GRAPE VINESVARIETIES. 



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strong, freely set. Berries roundish oval, with 

 short, stout, waited footstalks ; skin amber coloured, 

 thick, membranous, tough ; flesh firm, very juicy, 

 vinous, sugary, rich, with a sprightly Muscat 

 flavour ; leaves medium sized, stout, deeply serrated 

 and lobed ; vine very robust and fruitful. A late 

 grape of high quality, requiring a long time and 

 strong heat to ripen perfectly. 



MUSCAT OP ALEXANDRIA (White) (Archerfield, Early 

 Muscat, Bowood Muscat, Charlesworth Tokay, 

 Muscat Escholata, Ryton Muscat, Tottenham Park 

 Muscat, and Tyninghame Muscat). Bunches large, 

 12 to 18 inches long, loose, shouldered, stalk long ; 

 berries large, oval, uneven, footstalks long and 



warted ; skin rather thick, greenish yellow, becom- 

 ing a clear golden amber when thoroughly finished, 

 covered with a thin white bloom ; flesh firm, 

 crackling, very sweet, exceedingly rich, with a high 

 Muscat flavour ; leaves medium sized, slightly 

 wrinkled, deeply lobed and serrated, dying off pale 

 yellow mottled with brown ; vine robust, and free 

 bearing. This is the richest grape grown, equally 

 valued for home use and market, and requires a 

 high temperature to bring it to perfection. Ita 

 great defect is bad setting, but that is overcome by 

 careful culture and artificial fertilisation. No grape 

 is so affected by climate, soil and cultivation as 

 this ; hence its many synonyms. 



IV. SWEETWATER GRAPES. 



These are characterised by sugary sweetness, pleasant juice, tender flesh, and thin skin. They consist mainly of 

 early or mid-season black and white varieties, and are esteemed by everyone; their culture is easy, and they ripen freely. 



BLACK HAMBURGH (Frankenthal, Garston Black Ham- 

 burgh, Hampton Court, Knevett's Black Hamburgh, 

 Pope's Hamburgh, Red Hamburgh, Richmond 

 Villa, Victoria Hamburgh, Warner's Hamburgh). 

 Bunches large, broadly shouldered, conical, compact, 

 sometimes loose, well set ; berries large, roundish 

 oval ; skin thin, membranous, deep blue-black, 

 covered with a blue bloom ; flesh rather firm, tender, 

 very juicy, sugary, rich, and pleasantly flavoured ; 

 leaves medium sized to large, dying off yellow ; 

 vine vigorous, free, of moderately strong habit, and a 

 free bearer. " The Black Hamburgh was imported 

 from Hamburgh by John Warner, a London mer- 

 chant, who lived at Rotherhithe, and cultivated a 

 large garden, in which was a vineyard, in the early 

 part of last century. It is from this circumstance 

 that it takes its name of Hamburgh and Warner's 

 Hamburgh " (Dr. Hogg). It succeeds under every 

 form of vine culture, ripening against a wall, in 

 favourable situations, in the open air as far north 

 as York ; it perfects its fruit in a cool house, and 

 forces well. Taken all round, it is the best summer 

 and autumn grape in cultivation, especially for 

 forcing, and general crop ; but does not as a rule 

 keep well after November. 



BLACK JULY (July, Early Bkck July). Bunches rather 

 long, small, cylindrical ; berries small and round ; 

 skin rather thick, deep purple, covered with a blue 

 bloom ; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasantly 

 flavoured ; leaves small, some slightly, others rather 

 deeply, three-lobed; vine free in growth, and an 

 abundant bearer. It ripens well against a wall 

 in the open air, but its flowers are tender and 

 require protection. This is the earliest black 



grape, and very suitable for a sunny wall in the 

 open air. 



BLACK PRINCE (Boston, Cambridge Botanic Garden, 

 Pocock's Damascus). Bunches long, sometimes 18 

 inches or more, cylindrical, occasionally shouldered, 

 then regularly tapering, very handsome, stalk long ; 

 berries medium sized, oval, well set ; skin thick, 

 deep purplish black, covered with a thick blue 

 bloom ; flesh tender, juicy, sweet, with a sprightly 

 flavour ; leaves roundish, somewhat serrated, 

 medium sized, dying off purple ; vine vigorous and 

 free in growth, hardy, and a good bearer. Thia 

 variety colours well, and is superb in appearance. 

 It succeeds in a cool house and is good for planting 

 against sunny walls outdoors, ripening just before 

 the Black Hamburgh, but it does not hang long 

 without shrivelling. 



MILL HILL HAMBURGH (Black Champion, Champion 

 Hamburgh). Bunches medium sized to large, 

 shouldered, thickly set ; berries medium to very 

 large, bluntly oval or quite round, sometimes inclin- 

 ing to oblate, hammered ; skin thin, deep black, 

 with a thin blue bloom ; flesh solid, tender, melt- 

 ing, juicy, sweet, vinous, and richly flavoured ; 

 leaves large, deeply lobed, pale green, flaccid, and 

 sickly looking ; vine strong, inclined to grossness, 

 young wood soft and pithy, not ripening well nor 

 fruiting freely. Such are the characteristics of this 

 variety when grown in a border mainly outside, 

 and composed of rich materials. In an inside bor- 

 der, composed of somewhat gravelly and firm soil, we 

 have found the growth vigorous, the wood firm, and 

 crops abundant. When represented in the best con- 

 dition it is the noblest of black Sweet water grapes. 



