Tough pulp and thick
skin by no means deter birds and beasts from feasting on this
fruit, and so dispersing the seeds; but mankind prefers the
tender, delightful flavored Isabella, Catawba, and Concord grapes
derived from it. The Massachusetts man who produced the Concord
variety in the town whose name he gave it, declares he would be a
millionaire had he received only a penny royalty on every Concord
grapevine planted.
What fragrance is more delicious than that of the blossoming
grape? To swing in a loop made by some strong old vine, when the
air almost intoxicates one with its sweetness on a June evening,
is many a country child's idea of perfect bliss. Not until about
nine o'clock do the leaves "go to sleep" by becoming depressed in
the center like saucers. This was the signal for bedtime that one
child, at least, used to wait for. We have seen in the clematis
how its sensitive leafstalks hook themselves over any support
they rub against; but the grapevine has gone a step farther, and
by discarding an occasional flower cluster and prolonging the
flower stalk into a coiling, forking tendril it moors itself to
the thicket.
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