Manual of American Grape-Growing Part 33

(Vinifera)

Cha.s.selas Rose is very similar to Cha.s.selas Golden, differing chiefly in smaller bunch and berry and slightly different flavor which is possibly better. It is a standard sort in California and should be planted in the East where the culture of Viniferas is attempted. The description is made from fruit grown at Geneva, New York:

Vine of medium vigor, productive. Opening leaves tinged with red on both surfaces, mature leaves small, round; upper surface medium green, somewhat dull, smooth; lower surface glabrous; lobes three; basal sinus medium in depth and of variable width; lateral sinus deep, narrow; teeth shallow, wide, dentate. Flowers appear late; stamens upright.

Fruit ripens the second week in October and is a good keeper though it loses its flavor in storage; cl.u.s.ters above and below medium, long, tapering to cylindrical, compact; berries medium in size, roundish-oval, light red changed to violet-red by the bloom; skin thin, astringent, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; quality good.

CHAUTAUQUA

(Labrusca)

In appearance of fruit, Chautauqua is very similar to Concord, its parent, but the grapes ripen a few days earlier and are of better quality, although they do not differ in these respects sufficiently to make the variety much more than an easily recognized strain of Concord. Chautauqua is a volunteer seedling of Concord, found near Brocton, New York, by H. T. Basht.i.te about 1890.

Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, unproductive. Canes long, thick, cylindrical; internodes long; tendrils continuous, trifid. Leaves large, irregularly round, dark green; upper surface dark green; lower surface tinged with bronze; leaf entire or faintly three-lobed. Flowers semi-fertile, open in mid-season or earlier; stamens upright.

Fruit early in mid-season. Cl.u.s.ters medium to large, broad, sometimes single-shouldered, compact. Berries large, round or slightly oval, purplish-black with abundant bloom, shatter badly; skin thin, very astringent; flesh tough, vinous, sweet at skin, acid at center; good to very good. Seeds few, free, broad, plump.

CLEVENER

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

This variety has long been grown in New Jersey and New York, and in both states is highly esteemed as a wine-grape. The fruit is remarkable in coloring very early and in ripening late. The vine is hardy, very vigorous, succeeds in various soils, and since it bears grafts well is an excellent sort upon which to graft varieties not thriving on their own roots. Clevener is self-sterile and must be planted with some other variety to set fruit well. In spite of its good qualities, Clevener is hardly holding its own in commercial vineyards, and it is not a desirable fruit for the amateur who wants a table-grape. Clevener has been raised in the vicinity of Egg Harbor, New Jersey, since about 1870, but its place and time of origin are unknown.

Vine a rampant grower, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark reddish-brown with heavy bloom; nodes enlarged; tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves unusually large, dark green with well-defined ribs showing through the thin p.u.b.escence of the under surface; lobes wanting or faint; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-sterile, open very early; stamens reflexed.

Fruit late, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters do not always fill well, small, short, slender, irregularly tapering, often with a single shoulder. Berries small, round or slightly flattened, black, glossy, covered with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, thin, inclined to crack, adherent with much purplish-red pigment; flesh reddish-green, juicy, tender, soft, fine-grained, aromatic, spicy; good. Seeds free, notched, sharp-pointed, dark brown.

CLINTON

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

_Worthington_

Clinton (Plate X) came into prominence because of vigor, hardiness, fruitfulness and immunity to phylloxera. A serious defect is that the vines bloom so early that the blossoms are often caught by late frosts in northern climates. Other defects are: the fruit is small and sour, and the seeds and skins prominent. The fruit colors early in the season but does not ripen until late, a slight touch of frost improving the flavor. Clinton bears grafts well, making a quick and firm union with Labrusca and Vinifera, and the vines are easily propagated from cuttings. This variety has been used widely in grape-breeding, and its blood can be traced in many valuable varieties. The offspring of Clinton are usually very hardy, and this, taken with its other desirable characters, makes it an exceptionally good starting-point for breeding grapes for northern lat.i.tudes.

Clinton is an old sort, the Worthington, known as early as 1815, renamed; it began to attract attention about 1840.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous, slender, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; shoots smooth; tendrils intermittent, sometimes continuous, bifid. Leaves hang until late in the season, small, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green, glabrous; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, urn-shaped; basal and lateral sinuses shallow; teeth wide.

Flowers self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.

Fruit mid-season. Cl.u.s.ters small, slender, cylindrical, uniform, single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, very slender, smooth; brush tinged with red. Berries small, round, oval, purplish-black, glossy, covered with thick bloom, adherent, firm; skin very thin, tough, free from pulp with much wine-colored pigment, astringent; flesh dark green, juicy, fine-grained, tough, solid, spicy, sour, vinous. Seeds adherent, two, short, blunt, brownish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXV.--Muscat Hamburg (2/3).]

COLERAIN

(Labrusca)

This is one of the numerous white seedlings of Concord and one of the few with sufficient merit to be kept in cultivation. The vine has the characteristic foliage and habit of growth of its parent, but the fruit is earlier by a week, is of much higher quality and lacks the foxiness of most Labruscas. The grapes are sprightly and vinous, and neither seeds nor skin are as objectionable as in the parent. The fruit hangs to the vine and keeps well, but owing to tender pulp does not ship well. The variety is unproductive in some localities.

Colerain is worthy a place in home vineyards. David Bundy, Colerain, Ohio, grew this variety from seed of Concord planted in 1880.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, unproductive. Canes slender, dark reddish-brown; nodes flattened; internodes short, bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower surface bronze, downy; leaf not lobed, terminus acute; petiolar sinus wide; basal and lateral sinus very shallow when present; teeth shallow. Flowers self-fertile, opening in mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit early. Cl.u.s.ters medium in size and length, slender, blunt, tapering, irregular, strongly shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, smooth; brush green. Berries round, light green, glossy with thin bloom, persistent; skin unusually thin, tender, adherent, unpigmented, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, soft, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds free, one to three, small, broad, notched, short, plump, brown.

COLUMBIAN IMPERIAL

(Labrusca, Vulpina)

_Columbian, Jumbo_

Columbian Imperial is a Labrusca-Vulpina hybrid chiefly remarkable for the great size of its reddish-black berries, although the vine is so exceptionally healthy and vigorous as to give it prominence for these characters as well. The variety has remarkably thick leathery leaves which seem almost proof against either insects or fungi. The quality of the fruit, however, is inferior, and the small cl.u.s.ters vary in number of berries and these sh.e.l.l easily. The only value of the variety is for exhibition purposes and for breeding to secure the desirable characters named. The parentage of Columbian Imperial is unknown. It originated with J. S. McKinley, Orient, Ohio, in 1885.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, unproductive. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark reddish-brown, heavily p.u.b.escent, spiny; nodes prominent; internodes short; tendrils continuous, long, bifid.

Leaves green, very thick; lower surface pale green shading into bronze on older leaves with little p.u.b.escence; lobes three, indistinct; teeth sharp, shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile; stamens upright.

Fruit late. Cl.u.s.ters medium in size, sometimes shouldered; peduncle slender; pedicel long; brush long, slender, green.

Berries very large, round, slightly oval, dull reddish-black with faint bloom, firm; skin thick, tough, unpigmented; flesh juicy, tough, sweet at the skin but acid at center; fair in quality.

Seeds adherent, large, plump, broad, blunt.

CONCORD

(Labrusca)

Concord (Plate XI) is the most widely known of the grapes of this continent, and with its offspring, pure-bred and cross-bred, furnishes 75 per cent of the grapes of eastern America. The preeminently meritorious character of Concord is that it adapts itself to varying conditions; thus, Concord is grown with profit in every grape-growing state in the Union and to an extent not possible with any other variety. A second character which commends Concord is fruitfulness--the vine bears large crops year in and year out. Added to these points of superiority, are: hardiness; ability to withstand the ravages of diseases and insects; comparative earliness; certainty of maturity in northern regions; and fair size and handsome appearance of bunch and berry. Concord also blossoms late in the spring and does not suffer often from spring frosts, nor is the fruit often injured by late frosts. The crop hangs well on the vine.

The variety is not, however, without faults: the quality is not high, the grapes lacking richness, delicacy of flavor and aroma, and having a foxy taste disagreeable to many; the seeds and skin are objectionable, the seeds being large and abundant and difficult to separate from the flesh, and the skin being tough and unpleasantly astringent; the grapes do not keep nor ship well and rapidly lose flavor after ripening; the skin cracks and the berries sh.e.l.l from the stems after picking; and the vine is but slightly resistant to phylloxera. While Concord is grown in the South, it is essentially a northern grape, becoming susceptible to fungi in southern climates and suffering from phylloxera in dry, warm soils.

The botanical characters of Concord indicate that it is a pure-bred Labrusca. Seeds of a wild grape were planted in the fall of 1843 by E.

W. Bull, Concord, Ma.s.sachusetts, plants from which fruited in 1849.

One of these seedlings was named Concord.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, thick, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; shoots p.u.b.escent; tendrils continuous, long, bifid, sometimes trifid.

Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface light bronze, heavily p.u.b.escent; lobes three when present, terminal one acute; petiolar sinus variable; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus obscure and frequently notched; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit mid-season, keeps from one to two months. Cl.u.s.ters uniform, large, wide, broadly tapering, usually single-shouldered, sometimes double-shouldered, compact; pedicel thick, smooth; brush pale green. Berries large, round, glossy, black with heavy bloom, firm; skin tough, adherent with a small amount of wine-colored pigment, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tough, solid, foxy; good. Seeds adherent, one to four, large, broad, distinctly notched, plump, blunt, brownish.

COTTAGE

(Labrusca)

In vine and fruit, Cottage resembles its parent, Concord, having, however, remarkably large, thick, leathery leaves. It is noted also for its strong, branching root system and canes so rough as to be almost spiny. The fruit is better in quality than that of its parent, having less foxiness and a richer, more delicate flavor. The crop ripens from one to two weeks earlier than Concord. The good qualities of the variety are offset by comparative unproductiveness and unevenness in ripening. Cottage is recommended as an early grape of the Concord type for the garden. This variety was grown from seed of Concord by E. W. Bull, Concord, Ma.s.sachusetts. It was introduced in 1869.