256 



NORTHERN MUSCADINE 



PERKINS 



are smaller, the berries are more foxy in taste, 

 and the skins are more tender and crack more 

 readily than those of Noah. The large, dark, 

 glossy green leaves make the vines of this 

 variety very handsome. Like Elvira and other 

 varieties of this group, Noah is of little value 

 in the North. It originated with Otto Was- 

 serzieher, Nauvoo, Illinois, from seed of 

 Taylor planted in 1869. 



Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, productive. Canes 

 long, thick, dark brown, surface roughened ; nodes en- 

 larged, flattened ; tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. 

 Leaves large ; leaf usually not lobed with terminus 

 acuminate ; petiolar sinus deep, wide ; basal sinus lack- 

 ing ; lateral sinus shallow when present ; teeth shallow, 

 wide. Flowers semi-fertile, open early ; stamens up- 

 right. Fruit late midseaspn, does not ship nor keep 

 well. Clusters variable in size, cylindrical, single- 

 shouldered, compact ; pedicel short with a few small 

 warts ; brush short, brown. Berries small, round, light 

 green tinged with yellow, dull with thin bloom, firm ; 

 skin adherent to pulp ; flesh yellowish-green, translucent, 

 juicy, tough, fine-grained, vinous, sprightly ; good. 

 Seeds adherent, 1-4, dark brown. 



NORTHERN MUSCADINE. V. La- 



brusca. The fact that this variety, together 

 with Lucile, Lutie, and other grapes with the 

 foxy taste strongly marked, has not become 

 popular, in spite of good vine-characters, is 

 evidence that the American public do not de- 

 sire such grapes. In appearance of fruit, 

 Northern Muscadine is much like Lutie, and 

 the two are distinguished from other grapes 

 by an unmistakable odor. A serious defect 

 of the fruit is that the berries shatter badly 

 as soon as they reach maturity. Taken as a 

 whole, the vine characters of this variety are 

 very good and offer possibilities for the grape- 

 breeder. The variety originated at New 

 Lebanon, New York, about 1852. 



Vine vigorous, productive, healthy, hardy. Canes 

 slender, dark brown, heavily pubescent ; tendrils con- 

 tinuous, bifid, dehisce early. Leaves large, round, thick. 

 Flowers self-fertile, open in midseason ; stamens up- 

 right. Fruit early midseason, does not keep well. 

 Clusters medium in size, short, occasionally single- 

 shouldered, compact. Berries large, oval, dark amber 

 with thin bloom, drop badly from the pedicels ; skin 

 tough, adherent, astringent ; flesh pale green, juicy, 

 fine-grained, tender, soft, very foxy, sweet ; poor in 

 quality. Seeds free, numerous, large, broad, faintly 

 notched, long, brown. 



NORTON. 7. cestivalis X V. Labrusca. 

 Norton is one of the leading wine-grapes in 

 eastern America, but the fruit has small value 

 for any other purpose than wine or grape- 

 juice. The vine is hardy but requires a long, 

 warm season to reach maturity, so that it is 

 seldom grown successfully north of the Po- 

 tomac. Norton thrives in rich alluvial clays, 

 gravels, or sands; the only requisite seems to 

 be a fair amount of fertility and soil warmth. 

 The vines are robust; very productive, espe- 

 cially on fertile soils; as free, or more so, 

 from fungal diseases as any other of our native 

 grapes; and very resistant to phylloxera. The 

 bunches are of but medium size and the berries 

 are small. The grapes are pleasant eating 

 when ripe rich, spicy, and pure-flavored but 

 tart if not quite ripe. The variety is difficult 

 to propagate from cuttings and to transplant, 

 and the vines do not bear grafts well. The 



origin of Norton is uncertain, but it has been 

 under cultivation since before 1830, when it 

 was first described. 



Vine very vigorous, healthy, half-hardy, productive. 

 Canes long, thick, dark brown, with abundant bloom ; 

 nodes much enlarged ; internodes long ; tendrils inter- 

 mittent, occasionally continuous, long, bifid, sometimes 

 trifid. Leaves large, irregularly round ; leaf usually not 

 lobed with terminus acute ; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, 

 sometimes closed and overlapping ; basal sinus usually 

 absent ; lateral sinus shallow or a mere notch when 

 present. Flowers self-fertile, late ; stamens upright. 

 Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters medium in size, short, 

 broad, tapering, single-shouldered, compact ; pedicel 

 slender with a few warts ; brush dull, wine-colored. 

 Berries small, round-oblate, black, glossy with heavy 

 bloom, persistent, soft ; skin thin, free with much dark 

 red pigment ; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender, 

 spicy, tart. Seeds free, 2-6, small, brown. 



OZARK. V. cestivalis X V. Labrusca. 

 Ozark belongs to the South and to Missouri 

 in particular. Its merits and demerits have 

 been threshed out by the Missouri grape- 

 growers with the result that its culture is 

 somewhat increasing. The grapes are of low 

 quality, partly, perhaps, from overbearing, 

 which the variety habitually does unless the 

 fruit is thinned. The vine is healthy and a 

 very strong grower, but is self-sterile, a qual- 

 ity which is against it as a market sort. In 

 spite of self-sterility and low quality, Ozark is 

 a promising variety for the country south of 

 Pennsylvania. Ozark originated with J. Stay- 

 man. Leavenworth, Kansas, about 1890. 



Vine very vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, 

 thick, with thin bloom, surface roughened ; nodes en- 

 larged, flattened ; internodes long ; tendrils intermittent, 

 usually bifid. Leaves dense, large ; cobwebby ; lobes 

 3-5 ; petiolar sinus deep, narrow ; serrations shallow, 

 narrow. Flowers self-sterile or nearly so, open late; 

 stamens reflexed. Fruit late, keeps well. Clusters large, 

 long, usually with a long, loose shoulder, very compact ; 

 pedicel short, thick, smooth ; brush long, red. Berries 

 variable in size, dull black with abundant bloom, per- 

 sistent ; skin tough with much wine-colored pigment ; 

 flesh tender, mild ; fair in quality. Seeds free, small. 



PALOMINO. V. vinifera. Golden Chasse- 

 las. Listan. This variety seems to be grown 

 in California under the three names given, 

 while in France, Palomino is described as a 

 bluish-black grape. Palomino seems to be 

 grown commonly in California as a table-grape, 

 and is worth trying in eastern America. The 

 variety as received from California at the New 

 York Experiment Station has the following 

 characters, agreeing with those set down by 

 Calif ornian viticulturists : 



Fruit ripens about the 20th of October, keeping quali- 

 ties good ; clusters medium to large, long, single- 

 shouldered, tapering, loose ; berries medium to small, 

 roundish, pale greenish-yellow, thin bloom ; skin and 

 the adhering flesh medium tender and crisp, flesh sur- 

 rounding seeds melting ; flavor sweet, vinous ; quality 

 good. 



PERKINS. V. Labrusca. At one time 

 Perkins was grown largely as an early grape, 

 but it has been discarded very generally on 

 account of the poor quality of the fruit. The 

 pulp of the grape is hard, and the flavor is 

 that of Wyoming and Northern Muscadine, 

 grapes characterized by disagreeable foxiness. 

 As with nearly all Labruscas, the fruits of 

 Perkins do not keep well. Notwithstanding 



