Manual of American Grape-Growing Part 48

When quality, color, shape and size of bunch and berry are considered, Triumph (Plate XXVIII) is one of the finest dessert grapes of America.

At its best, it is a magnificent bunch of golden grapes of highest quality, esteemed even in southern Europe where it must compete with the best of the Viniferas. In America, however, its commercial importance is curtailed by the fact that the fruit requires a long season for proper development. Triumph has, in general, the vine characters of the Labrusca parent, Concord, especially its habit of growth, vigor, productiveness and foliage characters, falling short in hardiness, resistance to fungal diseases and earliness of fruit, the fruit maturing with or a little later than Catawba. While the vine characters of Triumph are those of Labrusca, there is scarcely a suggestion of the coa.r.s.eness, or of the foxy odor and taste of Labrusca, and the objectionable seeds, pulp and skin of the native grape give way to the far less objectionable structures of Vinifera.

The flesh is tender and melting and the flavor rich, sweet, vinous, pure and delicate. The skins of the berries under unfavorable conditions crack badly, the variety, therefore, neither s.h.i.+pping nor keeping well. Triumph was grown soon after the Civil War by George W.

Campbell, Delaware, Ohio, from seed of Concord fertilized by Cha.s.selas Musque.

Vine vigorous. Canes long, dark brown with much bloom; nodes enlarged; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid, sometimes bifid.

Leaves large; upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower surface grayish-white, p.u.b.escent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus shallow and narrow when present; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, late; stamens upright.

Fruit very late. Cl.u.s.ters very large, long, broad, cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, smooth; brush short, yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, oval, golden yellow, glossy with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, inclined to crack, adherent, without pigment, slightly astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous; good to very good. Seeds free, one to five, small, brown.

ULSTER

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

The vines of Ulster set too much fruit in spite of efforts to control the crop by pruning; two undesirable results follow, the bunches are small and the vines, lacking vigor at best, fail to recover from the overfruitfulness. These defects keep the variety from becoming of importance commercially or even a favorite as a garden grape. The quality of the fruit is very good, being much like that of Catawba, and under favorable conditions it is an attractive green with a red tinge. The fruit keeps well when the variety is grown under conditions suited to it. Ulster originated with A. J. Caywood, Marlboro, New York, and was introduced by him about 1885. Its parents are said to be Catawba pollinated by a wild aestivalis. Both vine and fruit show traces of Labrusca and Vinifera, but the aestivalis characters, if present, are not apparent.

Vine hardy, productive, overbears. Canes short, slender, dark brown, surface roughened and covered with faint p.u.b.escence; nodes enlarged and flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, bifid, dehisce early. Leaves small, thick; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower surface grayish-white, p.u.b.escent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus medium to wide; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus a notch when present; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens upright.

Fruit late mid-season. Cl.u.s.ters long, cylindrical, often single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, with numerous warts; brush short, yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, round, dark dull red with thin bloom, persistent; skin thick, tough, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained, faintly aromatic, slightly foxy; good to very good.

Seeds free, one to six, medium in size, plump, brown.

VERDAL

(Vinifera)

_Aspiran Blanc_

Verdal is one of the standard late grapes of the Pacific slope, ripening among the last. The grapes are seen seldom in distant markets and the quality is not quite good enough to make it a very great favorite for home plantations. Vigor and hardiness of vines commend it as do the large and handsome fruits, and these qualities, with late ripening, will probably long keep it on grape lists in the far West.

The description is compiled.

Vines vigorous, hardy, healthy and productive; canes rather slender, half erect. Leaves of medium size, glabrous on both surfaces, except below near the axis of the main nerve; sinuses well marked and generally closed, giving the leaf the appearance of having five holes; teeth long, unequal, ac.u.minate. Bunches large to very large, irregular, long-conical, usually compact; shoulders small or lacking; berries large or very large, yellowish-green; skin thick but tender; flesh crisp, firm; flavor agreeable but not rich; quality good. Season very late, keeping and s.h.i.+pping well.

VERGENNES

(Labrusca)

The most valuable attribute of Vergennes (Plate XXIX) is certainty in bearing. The vine seldom fails to bear although it often overbears, causing variability in size of fruits and time of ripening. With a moderate crop, the grapes ripen with Concord, but with a heavy load from one to two weeks later. Vergennes is somewhat unpopular with vineyardists because of the sprawling habit of the vines which makes them untractable for vineyard operations; this fault is obviated by grafting on other vines. The grapes are attractive, the quality is good, flavor agreeable, the flesh tender, and seeds and skin are not objectionable. Vergennes is the standard late-keeping grape for northern regions, being very common in the markets as late as January.

The original vine was a chance seedling in the garden of William E.

Greene, Vergennes, Vermont, in 1874.

Vine variable in vigor, doubtfully hardy, productive, healthy.

Canes long, dark brown; nodes enlarged, strongly flattened; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thin; upper surface light green, glossy, rugose; lower surface pale green, very p.u.b.escent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus broadly acute; petiolar sinus wide; teeth shallow. Flowers semi-sterile, mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit late, keeps and s.h.i.+ps well. Cl.u.s.ters of medium size, broad, cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, loose; pedicel with numerous small warts; brush slender, short, pale green. Berries large, oval, light and dark red with thin bloom, persistent; skin thick, tough, adherent, astringent; flesh pale green, juicy, fine-grained, somewhat stringy, tender, vinous; good to very good.

Seeds free, one to five, blunt, brown.

WALTER

(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)

Were it not almost impossible to grow healthy vines of Walter, the variety would rank high among American grapes. But stunted by fungi which attack leaves, young wood and fruit, it is possible only in exceptionally favorable seasons satisfactorily to produce crops of this variety. Besides susceptibility to diseases, the vines are fastidious to soils, everywhere variable in growth and are injured in cold winters. As if to atone for the faults of the vine, the fruit of Walter is almost perfect, lacking only in size of bunch and berry. The bunch and berry resemble those of Delaware, but the fruit is not as high in quality as that of its parents. Walter is adapted to conditions under which Delaware thrives. A. J. Caywood, Modena, New York, grew this variety about 1850 from seed of Delaware pollinated by Diana.

Vine vigorous. Canes medium in length and size, dark reddish-brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils intermittent, bifid. Leaves thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface tinged with bronze, heavily p.u.b.escent; lobes one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus a notch if present. Flowers mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit early, keeps and s.h.i.+ps well. Cl.u.s.ters medium in size, broad, cylindrical, usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender, with small, scattering warts; brush short, slender, green with brown tinge. Berries small, ovate, red, glossy with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin very tough, adheres slightly, unpigmented; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tough, somewhat foxy, vinous, aromatic; good to very good. Seeds adherent, one to four, small, sharp-pointed, light brown.

WILDER

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

The fruit of Wilder is surpa.s.sed in quality and appearance by other of Rogers' hybrids, but the vine is the most reliable of any of these hybrid sorts, being vigorous, hardy, productive, and, although somewhat susceptible to mildew, as healthy as any. Wilder is not as well known in the markets as it should be, and now that fungal diseases can be controlled by spraying should be more commonly planted in commercial vineyards, especially for local markets. Wilder is one of the forty-five Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids raised by E. S. Rogers, Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts, having been described first in 1858.

Vine vigorous, hardy, productive, susceptible to mildew. Canes long, numerous, reddish-brown, darker at the nodes; internodes long; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, irregularly round; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, p.u.b.escent; usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow, or a mere notch when present. Flowers self-sterile, mid-season; stamens reflexed.

Fruit early mid-season, keeps and s.h.i.+ps well. Cl.u.s.ters variable in size, short, broad, tapering, heavily single-shouldered, loose; pedicel long, thick with numerous warts; brush thick, green with tinge of red. Berries large, oval, purplish-black with heavy bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, adherent to pulp, with bright red pigment, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender; good. Seeds adherent, one to five, long, light brown.

WINCh.e.l.l

(Labrusca, Vinifera, aestivalis)

_Green Mountain_

The vines of Winch.e.l.l (Plate x.x.x) are vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive, and the fruit is early, of high quality and s.h.i.+ps well--altogether a most admirable early grape. There are some minor faults which become drawbacks in the culture of Winch.e.l.l. The berries, and under some conditions the bunches, are small and the bunch is loose with a large shoulder. Sometimes this looseness becomes so p.r.o.nounced as to give a straggling, poorly-formed cl.u.s.ter; and the shoulder, when as large as the cl.u.s.ter itself, which often happens, makes the cl.u.s.ter unsightly. The grapes sh.e.l.l when fully ripe, a serious fault. Again, while the crop usually ripens evenly, there are seasons when two pickings are needed because of the unevenness in ripening. Lastly, the skin is thin and there is danger in unfavorable seasons of the berries cracking, although this is seldom a serious fault. These defects do not offset the several good characters of Winch.e.l.l which make it the standard early green grape, deserving to rank with the best early grapes of any color. The original vine was raised by James Milton Clough, Stamford, Vermont, about 1850 from seed of an unknown purple grape.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, very productive. Canes long, numerous, slender, dark brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, bifid.

Leaves large; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth; lower surface dull green, tinged with bronze, faintly p.u.b.escent; lobes three to five with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus deep; basal sinus shallow; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers fertile, mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit early, keeps and s.h.i.+ps well. Cl.u.s.ters long, slender, cylindrical, often with a long shoulder, compact; pedicel short, slender with few inconspicuous warts; brush greenish-white.

Berries small, round, light green, persistent, soft; skin marked with small, reddish-brown spots, thin, tender, slightly astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained, sweet; very good to best. Seeds free, one to four, small, plump, wide and long, blunt, brown.

WOODRUFF

(Labrusca, Vinifera?)

Woodruff is a handsome, showy, brick-red grape with large cl.u.s.ters and berries, but its taste belies its looks, for the flesh is coa.r.s.e and the flavor poor. The variety would not be worth attention were it not for its excellent vine characters; the vines are hardy, productive and healthy. The grapes ripen a little before Concord and come on the market at a favorable time, especially for a red grape. Woodruff originated from C. H. Woodruff, Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a chance seedling which came up in 1874 and fruited first in 1877.

Vine very vigorous, hardy. Canes dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves round; upper surface light green, dull, rugose; lower surface greenish-white, p.u.b.escent; leaf usually not lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus wide; basal sinus lacking; lateral sinus shallow and narrow when present; teeth shallow. Flowers semi-fertile, early; stamens upright.

Fruit ripening before Concord. Cl.u.s.ters broad, widely tapering, usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, thick, smooth; brush long, pale green. Berries large, round, dark red, dull, firm; skin thin, tender, adherent, slightly astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tough, coa.r.s.e, very foxy; fair in quality. Seeds adherent, one to five, broad, short, plump, blunt, brown.

WORDEN