The time between 1853, the date of the introduction of the Concord, and
1880 can be singled out as the period in which viticulture made its
great growth in eastern America. The first limit is set because the
Concord gave commercial grape-growing its initial impulse; the second
limit is put at 1880, because at about that time grapes and wine from
California began to compete with the eastern product to such an extent
that prices fell and plantings were curtailed. Curtailment did not begin
so early as this in New York but for the country at large the period of
great expansion ended at about 1880. Fortunately we have an accurate
statistical report of the condition of grape culture in the United
States at this time. It is found in a work entitled, _A Report Upon the
Statistics of Grape Culture and Wine Production in the United States for
1880_.[85] The report was compiled by Dr. William McMurtrie under the
direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture.
Statistics are given for all of the states of the Union but a glance at
the tables shows that by this time viticulture had become a specialized
industry and that the areas devoted to it are more or less localized.
The main areas, with their acreage for 1880, may be set forth as
follows:
The Eastern region, comprising the States of New York and Pennsylvania,
14,590 acres.
The Middle region, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, 17,634 acres.
The Western region, Kansas and Missouri, 10,918 acres.
The Southern region, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and
Georgia, 10,707 acres.
The Pacific region, California, Arizona and New Mexico, 35,518 acres.
Outside of these five regions there were in the United States, according
to McMurtrie's report, 12,316 acres. The total acreage for the United
States in 1880 was 101,683 acres; the production of wine was 23,453,827
gallons. Unfortunately the total production of grapes is not given.
The following data are taken from the agricultural statistics of 1890
and show well the growth of viticulture in ten years though it is
probable that the figures for 1880 were far too low. For the Eastern
region, 51,000 acres; the Middle region, 42,633 acres; Western region,
17,306 acres; Southern region, 17,092 acres; Pacific region, 213,230
acres; for the territory outside of these divisions, 60,000 acres. Total
area, 401,261 acres. Excluding the acreage of the Pacific division we
have 188,031 acres for American grapes, assuming that all of the grapes
grown on the Pacific Coast belong to _Vitis vinifera_.
It is interesting to note that in 1890 four-fifths of the grapes grown
in the Eastern region, New York and Pennsylvania, were for table use and
that in round numbers the production for this purpose amounted to 60,687
tons, requiring 5000 cars for transportation. Of grapes sold to wineries
there were 15,172 tons. The varieties most largely grown were, in order
named, Concord, Catawba, Delaware, and Niagara.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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