THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 253 



Eaton is a pure-bred seedling of Concord which it surpasses in 

 appearance but does not equal in flavor. In appearance of bunch it 

 is one of the handsomest of our native grapes but as a table grape it 

 ranks low. Its flesh is tough and stringy and, though sweet at the skin, 

 is acid at the seeds. It has the same foxiness that characterizes Concord 

 but with inore juice and less richness than its parent so that it is well 

 described as a " diluted Concord ". The skin is very similar to that of 

 Concord, neither thicker nor thinner, and the fruit packs, ships and keeps 

 about the same, though if any thing less well because of the greater amount 

 of juice. The season is a few days earlier than Concord. The vine is healthy, 

 vigorous, hardy and productive and very similar in all botanical characters 

 to its parent. The grapes ripen unevenly, the flowers are self-sterile and 

 in some locations it is a shy bearer. Eaton has been grown for nearly forty 

 years and has not found favor with either the grower or the consumer and 

 is being less and less grown, remaining in our viticulture only as a hand- 

 some exhibition grape and an interesting seedling of Concord. 



This mammoth Concord, the Eaton, originated with Calvin Eaton of 

 Concord, New Hampshire, about 1868 from seed of Concord. Mr. Eaton 

 states that this was the best vine out of a lot of two thousand seedlings. 

 The new variety was purchased by John B. Moore & Son of Concord, 

 Massachusetts, in 1882, and was introduced by them in 1885. Owing to 

 Mr. Moore's death it soon passed into the hands of the T. S. Hubbard 

 Company, of Fredonia, New York. It at once attracted much attention 

 on account of its fine appearance and for a time was very popular, its 

 popularity declining chiefly because of the poor quality of the fruit. 



Vine vigorous, healthy, hardy, usually productive. Canes intermediate in length 

 and number, thick to medium, light brown changing to darker brown at the nodes, 

 covered with a small amount of blue bloom ; nodes enlarged, slightly flattened ; inter- 

 nodes short to medium; diaphragm of average thickness; pith large to medium; shoots 

 pubescent; tendrils continuous, rather long, bifid to trifid. 



Leaf-buds medium to below in size, short, of nearly mean thickness, conical to pointed, 

 open in mid-season. Young leaves lightly tinged on under side and along margin of 

 upper side with carmine. Leaves healthy, large, often roundish, thick; upper surface 

 dark green, of average smoothness; lower surface tinged with bronze, heavily pubescent; 

 veins distinct; lobes three when present, with terminal lobe acute; petiolar sinus medium 

 to shallow, rather wide ; basal sinus usually lacking ; lateral sinus shallow, narrow, often 



