GBAPE VAEIETIES 333 



attention early in the last century. After 

 more than a hundred years it is still the lead- 

 ing variety of its color and is planted exten- 

 sively for both home and market use. The 

 place of its origin and its parentage will never 

 be known but from the character of both fruit 

 and vines we can well suspect that it has 

 in it some strain of European blood introduced 

 by way of those first vineyards of the early 

 colonies. On account of this supposed admix- 

 ture of foreign blood the variety is rather more 

 susceptible to insects and disease than it should 

 be to reach the greatest usefulness as a com- 

 mercial sort. It ripens its fruit rather late 

 and if properly stored will keep well into the 

 winter. It was formerly much used as a wine 

 grape and the product was said to be of fine 

 quality. On this point I can not speak at first- 

 hand but am willing to take Longfellow's word 

 for it when he wrote : 



"Very good in its way is the Verzenay 

 Or the Sillery, soft and creamy, 

 But Catawba wine has a taste more divine, 

 More dulcet, delicious and dreamy." 



Columbian Imperial 



If an amateur grape-grower desires to pro- 

 duce a few bunches of fruit that will be notable 

 for the large size of the berries I would sug- 

 gest that he plant a vine (one vine) of the 



