DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 



The Diana, a seedling trom Catawba, is a great improvement upon 

 the original iu every respect. The vinies are much more hardy, and the 

 fruit ripens two weeks earlier, with purer, riolier, and even more spir- 

 ited flavor. Its bunches are large and compact; tlie berries are often 

 very large, but when suffered to overbear, tliey are often not quite so 

 large as those of Catawba. 



Tlie fruit begins to become transparent and to commence ripening 

 very early, and soon becomes pretty good, but with some degree of 

 offensive odor and flavor. As the ripening progresses these disappear, 

 and that wliich constituted the great thickness of the skins, by com- 

 plete elaboration in ripening, gives the peculiar spicy richness that 

 characterizes this variety, leaving the skins very thin ar.d the flavor 

 exceediiisly ricli, spirited, and pure. Tlie Diana bears very early, and 

 its first produce contains only promises of its mature excellence. It is 

 greatly disposed to over-production and to excessive vigor of growth 

 when young, and consequently requires removal of its excess of fruit 

 as soon as it has set, and a judicious course of training, which will en- 

 able it to give full exposure of all its leaves to the sun, that its wood 

 may be matured. When the vines have attained sufficient maturity 

 for bearing they readily take a very compact habit, by which they are 

 adapted for any good system of training, under which they do not fail 

 to ripen abundant crops constantly. Where its habit and wants are 

 not understood, and the canes are i)ermitted to crowd each other, nei- 

 tlier wood nor fruit can ripen satisfactorily. The proper treatment is 

 aliown in Illustrated Catalogue, and more fully in Landmarks. 



It is one of the indispensable varieties, from its assemblage of good 

 qu;ilities, ranking next to Delaware and lona in value, and in its pro- 

 per latitude may advantageously constitute a portion of every vine- 

 yard, eitlier as a grape for the table or for wine. When well managed 

 it« bunches and berries are large and beautiful, having a fine transparent 

 wine color, marked with white stars, and covered with a fine bloom. 

 Its excellence is becoming more apparent from the development of each 

 succeeding season. One noted cultivator has been so struck with as- 

 tonishment at its excellence that he has named it ''Eureka." For late 

 keeping it is one of the very best ; season of ripening more than a 

 week, or nearly two weeks before the Isabella, and quite as early as 

 Concord. The originating of this variety, by Mrs. Diana Creliore, of 

 Milton, Mass., marks one of the important events in the history of 

 American grape culture. 



The Anna is a white grape, produced in the garden of Mr. Eli 

 Hasbrouck, of Newburgh, Orange County, N. Y., and has sufficient re- 

 semblance to the Catawba, in habit, and appearance of wood and 

 foliage, and also in the character of the fruit, to leave no doubt as to 

 its parentage. 



The foliage, in addition to its strong Catawba character, has a pecu- 

 liar marking, or mottling of yellow, in the early part of the season, 

 that often leads careless observers to the belief that it is very liable to 

 attacks of mildew, whereas it is one of the most hardy to resist, and 

 these marks appear long before the season of mildew. 



The bunches are large, moderately compact, generally shouldered, 

 (branched,) ben-ies large and globular, with very little translucency 

 until the commencement of ripening, which is ten days before the Ca- 

 tawba begins to color. The fruit begins to be sweet as soon as it shows 

 any transparency, but requires a full season to acquire its best degree 

 of ripeness. One of the characteristics of the Catawba family is the 

 imperfection of the produce of very young vines, of which the Anna 

 fully partakes ; but as it acquires age the fruit ripens early, and so 

 perfectly, that very little toughness, and scarcely a vestige of acidity 

 at its center remains. In pure, rich, vinous, and invigorating flavor 

 it is not equaled by any hardy grapes, and scarcely surpassed by tlie 

 Muscat of Alexandria. 



The stalks are strong and woody ; the berries adhere firmly to the 

 bunch ; the flesh is somewhat meaty, drying readily to raisins, without 

 any disposition to decay, and it is one of the best for very late keeping. 

 The remarkable invigorating spirit of its extremely sugary vinous 

 juice renders it very acceptable to persons suffering from debility. 



Wilmington is a white grape, of spirited Catawba flavor, that ripens 

 rather late but becomes good to the center, and for latitude south of 

 New-York may become of some importance. 



Mammoth Catawba is a white seedling, raised by Mr. Mottier. It is 

 not equal to the parent in quality, being coarse and fibrous in texture 

 knd more foxy, Imt is of enormous size, as its name indicates. 



lo Kalon is another seedling from Catawba, of very distinct char- 



acter in foliage and fiuit. The leaves hare a rufTled appearance, 

 caused by the overlapping of their ahe, that is very common among 

 European kinds, but is scarcely found besides among our natives. 



In habit it is strong, compact, and healthy ; but tlie leaves some- 

 times fail, and the fruit often suffers badly from " rot." Tie bunches, 

 when perfect, are large, the berries are also large, globular, with a pe- 

 culiar dark purple color, and some degree of translucency. It is eae- 

 lier than Catawba, and when in best condition ripens quite to the 

 center, and retains no vestige of the fox. The flesh is buttery, rather 

 than floviing with juice, which is pure, sugary, and sufficiently vinous, 

 but little spicy, and not particularly refreshing. The disposition to 

 rot detracts greatly from its value. 



Kilvington is another Catawba seedling, so like its parent as not to 

 require a separate description. It is earlier and more tender in it* 

 structure, and it appears to be more pure in its flavor, but has not been 

 sufliciently tested to have its qualities precisely ascertained. 



Cassady is a white grape of doubtful parentage, but possesses much 

 of the Catawba vinous spirit, and deserves to rank among the good 

 kinds where the climate will ripen it, which is about the same as is re- 

 quired by the Catawba. 



Raabe is a seedling of Catawba, that has been long before the public, 

 but is yet but little disseminated. The bunches and berries are small, 

 but the quality is excellent, the grapes ripening quite to the center ; 

 of a uniform, flesh}', but tender consistence, sugary, vinous, and spicy, 

 pure, and very rich. Its foliage is strikingly like that of Catawba, and 

 the fruit, like it, often suffers from the " rot." 



There is a Mottled Catawba, raised by Mr. Carpenter, of Kelly's Is- 

 huid, which resembles the Catawba in all general characteristics ex- 

 cept that the ordinary Catawba color of the skin is mottled with lighter 

 colors, as its name implies. There are some others not yet fully before 

 the public, but not any of great promise. 



There are two white grapes of recent introduction, that do nDt 

 readily taU into any group, but may be briefly described separately 

 These are Cuyahoga and Maxatawney, the former of which originated 

 in the grounds of Mrs. Wemple, at CoUamore, not far from Cleve- 

 land, Ohio, and the latter near Philadelphia. It appears that the 

 grape which had been known for some years as Coleman's White is 

 Identical with the Cuyahoga ; and if so, injustice was done to purchas- 

 ers, for good plants of Coleman's White were to be obtained at mode- 

 rate prices, while large prices were asked for the most worthless plants 

 of the so-called Cuyahoga tliat were ever sent out. 



The Cuyahoga is a medium bunch, with large hemes, considerably 

 translucent, and with very little toughness or acidity at its center. It 

 is sugar}' and vinous, with a peculiar flavor that is often prized. 



It is very readily propagated, and grows finely, but the leaves do 

 not appear to be very hardy, and but very little is known with cer- 

 tainty as to its productiveness or time of ripening. It is claimed to be 

 earlier than Isabella. 



Maxatawney is spirited and vinous, but ripens too late for a latitude 

 north of Philadelphia, except in very warm situations. 



There is a remarkable group of Southern grapes, of which Herbemont 

 may be taken as the representative, which have none of the character- 

 istics of the American Fox grapes, either of the North or South. These 

 have thin skins adhering to the flesh, which is tender and good quite 

 to the center, and without pungency or offensive odor. All of them are 

 pure, rich, vinous, and excellent in flavor, and have a general resem- 

 blance to the Pineau family of Europe, from which it is by many sup- 

 posed they may have originated by seeds that were brought perhaps as 

 early as the time of Sir Walter Raleigh. This opinion has no better 

 foundation than conjecture, aided by the character of the fruit which 

 affiliates with none but the European kinds. 



The original " Herbemont's Madeira " is still growing near Colucbb 

 in South-Carolina, but vines of the same kind had been known at War- 

 renton, in Georgia, some years before the particular vine ft'om which 

 Mr. Herbemont took his cuttings had been spoken of, and possibly it 

 may have been introduced from Georgia. It is, perhaps, the most 

 rampant grower of all the vines known, but with a very close, short- 

 jointed habit and abundant foliage, that endures our seasons very 

 well, despite its European appearance. The canes are very large and 

 smootti, with beautiful violet color, thickly covered with waxen bloom. 

 At first bearing, the bunches are not very large and the berries are 

 extremely small ; but with mature age, the berries become almost me- 

 dium in size, and the bunches very large and double-shouldered. Tb* 



