Manual of American Grape-Growing Part 37

This variety succeeds rather well at Geneva, New York, bearing fruits of excellent quality. It has two defects, dull color of the berries and irregular bunches. It is worth trying in the East. Feher Szagos is said to make a very good raisin in California and usually appears in lists of table-grapes for that state.

Vines vigorous, somewhat uncertain bearers. Opening leaves p.u.b.escent, red along the edges and a tinge of red on the upper surface. Flowers have upright stamens. Fruit usually ripens the first week in October and does not keep well in storage; cl.u.s.ters large to medium, broad, loose, frequently irregular because of poor setting of fruit; berries large, oval to elliptical, rather dull green, with thin bloom; skin thick, tender, neutral; flesh greenish, translucent, juicy, meaty, tender, sweet; quality of the best; seeds free.

FERN MUNSON

(Lincec.u.mii, Vinifera, Labrusca)

_Admirable, Fern, Hilgarde, Munson's No. 76_

Fern Munson is a southern grape not adapted to northern regions, 40 north lat.i.tude being its limit of adaptation. The fruits show some very good characters, as attractive appearance, agreeable quality and un.o.bjectionable seeds and skin. The vines are vigorous and productive, but the foliage is not healthy although very abundant.

This variety originated with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, from seed of Post-oak with mixed pollen. The seed was planted in 1885, and the variety was introduced by the originator in 1893.

Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy. Canes long, numerous, thick, dark brown with a faint red tinge; tendrils intermittent, bifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface rugose and heavily wrinkled; lower surface dull, pale green with a bronze tinge, faintly p.u.b.escent.

Flowers semi-fertile, open very late; stamens upright.

Fruit late, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters large, irregularly tapering, usually single-shouldered, often with many abortive fruits.

Berries large, round, slightly flattened, dark purplish-black, glossy, covered with thin bloom, strongly persistent, firm; skin thin, tough, astringent; flesh juicy, tough, firm, fine-grained, vinous, briskly subacid; good. Seeds adherent, broad.

FLAME TOKAY

(Vinifera)

This is the leading s.h.i.+pping grape of the Pacific slope where it is everywhere grown under the name "Tokay," with several modifying terms, as "Flame," "Flame-colored" and "Flaming." The fruit is not especially high in quality nor attractive in appearance, but it s.h.i.+ps and keeps well, qualities making it popular in commercial vineyards. The description is compiled.

Vine very vigorous, luxuriant in growth of canes, shoots and leaves; very productive; wood dark brown, straight with long joints. Leaves dark green with a brown tinge; lightly lobed.

Bunches very large, sometimes weighing eight or nine pounds, moderately compact; shouldered. Berries large, oblong, red when mature, covered with lilac bloom; flesh firm, crisp, sweet; quality good. Season late, keeps and s.h.i.+ps well.

FLOWERS

(Rotundifolia)

Flowers is a late, dark-colored Rotundifolia very popular in the Carolinas. The variety is noted for its vigorous and productive vines, its large fruit-cl.u.s.ters and grapes that cling in the cl.u.s.ter unusually well for a variety of this species. The crop ripens in North Carolina in October and November. The fruit is valuable only for wine and grape-juice, having little to recommend it for dessert purposes.

Flowers was found in a swamp near Lamberton, North Carolina, more than a hundred years ago by William Flowers. Improved Flowers, probably a seedling of Flowers, was found near Whiteville, North Carolina, about 1869. It differs from its supposed parent in having a more vigorous and productive vine and larger cl.u.s.ters, the berries of which cling even more tenaciously.

Vine vigorous, healthy, upright, open, very productive. Canes long, slender, numerous. Leaves variable but average medium in size, longer than broad, pointed, cordate, thick, dark green, smooth, leathery; margins sharply serrate; flowers perfect.

Fruit very late, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters, large, consisting of ten to twenty-five berries. Berries large, round-oblong, purple or purplish-black, clinging well to the cl.u.s.ter-stem; skin thick, tough, faintly marked with dots; pulp white, lacking in juice, hard, sweetish, austere in flavor; poor for a table-grape but excellent for grape-juice.

GAERTNER

(Vinifera, Labrusca)

The berries and cl.u.s.ters of Gaertner are large and handsomely colored, making a very showy grape. The plant is vigorous, productive and as hardy as any of the hybrids between Labrusca and Vinifera. In view of these qualities, Gaertner has not received the attention it deserves, probably because it is more capricious as to soils than some others of its related hybrids. As a market grape, the variety has the faults of ripening unevenly and of s.h.i.+pping poorly. The fruit keeps well and this, with the desirable qualities noted, makes it an excellent grape for the home vineyard. Gaertner is often compared with Ma.s.sasoit, the two varieties being very similar in fruit characters, but Gaertner is of distinctly better quality than Ma.s.sasoit. The variety originated with E. S. Rogers, Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts. It was first mentioned about 1865.

Vine vigorous, hardy except in severe winters, productive. Canes long, dark reddish-brown, surface covered with thin bloom; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size, round; upper surface dark green; lower surface pale green, p.u.b.escent. Flowers self-sterile, open late; stamens reflexed.

Fruit mid-season, matures unevenly, keeps only fairly well.

Cl.u.s.ters medium in size, short, cylindrical, usually with a single shoulder but sometimes double-shouldered, loose with many abortive fruits. Berries large, round-oval, light to dark red, glossy, covered with bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender; flesh pale green, juicy, fine-grained, tough, stringy, agreeably vinous; good to very good. Seeds free, large, broad, distinctly notched, brown.

GENEVA

(Vinifera, Labrusca)

Geneva is surpa.s.sed by so many other grapes of its season in quality that it has never become popular, although it has much to recommend it. The vine is vigorous and productive, although not quite hardy, and the berries and cl.u.s.ters are attractive; the fruit is nearly transparent and there is so little bloom that the grapes are a l.u.s.trous green or iridescent in sunlight; the berries cling well to the stem and the fruit keeps exceptionally well. Geneva originated with Jacob Moore, Brighton, New York, from seed planted in 1874 from a hybrid vine fertilized by Iona.

Vine vigorous, healthy, productive. Canes covered with thin bloom; tendrils intermittent or continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size; upper surface light green, dull; lower surface grayish-white, p.u.b.escent; lobes three to five, acute; petiolar sinus, shallow, wide; teeth shallow, narrow. Flowers self-sterile or partly fertile, open late; stamens upright.

Fruit mid-season, s.h.i.+ps well and keeps into the winter. Cl.u.s.ters large, blunt at the ends, usually not shouldered, with many abortive fruits; pedicel long, slender, smooth; brush long, green.

Berries large, oval, dull green changing to a faint yellow with thin bloom; skin thick, tough, unpigmented; flesh pale green, tender, soft, vinous, sweet at skin but tart at center; fair to good. Seeds of medium size and length.

GOETHE

(Vinifera, Labrusca)

Of all Rogers' hybrids, Goethe shows Vinifera characters most, resembling in appearance the White Malaga of Europe, and not falling far short of the best Old World grapes in quality. But the variety is difficult to grow, especially where the seasons are not long enough for full maturity. The vine is vigorous to a fault; it is fairly immune to mildew, rot and other diseases; and, where it succeeds, the vines bear so freely that thinning becomes a necessity. Added to high quality, which makes it an excellent table-grape, Goethe keeps well.

Goethe was first mentioned in 1858 under the name of Rogers' No. 1.

Vine vigorous, hardy. Canes short, dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous or intermittent, long, bifid to trifid. Leaves irregularly round, thin; upper surface light green, glossy; lower surface pale green, p.u.b.escent; leaf usually not lobed, terminus broadly acute; petiolar sinus narrow, closed and overlapping; basal sinus usually lacking; lateral sinus shallow, often a notch; teeth shallow, narrow.

Flowers partly self-fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright.

Fruit late, keeps well. Cl.u.s.ters short, broad, tapering, frequently single-shouldered, usually two bunches to shoot; pedicel long, thick with numerous conspicuous warts; brush long, slender, yellowish-brown. Berries very large, oval, pale red covered with thin bloom, persistent; skin thin, tender, adherent, faintly astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, tender with Vinifera flavor; very good. Seeds adherent, one to three, large, long, notched, blunt, brown.

GOLD COIN

(aestivalis, Labrusca)

In the South, where alone it thrives, Gold Coin is a handsome market variety of very good quality. The vines are productive and are unusually free from attacks of fungal diseases. The variety originated with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, from seed of Cynthiana or Norton pollinated by Martha and was introduced by the originator in 1894.

Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes slender, numerous; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, trifid or bifid.

Leaves medium in size; upper surface light green, slightly rugose; lower surface pale green, tinged with bronze, heavily p.u.b.escent.

Flowers self-fertile; stamens upright.

Fruit late mid-season, keeps long. Cl.u.s.ters medium to small, usually single-shouldered. Berries large, round-oval, yellowish-green with a distinct trace of reddish-amber, with thin bloom, usually persistent; skin covered with small, scattering brown dots, thin, tough; flesh faintly aromatic, tart from skin to center; good. Seeds free, numerous, medium in size.

GREEN EARLY

(Labrusca, Vinifera)

Green Early is a white grape coming in season with Winch.e.l.l, which surpa.s.ses it in most characters, quality in particular. Green Early was found in 1885, growing by the side of a ditch near a Concord vineyard, on land belonging to O. J. Green, Portland, New York.

Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes variable in length and thickness, dark reddish-brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils continuous, sometimes intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves variable in size, medium green; upper surface dark green, glossy; lower surface pale green, p.u.b.escent; lobes wanting or faintly five; teeth shallow, narrow; stamens upright.