THE 



Canadian Horticulturist 



Volume XXVI 



AUGUST, 1903 



LINDLEY 



Number 8 



A FEW years ago the Lindley, or 

 Roger's No. 9, was a favorite red 

 grape with vineyar-libts, and it was 

 planted quite freely in commercial vineyards. 

 It was also a favorite for the dessert table, 

 for its quality is excellent and its pretty and 

 peculiar red color shows up its bunches fine- 

 ly in the dessert dish, along with Niagara 

 and Concord, making a display of our emble- 

 matic colors, the red, white and blue. 



In some instances vineyards of Lindley 

 have yielded splendid crops, amounting in 

 one case to an average of about thirty 

 pounds to the vine ; but it was not long be- 

 fore the variety began to fail in productive- 

 ness and become unprofitable. Perhaps this 

 failure was due to the thrip, which is very 

 troublesome on vines of the Lindley, for they 

 weaken them by sucking the sap from the 

 leaves. Anyway, whatever may be the rea- 

 son, we find that of late years our Lindleys 

 never give a good yield of fruit, and it is 

 very difficult to select out bunches that are 

 really perfect. We cannot, therefore, re- 

 commend the Lindley as a market variety, 

 and, since it is scarcely the equal of the Dela- 

 ware in quality, it cannot displace that excel- 

 lent little grape for the dessert table. 



Perhaps if we could succeed in destroying 

 the thrip this grape might recover the place 



it held when President Wilder, of the cele- 

 brated Massachusetts Horticultural Societ}', 

 denominated it and Jefferson " the Muscats 

 of America," and when in the Bushberg 

 catalogue it was recommended as a " fine ta- 

 ble grape, one of the best of the red hy- 

 brids." 



It was on the encouragement given by 

 such favorable statements that about ten 

 years ago we planted a vineyard of Lindleys 

 at Maplehurst, but every year they have bean 

 growing less satisfactory, until now we ex- 

 pect soon to be obliged to root them out, for 

 they are only a breeding place of thrips, 

 which swarm over to the other varieties. 



Lindley is an excellent keeping grape, 

 holding its rich flavor in ordinary storage, 

 well on into the winter, and in a dry atmos- 

 phere it turns almost to a raisin. 



There is a grape called Mary in our col- 

 lection which very closely resembles Lind- 

 ley, so closely indeed that experts are puz- 

 zled to decide whether it is really distinct or 

 not. We notice, however, that it is a better 

 grower, that the bunches are more compact, 

 and, if anything, brighter in color. Per- 

 haps it may prove better able to resist the 

 vexatious thrip than the Lindley, and, if so, 

 it will establish its distinct identity. 



