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 shipping, so that the fruit does not ship, 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.

HEADLIGHT

(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana)

Headlight is more desirable for southern than for northern vineyards, yet it is worthy of trial in the North. Its meritorious characters are: productiveness, outyielding Delaware, with which it competes; disease-resistant foliage and vines; more than average vigor of vine; high quality of fruit, being almost the equal of Delaware in flavor and having tender, melting pulp which readily parts from the seeds; and earliness, ripening before Delaware and hanging on the vines or keeping after being picked for some time without deterioration. The originator of Headlight, T. V. Munson, states that the variety came from seed of Moyer fertilized by Brilliant. The seed was planted in 1895 and the grape was introduced in 1901.

Vine vigorous, hardy, very productive. Canes short, few in number, slender, reddish-brown; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils continuous, short, bifid, very persistent. Leaves small, thick; upper surface light green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green, p.u.b.escent; lobes one to three with terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus intermediate in depth and width; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.

Fruit early, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters small, short, tapering, frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel short, slender, covered with a few small warts; brush yellowish-brown. Berries small, round, dark red with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, adherent, astringent; flesh green, translucent, very juicy, tender, fine-grained, vinous, sweet; very good. Seeds free, one to three, small, light brown.

HERBEMONT

(Bourquiniana)

_Bottsi, Brown French, Dunn, Herbemont's Madeira, Hunt, Kay's Seedling, McKee, Neal, Warren, Warrenton_

In the South, Herbemont holds the same rank as Concord in the North.

The vine is fastidious as to soil, requiring a well-drained warm soil, and one which is abundantly supplied with humus. Despite these limitations, this variety is grown in an immense territory, extending from Virginia and Tennessee to the Gulf and westward through Texas.

The vine is remarkably vigorous, being hardly surpa.s.sed in this character by any other of our native grapes. The fruits are attractive because of the large bunch and the glossy black of the small berries, and are borne abundantly and with certainty in suitable localities. The flesh characters of the fruit are good for a small grape, neither flesh, skin nor seeds being objectionable in eating; the pulp is tender, juicy, rich, sweet and highly flavored. The ample, l.u.s.trous green foliage makes this variety one of the attractive ornamental plants of the South. Herbemont is known to have been in cultivation in Georgia before the Revolutionary War, when it was generally called Warren and Warrenton. In the early part of the last century, it came to the hands of Nicholas Herbemont, Columbia, South Carolina, whose name it eventually took.

Vine very vigorous. Canes long, strong, bright green, with more or less purple and heavy bloom; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, round, entire, or three to seven-lobed, nearly glabrous above and below; upper surface clear green; lower surface lighter green, glaucous.

Flowers self-fertile.

Fruit very late. Cl.u.s.ters large, long, tapering, prominently shouldered, compact; pedicels short with a few large warts; brush pink. Berries round, small, uniform, reddish-black or brown with abundant bloom; skin thin, tough; flesh tender, juicy; juice colorless or slightly pink, sweet, sprightly. Seeds two to four, small, reddish-brown, glossy.

HERBERT

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

In all that const.i.tutes a fine table-grape, Herbert (Plate XVIII) is as near perfection as any American variety. For a Vinifera-Labrusca hybrid, the vine is vigorous, hardy and fruitful, ranking in these respects above many pure-bred Labruscas. While the fruit ripens with Concord, it keeps much later and packs and ships better. The variety is self-sterile and must be set near other varieties. Herbert is deserving attention from commercial growers who supply a discriminating market, and its many good qualities give it high place as a garden grape. The variety is one of Rogers' hybrids, named Herbert in 1869.

Vine very vigorous, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long; tendrils intermittent, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, round; upper surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green with some p.u.b.escence; leaf entire, terminus obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, closed, overlapping; basal and lateral sinuses lacking; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.

Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters large, broad, tapering, two to three cl.u.s.ters per shoot, heavily single-shouldered, loose; pedicel thick with small russet warts; brush yellowish-green.

Berries large, round-oval, flattened, dull black, covered with thick bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, tough, adherent, astringent; flesh light green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine-grained; very good. Seeds adherent, three to six, large, broad, notched, long with swollen neck, blunt, brown with yellow tips.

HERCULES

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

Hercules is characterized by very large berries, fruit handsomely colored and cl.u.s.ter large and well-formed. The flavor, while not of the best, is good. Added to the desirable qualities of the fruit, the vines are hardy, vigorous and productive. These good characters, however, cannot make up for the several defects of the variety. The grapes drop and crack badly and the pulp is tough and adheres too firmly to the seed for a dessert grape, so that the variety is worthless except for breeding purposes. Hercules was introduced by G.

A. Ensenberger, Bloomington, Illinois, about 1890; its parentage is unknown.