Part 38 (1/2)

Fruit early, does not keep well. Cl.u.s.ters variable in size, length and breadth, sometimes single-shouldered, variable in compactness.

Berries large, oval, light green tinged with yellow, with thin bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin, tender, inclined to crack; flesh tough and aromatic, sweet at skin but acid at center; fair in quality. Seeds medium in size, length and breadth, sharp-pointed.

GREIN GOLDEN

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

Grein Golden is very similar to Riesling, but the vine is much stronger in growth. For a variety of the Taylor group, both cl.u.s.ter and berry are large and uniform, which, with the attractive color of the berries, make it a most handsome fruit. The flavor, however, is not at all pleasing, being an unusual commingling of sweetness and acidity very disagreeable to most palates. The quality of the fruit condemns it for table use, although it is said to make a very good white wine. Nicholas Grein, Hermann, Missouri, first grew Grein Golden about 1875.

Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, slender, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; tendrils intermittent, trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green, lightly p.u.b.escent; lobes lacking or one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, wide, obscure; teeth deep. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.

Fruit mid-season. Cl.u.s.ters large, long, broad, tapering, irregular, often heavily single-shouldered, loose; pedicel with a few inconspicuous warts; brush slender, pale green. Berries uniform in size, large, round, golden yellow, glossy with thin bloom, persistent; skin very thin, tender; flesh green, translucent, very juicy, tender, vinous; good. Seeds free, one to four, broad, plump, light brown.

GROS COLMAN

(Vinifera)

_Dodrelabi_

Gros Colman has the reputation of being the handsomest black table-grape grown. It is one of the favorite hot-house grapes in England and eastern America and is commonly grown out of doors in California. The variety is remarkable for having the largest berries of any round grape, borne in immense bunches, and for the long-keeping qualities, although the tender skins sometimes crack. The following description is compiled:

Vine vigorous, healthy and productive; wood dark brown. Leaves very large, round, thick, but slightly lobed; teeth short and blunt; glabrous above, wooly below. Bunches very large, short, well filled but rather loose; berries very large, round, dark blue; skin thick but tender; flesh firm, crisp, sweet and good; quality not of the highest. Season late and the fruits keep long.

HARTFORD

(Labrusca)

The vine of Hartford may be well characterized by its good qualities, but the fruit is best described by its faults, because of which the variety is pa.s.sing out of cultivation. The plants are vigorous, prolific, healthy and the fruit is borne early in the season. The canes are remarkable for their stoutness and for the crooks at the joints. The bunches are not unattractive, but the quality of the fruit is low, the flesh being pulpy and the flavor insipid and foxy. The berries sh.e.l.l badly on the vine and when packed for s.h.i.+pping, so that the fruit does not s.h.i.+p, pack or keep well. The grapes color long before ripe, and the flowers are only partly self-fertile, so that in seasons when there is bad weather during blooming time the cl.u.s.ters are loose and straggling. The original vine of Hartford was a chance seedling in the garden of Paphro Steele, West Hartford, Connecticut.

It fruited first in 1849.

Vine vigorous, very productive. Canes long, dark brown, covered with p.u.b.escence; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface pale green, thinly p.u.b.escent; lobes variable; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit early. Cl.u.s.ters medium in size, long, slender, tapering, irregular, often with a long, large, single shoulder, loose; pedicel short with a few small warts; brush greenish. Berries medium in size, round-oval, black, covered with bloom, drop badly; skin thick, tough, adherent, contains much purplish-red pigment, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, firm, stringy, foxy; poor in quality. Seeds free, one to four, broad, dark brown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVIII.--Triumph (3/5).]

HAYES

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

In 1880, the Ma.s.sachusetts Horticultural Society awarded a certificate of merit to Hayes for high quality in fruit. This brought it prominently before grape-growers and for a time it was popular, but when better known several defects became apparent. The vine is hardy and vigorous, but the growth is slow and the variety is a shy bearer.

Both bunches and berries are small, and the crop ripens at a time, a week or ten days earlier than Concord, when there are many other good green grapes. Excellent though it is in quality, the variety is hardly worth a place in any vineyard. John B. Moore, Concord, Ma.s.sachusetts, is the originator of Hayes. It is a seedling of Concord out of the same lot of seedlings as Moore Early. It was first fruited in 1872.

Vine variable in vigor and productiveness, hardy and healthy.

Canes numerous, slender; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves uniform in size; upper surface dark green; lower surface p.u.b.escent; lobes one to three; teeth shallow, small. Flowers almost self-sterile, open medium late; stamens upright.

Fruit early, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters variable in size and length, often single-shouldered; pedicel long, slender; brush small, pale green. Berries medium in size, round, greenish-yellow, covered with thin bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender with a few small reddish-brown dots; flesh fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet at the skin, agreeably tart at center, mild; good. Seeds few, of average size, short, plump, brown.