66 AMERICAi^ GRAPE GROWING 



surpass it in quality, if not in productiveness and hardi- 

 ness, for the latter would be impossible. Guided by the 

 idea that the Taylor need only be improved in size and 

 productiveness, as its wine was good enough, he sowed 

 the seed of the best Taylor grapes he could find, and 

 now, after nine years of trial with the Elvira, in which it 

 has never missed an abundant crop, and after careful 

 tests of the wine, I do not hesitate to call it the most 

 useful, and in that sense, the best white grape we have, 

 and were I restricted to one variety only, would unhesi- 

 tatingly choose this. As it is not near as vs'ell known as 

 it deserves to be, I will give a full description of it, and I 

 think I can do the grape-growers of our country no greater 

 service, than in prevailing upon them all to try it. 



Elvira. — Originated with 3Ir. Jacob Rommel, of 

 Morrison, Mo., from seed of the Taylor, and fruited first 

 in 1869, but has since improved every year in size of 

 bunch and berry, until, from a very small berry, with 

 small but compact bunch, it has now become as large as 

 Catawba in berry, and almost as large in bunch. Every 

 one should plant it for the following seven reasons : 



1. Its extreme hardiness. It has withstood the ex- 

 tremely cold winters of 1872-'73 and 18r4-'75, without 

 the slightest injury ; when even the Concord suffered 

 more or less everywhere throughout the State, the Elvira 

 produced a full crop. 



2. Its freedom from disease. It has proved singularly 

 healthy and produced full crops for ten years in succes- 

 sion ; when nearly all varieties rotted badly (except Ives, 

 Norton's, Cynthiana, and some other seedlings of Mr. 

 Eommel, of whom I shall speak hereafter), the Elvira 

 produced a full crop, averaging, in Mr. Eommel's vine- 

 yard, from 20 to 25 lbs. to the vine. 



3. Its immense productiveness. All the fruit-bearing 

 branches produce from four to six bunches, and a piece 



