VARIETIES OF GRAPES 405 



yellowish-green, covered with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin thick, ad- 

 herent to the pulp, slightly astringent; flesh pale yellowish-green, trans- 

 lucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, agreeably flavored; good to very good. 

 Seeds adherent, 1-4 small, broad, notched, short, blunt, plump, brown. 



622. Elvira. — The qualities which commend Elvira are : great 

 productiveness; earliness; exceedingly good health and great 

 vigor; and almost perfect hardiness even as far north as Canada. 

 Its good qualities are offset by two defects : the grapes have thin 

 skins which burst easily and thus wholly debar them from dis- 

 tant markets; and their flavor and appearance are not suffi- 

 ciently good to make the variety a table-grape. Elvira origi- 

 nated with Jacob Rommel, Morrison, Missouri, from seed of 

 Taylor. 



Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Leaves large, thin; lobes 

 wanting or 1-3 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 midseason. Clusters 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, foxy, sweet; fair in quality. Seeds 

 free, 1-4, medium to large, blunt, plump, dark brown. 



Sub-group 5. Berries Red 



623. Delaware (Fig. 236) is used wherever American grapes 

 are grown as the standard to gauge the quality. In addition to 

 high quality in fruit, the variety Avithstands 

 climatic conditions to which all but the most 

 hardy varieties succumb, is adapted to many 

 soils and conditions, and bears in most situa- 

 tions an abundant crop. These qualities make 

 it, next to Concord, the most popular grape 

 for garden and vineyard now grown in the 

 United States. Besides the qualities named, 

 the grapes mature sufficient!}^ early to make 

 the crop certain, are attractive in appear- Fig. 236. Delaware, 

 ance, keep and ship well, and are immune to 



black-rot. Faults of the variety are : small vine, slow growth, sus- 

 ceptibility to mildew, capriciousness in certain soils, and small 



