GRAPES UNDER GLASS 197 



shall see, one or two white kinds are indispensable in a house 

 of any considerable size. 



Of black grapes, Black Hamburg carries the palm of merit 

 because it is most easily grown, best stands neglect, is a heavy 

 producer, sets its fruit well, the grapes mature early ; and, 

 in particular, it meets the requirements of the unskilled gardener 

 better than any other grape. The clusters are not as large 

 and the flavor not as good as that of some other sorts. 



Muscat of Alexandria is the best of the white varieties. It 

 is, however, a hard grape to handle since it requires a high tem- 

 perature to bring it to perfection, is a little shy in setting fruit 

 and the grapes are not very certain in coming to maturity; 

 it also requires a long season. A good quality is that it may 

 be kept long after cutting, much longer than Black Hamburg. 



For an earlier white grape, Buckland Sweetwater has much 

 to recommend it ; it ripens from two to three weeks earlier 

 than Muscat of x\lexandria and is much more easily grown. 

 It is good in quality but not of high quality. Buckland Sweet- 

 water may be well grown in the house with Black Hamburg, 

 whereas it is almost impossible to grow Muscat of Alexandria 

 in the same house with Black Hamburg. 



Muscat Hamburg is a cross between Black Hamburg and 

 Muscat of Alexandria, and is an intermediate in most fruit 

 characters between these two standard sorts. It is not, how- 

 ever, very generally grown, although it well deserves to be 

 because of its large, beautiful, tapering clusters of black grapes 

 of finest quality. 



Grizzly Frontignan adds novelty to luxury in the list of 

 indoor grapes. The fruits are mottled pink in color, deepening 

 sometimes to a dark shade of pink, and are borne in long, slender 

 clusters. The grapes ripen early and are unsurpassed in quality 

 but are, all in all, rather difficult to grow. 



Barbarossa and Gros Colman are the two best late black 

 grapes, especially for those who are ambitious to grow clusters 



