THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 80 



J. J. Thomas' description of this grape is very beautiful, and we 

 take pleasure in copying it verhatim as follows: "Bunches nearly 

 cylinilric, compact, heavy, often shouldered ; berries medium, oval ; 

 color, light green in the shade, golden in the sun, with a light bloom, 

 somewhat translucent ; flesh juicy, sweet, delicious. Ripens eight or 

 ten days before Isabella, and keeps a long time. Healthy, not disposed 

 to mildew. When fully ripe, one of the finest flavored of all grapes. 

 Moderate grower, foliage tender. Hudson, N". Y." P. Barry says in 

 addition, " When well ripened it is not surpassed by any of the native 

 grapes." This is high praise, and is abundantly corroborated by our 

 own experience with it here. We do not exactly know, however, 

 what Mr. Thomas means by saying in his lucid description, "foliage 

 tender," as we have not by any means found it so, but just the reverse; 

 nor do we fully agree with his statement of tlie time of ripening, viz : 

 " eight or ten days before Isabella," as with us it matured much be- 

 fore that variety, and is ready for the market with Delaware. Last 

 season, when our vineyards were sp badly cut back by the May frosts, 

 so that our vines bore only a very light crop, and some not any at all, 

 the vines of Eebecca were most profusely loaded, and the bunches 

 were most remarkably firm and well formed. Some varieties too with 

 us suffered much from mildew, but not a speck of mildew on Rebecca 

 leaves or fruit. The charge that it is a slow grower is not well sus- 

 tained, and applies only to it while young, and under the tender care 

 of the nurseryman. For the first two or three years of its life it is 

 rather slow, and makes only small wood as compared with Concord or 

 Hartford, but after it gets well established in the soil, and the soil is 

 generous and suitable, it is a strong and rampant grower. 



I am happy to endorse the following quotation taken from the 

 pages of the Counttn/ Gentleman, Albany, N. Y., as being very timely 

 just here: It says, "I notice that in many of the fruit catalogues 

 issued by our most prominent nurserymen, the Rebecca grape is 

 mentioned as a variety of merit, and worthy of a place in the garden 

 of the amateur, but too tender for vineyard culture. This seems to 

 me to do great injustice to this grape, which, combining beauty with 

 excellence, takes the lead in New York market, commanding a higher 

 price than any other variety grown out of doors. I was told a few 

 M'^eeks since by an up-town fancy fruit dealer, that he does not attempt 

 to deal in this variety, because they are so expensive that few people 



