220 THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



grape. The Concord leaves out and blossoms somewhat late in the spring 

 and does not therefore often suffer from spring frosts and the fruit is not 

 easily injured by late frosts and hangs well on the vine. 



The Concord is not, however, without faults. Its quality is not high, 

 the grapes lack richness, delicacy of flavor and aroma, and have a foxy 

 taste disagreeable to many; on the other hand, the fruit is sprightly and 

 refreshing and does not cloy the appetite as do richer grapes. The seeds 

 and skin of Concord are objectionable, the seeds being large and abun- 

 dant and difficult to separate from the flesh and the skin is tough and 

 unpleasantly astringent. The Concord does not keep nor ship well as com- 

 pared with grapes having Vinifera blood and it rapidly loses flavor after 

 ripening; the skin is inclined to crack and the berries to shell from the 

 stems after picking. Concord is but slightly resistant to phylloxera 

 and in calcareous soils is subject to clilorosis. It requires a rich soil and 

 thrives best on a virgin soil; thus, in the Chautauqua region of this State, 

 much concern is now felt because of the failing vineyards, most of which 

 should not as yet have reached their prime. While Concord is grown in the 

 South, it is essentially a northern grape, becoming susceptible to fungi in 

 southern climates and suffering from phylloxera in dry, warm soils. 



Concord is a table grape and, to use an oft quoted expression coined 

 by Horace Greeley, it is "the grape for the millions." It can be produced 

 so cheaply that no other grape can compete with it in the markets. 

 The dominance of Concord is not wholly desirable for viticulture, as by 

 keeping out better varieties, the consumer is prevented from obtaining 

 grapes high in quality; and by giving the grower a feeling of sufficiency in 

 having this sort, other varieties do not receive the consideration they 

 deserve. The variety is used somewhat for making red wines and a white 

 wine as a base for champagne but it is a poor wine grape, as much sugar 

 must be added to attain the amount of alcohol necessary for a good wine 

 and the foxy taste is not a pleasant flavor. Grape juice is made almost 

 entirely from Concords and during the past few years many carloads of 

 grapes have been used in the Chautauqua region for this purpose. 



The botanical characters of Concord indicate that it is a pure-bred 

 Labrusca; thus the seed with obscure raphe and chalaza, the pubescence 

 on the under surface of the leaf, the flesh characters of the fruit, the con- 



