Manual of American Grape-Growing Part 36

(Rotundifolia, Munsoniana?)

Eden is of value as a general-purpose grape for the South and is interesting as one of the few supposed hybrids with _V. rotundifolia_.

It is probably a hybrid between the species named and _V. Munsoniana_, another southern wild grape. The vine is exceedingly vigorous and productive and thrives on clay soils, whereas most other Rotundifolias can be grown successfully only on sandy lands. Eden was found some years ago on the premises of Dr. Guild, near Atlanta, Georgia.

Vine very vigorous, productive, healthy and bearing a dense canopy of foliage. Canes darker in color than most other Rotundifolias.

Leaves of medium size and thickness, longer than wide; petiolar sinus wide; marginal teeth rounded; leaf-tip blunt. Flowers perfect.

Fruit early, distinct first and second crops, ripens uniformly.

Cl.u.s.ters large, loose, bearing from five to twenty-five berries which adhere fairly well to the pedicels. Berries round, one-half inch in diameter, dull black, faintly specked; skin thin, tender; flesh soft, juicy, pale green, sprightly; good in quality.

ELDORADO

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

The fruit of Eldorado is delicately flavored, with a distinct aroma and taste and ripens about with that of Moore Early--a time when there are few other good white grapes. The vines inherit most of the good qualities of Concord, one of its parents, excepting ability to set large crops. Even with cross-pollination, Eldorado sometimes fails to bear and is not worth growing unless planted in a mixed vineyard. The cl.u.s.ters are so often small and straggling under the best conditions that the variety cannot be recommended highly to the amateur; yet its delightful flavor and its earliness commend it. J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, grew Eldorado about 1870 from seed of Concord fertilized by Allen's Hybrid.

Vine vigorous, hardy, an uncertain bearer. Canes long, few, thick, flattened, bright reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils intermittent, rarely continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves large to medium, irregularly round, dark green; upper surface rugose on older leaves; lower surface tinged with brown, p.u.b.escent; lobes wanting or faintly three; petiolar sinus deep; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open late; stamens reflexed.

Fruit early, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters do not always set perfectly and are variable in size, frequently single-shouldered; pedicel short, slender, smooth; brush short, yellow. Berries large, round, yellowish-green changing to golden yellow, covered with thin bloom; flesh tender, foxy, sweet, mild, high flavored; good to very good in quality. Seeds intermediate in size and length, blunt, yellowish-brown.

ELVIRA

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

Although it has never attained popularity in the North, Elvira (Plate XVI), after its introduction into Missouri about forty years ago, reached the pinnacle of popularity as a wine-grape in the South. The qualities which commended it were: great productiveness; earliness, ripening in the North with Concord; exceedingly good health, being almost free from fungal diseases; great vigor, as shown by a strong, stocky growth and ample foliage; and almost perfect hardiness even as far north as Canada. Its good qualities are offset by two defects: thin skin which bursts easily, thus wholly debarring it from distant markets; and flavor and appearance not sufficiently good to make it a table-grape. Elvira originated with Jacob Rommel, Morrison, Missouri, from seed of Taylor.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes numerous, dark brown; nodes flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous, trifid or bifid. Leaves large, thin; upper surface light green, p.u.b.escent, hairy; lobes wanting or one to three with terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, sometimes closed and overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, often notched; teeth deep, wide. Flowers self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.

Fruit mid-season, does not keep well. Cl.u.s.ters short, cylindrical, usually single-shouldered, compact; pedicel smooth; brush short, greenish-yellow with brown tinge. Berries medium in size, round, green with yellow tinge, dull with thin bloom, firm; skin very thin, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh green, juicy, fine-grained, tender, foxy, sweet; fair in quality. Seeds free, one to four, medium to large, blunt, plump, dark brown.

EMPEROR

(Vinifera)

Emperor is one of the standard s.h.i.+pping grapes of the Pacific slope, being one of the mainstays of the interior valleys. On the coast and in southern California, it is irregular in bearing, and on the coast the fruits often fail to ripen. It is chiefly grown in the San Joaquin Valley. It could hardly be expected to ripen even in the most favored grape regions in the East. The following brief description is compiled:

Vine strong, healthy and productive. Leaves very large, with five shallow lobes; teeth short and obtuse; light green in color; glabrous above, wooly beneath. Bunches very large, loose, sometimes inclined to be straggling, long-conical. Berries large, dull purple, oval; flesh firm and crisp; skin thick; flavor and quality good. Ripens late and keeps and s.h.i.+ps well.

EMPIRE STATE

(Vulpina, Labrusca, Vinifera)

Empire State (Plate XVII) competes with Niagara and Diamond for supremacy among green grapes. The variety is as vigorous in growth, as free from parasites, and on vines of the same age is as productive, but is less hardy, and the grapes are not as attractive in appearance as those of the other varieties named. In particular, the cl.u.s.ters are small in some localities, a defect which can be overcome only by severe pruning or by thinning. The quality is very good, approaching the flavor of the Old World grapes, its slight wild taste suggesting one of the Muscats. Empire State ripens early, hangs long on the vine and keeps well after picking without losing flavor. This grape originated with James H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, bearing fruit first in 1879.

Vine vigorous, somewhat tender. Canes short, few, slender, brownish; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, bifid. Leaves small; upper surface light green, glossy, smooth or somewhat rugose; lower surface tinged with bronze, heavily p.u.b.escent; lobes three to five when present, terminal one ac.u.minate; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus variable in depth and width; lateral sinus deep, narrow, often enlarged at base; teeth deep, wide.

Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.

Fruit mid-season, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters large, long, slender, cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered, compact; pedicel slender with small warts; brush short, light green. Berries medium or small, round, pale yellowish-green, covered with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, adherent to the pulp, slightly astringent; flesh pale yellowish-green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, agreeably flavored; good to very good. Seeds adherent, one to four, small, broad, notched, short, blunt, plump, brown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVII.--Salem (2/3).]

ETTA

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

In appearance, taste and texture of fruit, Etta is very similar to Elvira, of which it is a seedling. The small, yellow cl.u.s.ters which characterize Elvira are reproduced in Etta, which differs chiefly in having a shoulder quite as large as the main bunch itself and in having a better flavor, lacking the slight foxiness of Elvira. The vine is very vigorous, hardy, and is productive to a fault. The fruit ripens with that of Catawba. The tendency of Elvira to crack and overbear influenced the originator of that variety, Jacob Rommel, Morrison, Missouri, to try for a grape without these faults, and the result was Etta from seed of Elvira. The fruit was first exhibited in 1879.

Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, light to dark brown; tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, somewhat cobwebby. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens upright.

Fruit late, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters small, short, broad, irregularly cylindrical, usually with a short, single shoulder but sometimes so heavily shouldered as to form a double bunch, very compact.

Berries small, round, pale green, dull with thin bloom, shattering when over-ripe, firm; skin thin, tender; flesh juicy, fine-grained, tough, stringy, slightly foxy, mild; fair in quality. Seeds free, long, blunt, brown.

EUMELAN

(Labrusca, Vinifera, aestivalis)

_Was.h.i.+ngton_

The good qualities of Eumelan are: vines above the average in vigor, hardiness and productiveness; cl.u.s.ters and berries well formed, of good size and handsome color; flesh tender, dissolving into wine-like juice under slight pressure; and pure flavor, rich, sweet, vinous. The season is early, yet the fruit keeps much better than that of most other grapes maturing with it and becomes, therefore, a mid-season and late grape. The defects of the variety are susceptibility to mildew, self-sterile flowers and difficulty in propagation. The latter character has greatly hindered its culture, as the vines can be secured only at extra expense and nurserymen are loath to grow the variety at all. Eumelan may be recommended to amateur growers. It is a chance seedling which grew from seed, about 1847, in the yard of a Mr.

Thorne, Fishkill Landing, New York.

Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes numerous, covered with bloom; nodes enlarged; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, long, trifid or bifid. Leaves large; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface pale green, smooth; lobes usually three with terminal one acute; petiolar sinus deep, variable in width; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, narrow; teeth shallow. Flowers self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.

Fruit early, keeps until late winter. Cl.u.s.ters long, slender, tapering, often with a long, loose, single shoulder; pedicel short, slender with a few small warts; brush short, stubby, pale green. Berries of medium size, round, black, glossy with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin tough, adherent with wine-colored pigment, astringent; flesh dark green, juicy, fine-grained, tender, stringy, spicy and aromatic, sweet; good. Seeds adherent, one to four, large, wide, blunt, plump, brown.

FAITH

(Vulpina, Labrusca)

Although spoken of as a desirable grape in some regions, Faith is of little value in most localities. The fruit is unattractive in appearance, and the quality is not high. If the variety has any preeminently good character, it is productiveness. The blossoms put forth so early that they often suffer from spring frosts. Faith is of the same breeding as Etta and from the same originator, Jacob Rommel, Morrison, Missouri, both having come from seed of Elvira.

Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous, thick, cylindrical; nodes prominent; internodes long; tendrils continuous, bifid. Leaves large, dark green; upper surface dark green, dull; lower surface grayish-green, thinly p.u.b.escent; lobes wanting or faint; teeth shallow, wide. Flowers self-sterile to partly self-fertile, open early; stamens upright.

Fruit early, does not keep well. Cl.u.s.ters medium in size, variable in length, usually slender, often heavily single-shouldered, loose; pedicel short, slender, warty; brush pale green, slender.

Berries small, round, dull green, frequently with a yellow tinge changing to pale amber, with abundant bloom, persistent, soft; skin thin, adherent, astringent; flesh juicy, tender, agreeably flavored; fair to good in quality. Seeds numerous, broad, dark brown.

FEHER SZAGOS

(Vinifera)