42 2 THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 



WHITE IMPERIAL. 



(Vinifera. Labrusca, Bourquiniana.) 



1. Mo. Hort. Soc. Rpt.. iSSs-S. 2. lb.. 1892:270. 3. Bush. Cat.. 1894:186. 4. Va. Sta. 

 Bid.. 94:142. 1898. 5. Mich. Sta. Bui.. 169:177. iSqq. 6. Ga. Sta. B:iL. 53:50. kjoi. 



White Imperial is one of Stavman's' numerous productions. The 

 originator thought it one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, 

 of his white grapes. As the variety grows in the Station vineyard the 

 fruit is neither especially attractive in ajipearance nor of very high quality 

 though better in the latter respect than the average. White Imj^erial is 

 one of a somewhat large number of offspring of Dutchess now known to 

 viticulture in wliich the good qualities of the parent have been transmitted 

 in a large measure to the i:)rogeny. White Beauty, described in the next 

 chapter, is of the same parentage and is similar in general characters of 

 vine and fruit, though berries and bunches are a little larger and the vines 

 a little more vigorous. White Imperial was introduced with great expec- 

 tations in the West, Ijut, especiall)- in the vineyards of Missouri, while 



'Dr. Joseph Stayman was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1S17. The family 

 ■was of German descent and had long been identified with the Mcnnonites of the region of his birth- 

 place. Stayman's father was a farmer and miller and during early life the son was engaged in 

 these occupations. In 1839 he accompanied his parents to Ohio, where he was engaged in the 

 milling business with his father for a time and later entered the lecture field and studied medicine. 

 In 1849 he married and established his home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, removing two years later to 

 Abingdon, Illinois. For several years he practiced medicine but in 1S5S purchased a nursery which 

 was the beginning of his connection with the fruit business. In i860 he removed to Leavenwortli. 

 Kansas, where he lived the remainder of his life, dying at his home in that city in 1903. 



Dr. Stayman was a man of great originality and had varied intere.sts. In plant-breeding he 

 worked with strawberries, apples, raspberries and grapes, producing among others the Clyde straw- 

 berry, the Stayman apple and a host of varieties of grapes. Of his named sorts of grapes there are: 

 Black Imperial, Cherokee, Concordia, Daisy, Darwin, Exquisite. Marsala, Mary Mark, Mrs. Stayman. 

 Osceola, Oscaloosa, Oswego, Ozark, Pawnee, Perfection, Prolific, Snowflake. White Beauty, White 

 Cloud and White Imperial. 



Stavman and John Burr were neighbors and friends, and held similar opinions as to the best 

 methods of procedure in originating new varieties. Neither believed in artificial pollination but 

 grew the several varieties from which crosses were desired in close proximity and then planted seed 

 from the best developed fruits. Their methods certainly gave them varieties with a high standard 

 of excellence. Stayman may be regarded as one of the leading viticulturists of the Great Plains 

 region. He was, too, one of the pioneers of America in breeding fruits. His many contributions to 

 our lists of fruits make his name memorable to fruit-growers and lovers of fine fruits. 



