NATIVE FRUITS. 39 



merits are beginning to appear. The Lady Washington seems to be the 

 most promising of all tested thus far. It is remarkably vigorous, has fine 

 foliage, and the quality of the fruit is good. The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder 

 mentions a graft which made seventy-five feet of wood last year. Mr. Chas. 

 A. Green, of Clifton, N. Y., says : " It succeeds admirably with me thus 

 far. Vine vigorous and healthy ; fruit exceedingly handsome, and few com- 

 plaints will be made of its quality. The pink blush over the clusters is an 

 attractive feature." We regret to have to say that Mr. Rickett's Secretary 

 has turned out to be a great failure. The fruit is small, of medium quality, 

 not so good as Clinton ; the vine is a miserable grower, and the foliage 

 poor. In this connection Mr. E. Williams, of Montclair, N. J., says: "Of 

 the new varieties now being offered, I have strong hopes that the Jefferson 

 will attain a prominent position. I have had several opportunities of test- 

 ing Mr. Rickett's seedling at exhibitions, for two years past, and basing my 

 opinion on this alone, I regard the Jefferson as the best in quality of any 

 he has yet sent out, and its parentage leads me to hope it has sufficient 

 vigor to succeed generally. Of Moore's Early Mr. Williams says : " It 

 bids fair to supercede the Concord as an early grape." I am glad to hear 

 so good an account of it from New Jersey. I hardly think it will displace 

 the Concord, at least in Western New York. In quality it is little if and 

 better than Concord, and the bunch and berry do not seem to be very 

 much larger. In New England, where great importance is attached to 

 earliness, it has, perhaps, a particular value. 



The Niagara, Prentiss, Duchess and Pocklington are all promising 

 White Grapes, and as they are being grown extensively in this vicinity, we 

 shall take a special interest in them. They possess important qualifications 

 which have long beed sought in white grapes, such as vigor, hardiness and 

 productiveness. With five fine varieties like the above and more to come 

 soon, grape growers will surely be able to satisfy a long felt want. 



It will be an interesting experiment to test these varieties side by side, in 

 order to determine which is the best. 



The Centennial is a new grape raised by Mr. D. S. Marvin, Watertown, 

 \. Y., and is claimed to be a seedling of the Eumelan grafted upon an 

 lona root. Mr. Marvin believes that grafting is an important factor in 

 improving our native grapes. The plant which we have in our garden 

 produced a small, compact cluster of white berries, slightly flushed with 

 pink. We are not yet prepared to pass judgment upon this variety as the 

 plant has not had a fair chance Being a product of the Eumelan and 

 lona, we may look for something good from it, and we shall watch it 

 closely. 



The Vergennes Grape, a sample of which was exhibited at the last 

 Annual Meeting of this Society, was described at length in the Rural New 

 Yorker of May ist, 1880, and its qualities were summed up by Gen. W. II. 

 Noble, in the following language : 



" For hardiness, vigor of growth, large bounteous fruitage, a luscious 

 fruit of the richest of tint of blended pink and purple bloom, for its yield 

 of wine with the most delicate aroma, for its early maturity of wood and 

 fruit, for its long keeping quality, lasting in excellence beside the apple on 

 our table. I think this the equal of any American grape yet grown. I 

 say this with great tenderness towards all its native rivals." 



The "Amber Queen " is claimed by the originator, Mr. N. B. White, 

 Norwood, Mass., to be the richest and best flavored grape that has ever 



