Alphonse. 



DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 



Amber Queen. 85 



Ripens with or soon after the Hartford. 

 Bunch medium, compact, seldom shoul- 

 dered; bernj medium, black with blue 

 bloom; spicy and very sweet. Vine 

 vigorous and healthy. How this grape 

 succeeds in other sections and soils we 

 are not informed; at Rickett's place it 

 does well and is very fine. 



Alphonse. {Labr.) I'roducedbyTheo- 

 phile Huber of Illinois City. Ills. The 

 largest of his white seedlings. Vhie, 

 very strong grower and bearer; bunch 

 large, shouldered; berries as large as 

 Worden, but oval, yellowish in color; 

 pulp tender and juicy with a resem- 

 blance to Elvira in flavor; not of as good 

 quality as his other white seedlings. 



Alvey. {^Est.-Hijbr.) Syn. : Hagar. 

 Introduced by Dr. Harvey ;, of Hagers- 

 town, Md. Generally classed \\\ih.^Esti- 

 valis. but its erect growth, soft and 

 short-jointed wood, rooting very easily 

 from cuttings, the exquisite quality, 

 pure vinous flavor — all point to the 

 Mnifera, and force us to the conclusion 

 that Alvey originated from an inter- 

 mixture of Vinifera and ^Estivalis, 

 crossed by natural hybridization. 

 Bunches medium, loose, shouldered; 

 berries small, round. BLACK; sweet, 

 juicy and vinous, without pulp; a slow 

 grower, making a stout, short-jointed 

 wood; moderately productive; roots 

 medium thick, more inclined to the 

 wiry character of the ^Elstivalis class, 

 with a medium smooth liber. Canes 

 remarkably straight and upright, 

 gradually tapering, and not inclined 

 to ramble like most American varieties. Tendrils 

 short and thin, often three-forked ; buds covered 

 with slight hairy down; the dark, medium-sized 

 foliage has also a slightly downy, whitish lower 

 face; the tender young leaflets are verj^ thin and 

 almost transparent. Laterals few and feeble; 

 wood rather soft, with large pith and coarse bark. 

 These characteristics, together with its thin skin 

 and total absence of pulp, strongly indicate a for- 

 eign character. Excellent in quality, but apt to 

 drop its leaves on southern slopes; it makes a fine 

 red wine, but too little of it, as it sets its fruit 

 badly; seems to prefer the deep rich, sand;/ loani 

 of our northeastern or even northern slopes. Re- 

 ports genei-ally unfavorable. 



Amalia. (Labr. X)- A cross between Rom- 

 mel's Faitli / and Ives' m, originated at Lincoln, 

 Ills., by F. E. L. Rautenberg. Vine very hardy 

 and healthy, Avood hard and short-jointed, with 

 healthy, leathery foliage. Bunch above medium, 

 berries medium, round; a black grape of very 

 good quality, almost like Rogers'" Aminia (No. 

 39). 



Amanda. (Lubr.) Description in our former ed - 

 tioii, copied from ("atalotrue of Blulftoii Wine Co. (and 

 Hort. Annujil, 1H68) totally differs from tiie fruit whicli . 

 we obtained from plants of same source, " It is a large 

 BLACK, thick-slvinried, liard-pulped firape; in taste 

 and aroma somewhat similar to Ives and Rentz; the 

 bunch is of medium size, compact, quite showy; the 

 vine a most vigoi'ous, healthy Labrusca. Esteemed 

 for red wine by some; — may be the same a.s "August 

 Pioneer." 



AMBER, (Rommel's.) 



Amber, (Hip. X Labr.) A sister of the Elvira, 

 raised by Jacob Rommel of Missouri. Vine 

 hardy, but only moderately productive; Rom- 

 mel says it should be fruited on spurs from 

 old wood; a rather long-jointed strong grower; 

 dark brown wood, with large foliage, somewhat 

 downy beneath. Buncheslong, shouldered, mod- 

 erately compact; berr;/ medium, oblong, pale 

 AMBER when ripe, skin thin; pulp tender; sweet, 

 juicy and of fine flavor. Ripens later than Con- 

 cord, and somewhat earlier than Catawba. A 

 table grape, combining good quality with at- 

 tractive appearance, but too tender for shipping 

 to distant markets. It seems not to hold its 

 leaves as firmly as other Taylor seedlings. 



Amber (^iieeii. (Labr.-Wjbr.) Some suppose 

 it to be a seedling of Marion, crossed with Black 

 Hamburg, introduced by N. B. White of Nor- 

 wood, Mass. It has, however, continuous tend- 

 rils, indicating Labrusca admixture. Described 

 in Ellwanger & Barry's catalogue (by the origin- 

 ator) as follows: Bunch large, shouldered like 

 the Hamburg; berry large, frequently oblong; 

 holds persistently to the bunch; amber colored 

 at first, but grows darker till it becomes a deep 

 purple grape, almost black, flesh tender, rich, and 

 seeds small; plant a strong grower, with thick 

 leaves, somewhat down}' on the under side. Fruit 

 eatable in August, and with proper care will keep 

 all winter. Some clusters do not fill well, show- 

 ing that it is not fully self-fertilizing; it is also 

 very prone to mildew. 



