392 THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



there were other numbers as well deserving of names as those which were 

 so distinguished. And it must be admitted that the vines of this collection 

 are remarkably equal in their possession of good and bad characters. About 

 1870, Bush of Bushberg, Missouri, received three sorts as Rogers' No. jg. 

 One of these which was particularly promising, he, with Rogers' consent, 

 named Aminia. None of the others has ever been named, although 

 several of them are still cultivated to a minor extent. The na^ned varieties, 

 with the corresponding numbers, are as follows: i. Goethe. 3. Massasoit. 

 4. Wilder. 9. Lindley. 14- Gaertner. 15. Agawam. 19. Merrimac. 

 28. Requa. 39. Aminia. 41. Essex. 43. Barry. 44. Herbert. 53 or 22. 

 Salem (but not the Salem now known). 



For some years, many grape-growers believed that these hybrids were 

 nothing more than seedlings of the wild Labrusca mother but it was soon 

 generally accepted that they were genuine hybrids. To those who are 

 familiar with Rogers' work, this was evident from the first, as the Carter or 

 Mammoth Globe is a self-sterile sort, and the sacks enclosing the blossoms 

 would prevent the introduction of other pollen than that intentionally 

 placed on the stigmas by Rogers himself. A. D. Rogers, a brother of E. S. 

 Rogers, in a communication to the Horticulturist, in 1858, says that " many 

 of these seedlings had upright stamens," but of the ones which were later 

 named, Agawam alone is thus characterized. This is important in con- 

 sidering the value of these varieties, as no variety has ever become popular 

 as a market sort which is self-sterile. 



Rogers' Hybrids are unique in that the standard of excellence was so 

 liigh in all of the forty-five seedlings produced. Some have credited this 

 to the manner in which he did his work and in particular to the excess of 

 pollen applied to the stigmas; others consider it more likely due to his 

 choice of parent vines. Unfortunately the evidence bearing on this point 

 is not sufficient to form definite conclusions. 



After the production of the seedlings mentioned above Rogers 

 continued the work, recrossing the varieties already produced with vari- 

 ous Vinifera varieties. None of these ever showed sufficient promise to be 

 introduced. 



