260 



VERBAL 



WINCHELL 



grape. The quality of the fruit is very good, 

 being much like that of Catawba; under 

 favorable conditions the grapes are an attrac- 

 tive green with a red tinge. The fruit keeps 

 well when the variety is grown under condi- 

 tions suited to it. Ulster originated with A. J. 

 Caywood, Marlboro, New York, and was in- 

 troduced by him about 1885. 



Vine hardy, productive, overbears. Canes short, 

 slender, dark brown, surface roughened and covered with 

 faint pubescence ; nodes enlarged and flattened ; inter- 

 nodes short ; tendrils intermittent, bifid, dehisce early. 

 Leaves small, thick ; leaf usually not lobed with termi- 

 nus acute ; petiolar sinus medium to wide ; basal sinus 

 absent ; lateral sinus a notch when present ; teeth 

 shallow, wide. Flowers self-fertile, early ; stamens 

 upright. Fruit late midseason. Clusters long, cylindri- 

 cal, often single-shouldered, compact ; pedicel slender, 

 with numerous warts ; brush short, yellowish-green. 

 Berries medium in size, round, dark dull red with thin 

 bloom, persistent ; skin thick, tough, adherent, astrin- 

 gent ; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, tender, fine- 

 grained, faintly aromatic, slightly foxy ; good to very 

 good. Seeds free, 1-6, medium in size, plump, >rown. 



VERBAL. V. vinifera. Aspiran Blanc. 

 Verdal is one of the standard late grapes of 

 the Pacific slope, its crop ripening about the 

 latest. The grapes are seen but seldom in 

 distant markets, and their quality is not quite 

 good enough to make the variety a very great 

 favorite for home plantations. Vigor and 

 hardiness of vines commend Verdal, as do the 

 large and handsome fruits, and these qualities, 

 with late ripening, will probably long keep 

 it on grape lists in the far West. The descrip- 

 tion is compiled. 



Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, and productive ; canes 

 rather slender, half erect. Leaves of medium size, 

 glabrous on both surfaces, except below near the axis of 

 the main nerve ; sinuses well marked and generally 

 closed, giving the leaf the appearance of having 5 holes ; 

 teeth long, unequal, acuminate. Bunches large to very 

 large, irregular, long-conical, usually compact ; shoul- 

 ders small or lacking. Berries large or very large, 

 .yellowish-green ; skin thick but tender ; flesh crisp, firm ; 

 flavor agreeable but not rich ; quality good. Season 

 very late, keeping and shipping well. 



VERGENNES. Fig. 

 234. V. Labrusca. The 

 most valuable attribute 

 of Vergennes is cer- 

 tainty in bearing. The 

 vine seldom fails to 

 bear, although it often 

 overbears, and this 

 habit causes variability 

 in size of fruits and 

 time of ripening. With 

 a moderate crop, the 

 grapes ripen with Con- 

 cord, but with a heavy 

 load from one to two 

 weeks later. Vergennes 

 is unpopular with vine- 

 yardists because of the 

 sprawling habit of the 

 vines, which makes 



them untractable for vineyard operations; this 

 fault is obviated by grafting on other vines. 

 The grapes are attractive, the quality is good, 

 flavor agreeable, flesh tender, and seeds and 



234. Vergennes. 

 (XH) 



skin are not objectionable. Vergennes is 

 the standard late-keeping grape for northern 

 regions, and is common in the markets as late 

 as January. The original vine was a chance 

 seedling in the garden of William E. Greene, 

 Vergennes, Vermont, in 1874. 



Vine variable in vigor, doubtfully hardy, productive, 

 healthy. Canes long, dark brown ; nodes enlarged, 

 strongly flattened ; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or 

 trifid. Leaves large, thin ; leaf usually not lobed with 

 terminus broadly acute ; petiolar sinus wide ; teeth 

 shallow. Flowers semi-sterile, midseason ; stamens up- 

 right. Fruit late, keeps and ships well. Clusters of 

 medium size, broad, cylindrical, sometimes single- 

 shouldered, loose ; pedicel with numerous small warts ; 

 brush slender, short, pale green. Berries large, oval, 

 light and dark red with thin bloom, persistent ; skin 

 thick, tough, adherent, astringent, flesh pale green, 

 juicy, fine-grained, somewhat stringy, tender, vinous ; 

 good to very good. Seeds free, 1-5, blunt, brown. 



WILDER. V. Labrusca X V. vinifera. The 

 fruit of Wilder is surpassed in quality and 

 appearance by that of others of Rogers' hybrids, 

 but the vine is more reliable than in any other 

 of these hybrid sorts, being vigorous, hardy, 

 productive, and, though somewhat susceptible 

 to mildew, as healthy as any. Wilder is not so 

 well known in the markets as it should be, 

 and, now that fungal diseases can be con- 

 trolled by spraying, should be more commonly 

 planted in commercial vineyards, especially 

 for local markets. Wilder is one of the forty- 

 five Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids raised by E. S. 

 Rogers, Salem, Massachusetts, and was de- 

 scribed first in 1858. 



Vine vigorous, hardy, productive, susceptible to 

 mildew. Canes long, numerous, reddish-brown, darker 

 at the nodes ; internodes long ; usually not lobed with 

 terminus acute ; petiolar sinus deep, narrow, often closed 

 and overlapping ; basal sinus lacking ; lateral sinus 

 shallow, narrow, or a mere notch when present. Flow- 

 ers self -sterile, midseason ; stamens reflexed. Fruit 

 early midseason, keeps and ships well. Clusters variable 

 in size, short, broad, tapering, heavily single-shouldered, 

 loose ; pedicel long, thick, with numerous warts ; brush 

 thick, green with tinge of red. Berries large, oval, 

 purplish-black with heavy bloom, persistent, firm ; skin 

 thick, adherent to pulp, with bright red pigment, 

 astringent ; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tender ; good. 

 Seeds adherent, 1-5, long, light brown. 



WINCHELL. 



Fig. 235. V. La- 

 brusca. Green 

 Mountain. The 

 vines of Winchell 

 are vigorous, hardy, 

 healthy, produc- 

 tive, and the fruit 

 is early, of high 

 quality, and ships 

 well altogether a 

 most admirable 

 early grape. There 

 are some minor 

 faults. The berries, 

 and under some 

 conditions the 

 bunches, are small, 235. Winchell. (X%) 

 and the bunch is 



loose, with a large shoulder. Sometimes this 

 looseness becomes so pronounced as to give a 



