THE _ 



Horticulturist 



^ 

 ^ 







THE EARLY VICTOR GRAPE. 



B^3»F the one hundred and fifty varieties 

 of grapes in our collection, there is 

 no black grape which seems more 

 worthy of notice than the Early 

 Victor. After trying for years to satisfy 

 himself that it was right to hoax the buyer 

 with Champion, which has so nearly ruined 

 the market for early black grapes, it is a 

 real comfort to the fruit grower to find a 

 grape that is about as early in ripening, 

 and, at the same time, of really good quality. 



We notice that it colors very early, fully 

 two weeks ahead of Concord, and is fit to 

 gather about ten days before, along with 

 Hartford and Moore's Early. Watts, of the 

 Tennessee Experiment Station, says of it, 

 " A superior early black grape, valuable in 

 the home collection. Moore's Early is more 

 profitable for market." Campbell, of Ohio, 

 said of it, "I know of no black grape so 

 well fitted to take the place of all foxy 

 abominations (Champion, Ives, Hartford, 

 Janesville) which have been tolerated on ac- 

 count of their earliness. 



'* I am glad to recognize in this variety a 

 really good, very early black grape, with a 

 vine evidently of the healthiest and hardiest 

 type of the Labrusca class." 



The Early Victor was originated by John 

 Burr, of Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1870. 

 He was an advocate of natural fertilization, 

 believing that nature selected, under the en- 

 vironment, the pollen most congenial to per- 

 petuate its species. He planted iu his gar- 

 den Catawba, Bland, Isabella, Hartford, 

 Delaware, Concord, Salem and Goethe, and 

 permitted no others to grow near enough to 

 poUenise them. First he selected the Con- 

 cord, taking the seed from the finest bunches, 

 but after trying seedlings from it and from 

 Isabella, Hartford and others of the dis- 

 tinctly Labrusca type, he selected seeds from 

 the Delaware, and the very first sprout was 

 Early Victor. 



Mr. John Burr passed away in 1892, being 

 of the same age as the Century, after a life 

 of much unselfish devotion to the interests 

 of fruit growers. 



The following is our description of this 

 grape as it grows in Ontario. 



Origin : John Burr, Leavenworth, Kan- 

 sas, from seed of Delaware fertilized with a 

 vigorous grape of the Labrusca class. 



Vine : Very vigorous, \ ery productive and 

 healthy. 



