146 GRAPE CUI/flTUE AND 



Bunch long, shouldered, compact; berry round, pale violet 

 red, and has the peculiarity of acquiring a violet tinge when 

 only half grown, sweet and juicy. Makes a very agreeable 

 wine, and ripens at same time with the foregoing. 



Victoria Chasselas. Queen Victoria. This is in my opin- 

 ion the most valuable of the Chasselas family, as it really 

 makes a fine wine, is easy of culture, and a great bearer. 

 Vine vigorous, very short jointed and brittle, wood grayish 

 yellow, thick and strong. Leaf bright green, deeply lobed 

 and shining, young shoots with numerous laterals. Bunch 

 very large and heavy, often weighing five pounds, shoul- 

 dered, very compact, stem brown, very thick. Berry 

 medium, round, pale lilac purple, with lilac bloom, juicy, 

 vinous, and refreshing. This is a fine grape, easy of cul- 

 ture, as it will bear well with short pruning, easily picked, 

 and deserves more attention than it has received so far. 



White Elben. Synonym Elbling, Kleinberger, Kleinbeeriger, 

 This variety is cultivated considerably in Sonoma Valley, 

 where it bears fairly well, often very abundantly and is 

 prized for the lively wine it makes, which though not of high 

 character, has a very agreeable lively acid and pleasant bou- 

 quet. I would also think it a fine wine for blending with Tra- 

 miner, Chauche Gris or Marsanne, as it will serve to relieve 

 the abundance of their flavor, and lack of tartaric acid. Vine 

 a strong grower, wood brown, with black spots. Leaf large, 

 rough, heart shaped, seldom lobed, dark green above, light 

 green and woolly below, leaf stem short and thick, hairy, red- 

 dish, young points of branches reddish green. Bunch large,, 

 shouldered; berry rather large, round, but the vine has the 

 peculiarity, unless the blooming season is very favorable, to 

 set imperfectly, and thus a great many small berries are scat- 

 tered among the large ones, which are very sweet and fine, 

 but only one fourth common size. This has given the grape 

 the name " Kleinbseriger," by which it is known in many 



