194 THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



and quality of fruit it is about the same as Delaware, differing from it 

 chiefly in having more astringency in the skin and therefore not quite 

 equal to Delaware as a table grape. The vine is strong and hardy; season 

 about with Delaware. Brilliant does not crack or shell and therefore ships 

 well, and has very good keeping qualities, especially on the vine, where it 

 will often hang for weeks. The defects which have kept it from becoming 

 one of the standard commercial sorts in New York are: Marked suscepti- 

 bility to fungi but not more susceptible than Delaware; variable in size of 

 cluster; uneven in ripening; and lack of productiveness. Brilliant is 

 well known by amateur grape-growers in New York and is grown some- 

 what for the market. All in all it is probably the best known and most 

 widely grown of Munson's varieties in this State. In favorable situations, 

 this variety may always be expected to please the amateur, and the com- 

 mercial grower will often find it a profitable sort. 



The seed which produced Brilliant was planted by Munson in 1883 and 

 the variety was introduced by him in 1887. It has been widely tested by 

 experimenters and grape-growers and is highly spoken of, whether in the 

 East, West, North or South. 



Vine variable in growth averaging vigorous, usually hardy, not always productive. 

 Canes long, numerous, thick, darkish-brown; nodes enlarged, usually flattened; inter- 

 nodes long to medium; diaphragm thick; pith large, shoots pubescent; tendrils inter- 

 mittent, long, bifid. 



Leaf-buds somewhat large, short, thick, obtuse to conical, open late. Young 

 leaves heavily tinged on both sides with mahogany-red changing to light carmine. Leaves 

 medium to large, thick; upper surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface grayish- 

 green, downy; veins well defined; entire or obscurely three-lobed with terminal lobe 

 blunt to acute; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, V-shaped; basal and lateral sinuses obscure 

 and shallow when present; teeth intermediate in depth and width. Flowers open 

 medium late, fertile; stamens upright. 



Fruit ripens unevenly, in season about with Delaware, keeps a long time. Clusters 

 average larger than Delaware, intermediate in length and breadth, often blunt, cylin- 

 drical to somewhat conical, usually slightly shouldered, medium to compact; peduncle 

 rather thick; pedicel medium to short, thick, covered with few small warts, wide at point 

 of attachment to berry; brush short, thick, pale green with reddish-brown tinge. Berries 

 average larger than Delaware, roundish to very slightly oval, attractive dark red, not so 

 brilliant as Delaware but more so than Brighton, rather glossy, covered with abundant 

 lilac bloom, adhere strongly to pedicel, firm. Skin rather thin and tough, adheres con- 



