THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 293 



pedicel intermediate in length, thick, covered with small russet warts; brush yellowish- 

 green. Berries irregular in size but usually above medium, roundish to slightly flattened, 

 rather dull black, covered with thick blue bloom, persistent, moderately firm. Skin 

 variable in thickness and toughness, adheres somewhat to the pulp, contains a small 

 amount of wine-colored pigment, astringent. Flesh light green, translucent, juicy, 

 tender, fine-grained, with a little foxiness or muskiness, nearly sweet at skin but quite 

 acid at center, quality good to very good. Seeds separate from the pulp with difficulty, 

 three to si.K in number, average three, large, broadish, notched, quite long, with swollen 

 neck, blunt, light brown with yellowish tips; raphe obscure; chalaza intermediate in 

 size, decidedly above center, circular to pear-shaped, distinct. 



HERCULES. 



(Labrusca, Vinifera.) 



I. -V. Y. Sta. An. Rpt.. 11:625. 1892. 2. III. Hort. Soc. Rpi., 1893:89. 3. N. Y. Sta. An. 

 Rpt., 12:620. 1893. 4. Bush. Cat., 1894:1,35. 5. ^V. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 17:531, 548, 555. 1898. 



Hercules is characterized by its e.xtremely large berries, the size being 

 as great, if not greater, than that of any of our native grapes, and approach- 

 ing that of the largest Old World grapes. The fruit is handsomely colored 

 and the cluster, when at its best, is large and well-formed with a striking 

 resemblance to Black Hamburg. The flavor, while not of the best, is good. 

 But large size, handsome appearance, and good flavor cannot make up for 

 the several defects of the variety. The fruit drops and cracks badly and the 

 pulp is too tough and adheres too firmly to the seed for a dessert grape. 

 These faults are so marked as to make Hercules almost worthless except 

 for breeding purposes. Added to the desirable characters of the fruit 

 given above, the vines are hardy, vigorous and productive so that this 

 variety offers an unusual array of valuable qualities for the grape-breeder. 



At one time it was claimed that Hercules was a seedling of a California 

 grape but later it was said to have come from seed of one of Rogers' hybrids. 

 This opinion was based solely upon the characters of the plant, as the 

 originator, the late G. A. Ensenberger of Bloomington, Illinois, gave no 

 satisfactory account of the parentage of the grape. Hercules was exhibited 

 at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago, where, on account of its large size 

 and showy appearance, it attracted mitch attention. It is unfortunate 

 that the parentage of this grape is not known as it is likely to be used not a 

 little in the grape-breeding of the future in producing large-fruited varieties. 



