, let us examine somewhat critically
the relations of climate to grape-growing. When analyzed, the
essentials of climate, as it governs grape-growing, are found to be
six: first, length of season; second, seasonal sum of heat; third,
amount of humidity in summer weather; fourth, dates of spring and
autumn frosts; fifth, winter temperature; sixth, air currents.
_Length of season._
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