320 THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



peduncle short, slender; pedicel medium to short, slender, covered with a few, small, 

 inconspicuous warts, enlarged at point of attachment to fruit; brush rather long, slender, 

 pale yellowish-green. Berries medium in size, oval to nearly roundish, light and dark 

 red, glossy, covered with a moderate amount of lilac bloom, persistent, very firm. Skin 

 somewhat thick, tough, nearly free from pulp, contains no pigment, slightly astringent. 

 Flesh light yellowish-green, translucent, very juicy, coarse-grained, tender, vinous, 

 sweet at skin to agreeably tart at center, good to best in quality. Seeds separate easily 

 from the pulp, one to four, average three, intermediate in size, broad, medium to short, 

 blunt, usually plump, brownish; raphe obscure; chalaza of medium size, slightly above 

 center, circular to pear-shaped, distinct. 



JESSICA. 



(Labrusca, Vinifera.) 



I. Gar. Mon., 24:339. 1882. 2. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 29:19. 1884. 3. Can. Cen. Exp. 

 Farms Rpt. 1891:135. 4. Col. Sta. Bid., 29:22. 1894. 5. Busk. Cat., 1894:144. 6. A''. Y. Sta. 

 An. Rpt., 17:531. 548, 552. 1898. 7. Mich. Sta. BiiL, 169:171. 1899. 8. Ont. Fr. Exp. Stas. Rpt., 

 8:10, fig., 48. 1901. 9. Can. Hort., 24:447. igoi. fig. 



Jessica is an early, hardy green grape from Canada. In flavor it is 

 very good for so earl}' a variety, being sweet, rich yet sprightly and almost 

 free from foxiness. But the fruit lacks in attractiveness and keeping 

 quality, and shells badly when overripe. The clusters and berries are 

 small, and the color is too green and the cluster too loose for a good grape. 

 Jessica may be commended for earliness and hardiness and is therefore 

 desirable, if at all, in northern regions. 



William H. Read of Port Dalhousie, Ontario, grew Jessica from seed 

 planted some time between 1870 and 1880. It was introduced in 1884 

 by D. W. Beadle of St. Catharines, Ontario. Jessica has been quite 

 thoroughly tested in different parts of the United States but has never 

 become popular and is to be found only in varietal vineyards. The parent- 

 age of the variety is unknown but it is generally considered to be of mixed 

 Labrusca and Vinifera blood, the tendrils, foliage, fruit characters and 

 the weaknesses of the grape all showing a Vinifera hybrid. 



Vine medium in vigor, usually healthy, hardy, variable in productiveness. Canes 

 medium to long, numerous, thickish, moderately dark brown with red tinge changing 

 to ash-gray on some canes; tendrils continuous to intennittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves 

 small to medium, intermediate in thickness; upper surface medium to dark green, glossy, 

 often somewhat rugose ; lower surface pale green, very pubescent ; veins indistinct. 

 Flowers nearly fertile, open in mid-season; stamens upright. 



