Emma. 



DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 



Etta. 125 



Since it has been established that the Tay- 

 lor is itself a cross between Riparia and La- 

 brusca, the characteristics of the Elvira are 

 explained b3Mts parentage. (See page 18.) 



The Elvira makes a very palatable white 

 wine, tliat improves with years, and is adini- 

 rabl}^ adapted for blending with other grape 

 juice of higher flavor, and is extensively 

 grown for this pnrpose, but is unlit for mar- 

 keting on account of its thin, easilj'-bursling 

 skin. This disposition to crack and a ten- 

 dency to over-bear, made its originator try 

 to produce some still better grape, without 

 these faults ; and he may have succeeded in 

 his '■'Etta." q. v. 



Emma. (Labv.) Orisioutt'd Ijy Theoijliilc Huber, 

 If., Illinois City, 111., from unknown puifntage. A 

 ^,insul;^l•ly sweet grape; when fully ripe of shining vel- 

 i.OW color. Bunch medium size, compact: B(>rry one 

 third larger tlian Delaware: pulp very tender without 

 <-ore. Tested hy Prof. .T. L. Budd, of the Iowa Agr. 

 ( 'ollesre and described by him in tlie Iowa State Register, 

 Sept. 30th, 1887. 



Empire State. (Labr. X Hij).) A remarkable 

 white grape; originated by James H. Ricketts 

 from seed of the Hartford fertilizing with the 

 Clinton. We have seen and admired both its 

 beauty and excellence of quality at the Am. 

 Poiuol. yociety's Exhibition at Boston, in 1881. 

 The late Geo. A. Stone, of Rochester, N. Y., a 

 nurseryman of enterprise and intelligence, bought 

 the entire stock of this grape, for the highest 

 price ever paid, perhaps, for a new grape, viz. 

 -$4,000.00, from the originator, who gave the fol- 

 lowing description of it : 



'• The Empire State is a seedling of the Hart- 

 ford, fertilized with the Clinton ; fruited for the 

 tirst time in 1879. Its crop of 1880 was 48 bunches 

 of most magnificent fruit. Graft.s inserted in 

 two-year old vines in 1880 produced in 1881 from 

 ■20 to 30 bunches per vine, ripening with the Hart- 

 ford and Moore's Early. Nearly all of the 

 bunches shouldered, and the finest shade of white 

 ever seen in fruit. A good grower and fruiter in 

 every respect. 



Bunches large, from 6 to 10 inches long, shoul- 

 dered; berry medium to large, roundish-oval; 

 color WHITE with a very light tinge of yellow, 

 covered with a thick white bloom ; leaf thick, 

 <mooth underside ; flesh tender, juicy, rich, sweet 

 and sprightly, with a slight trace of native aroma, 

 <;ontinuing a long time in use; vine very hardy. 

 Its great productiveness, beautiful color, fine 

 quality, extreme hardiness, vigor and healthful- 

 ness of vine and foliage, size and compactness of 

 cluster, and good shipping qualities, make it the 

 hest grape, all tMiujs considered, that I have yet 

 produced.'''' 



Geo. W. Campbell, of Ohio, says — and we fully 

 coincide with him — : It has not fulfilled the 

 expectations which were entertained upon its 

 introduction, for, although the vine is generally 

 healthy and tolerably hardy, and the fruit, when 

 well-grown, handsome in appearance and ex- 

 cellent in quality — it seems to lack the vigor and 

 root-power necessary to carry and mature a 

 profitable crop to perfection; and has disap- 

 pointed the expectation of manj^ who have not 

 been able to grow it successfully and pronounce 

 it a failure. 



The late A. J. Caywood predicted at the Am. 

 Pomol. Society Session 1887: 



'•' I fear we shall be disappointed with it. With 

 a full crop the clusters are small." 



Geo. W. Endicott, an experienced horticulturist, 

 says: I am satisfied that there is a mistake in its 

 parentage; there is no doubt in my mind that it 

 is a Hybrid of Clinton and some white European 

 grape. 



Eolia. (Labr.) See White Concord Seedlings, 

 page 107. 



Essex. (Labr.-Jfybr.) Rogers' No. 41. Vine 

 vigorous, healthy, and prolific if planted near 

 some other Varieties, that blossom at the same 

 time, to be fertilized. Bunch of medium size, 

 compact, shouldered; berry kedoish black with 

 blue bloom, round', somewhat fiattened, in this 

 respect resembling its native parent; flesh tender 

 and sweet, with a high aromatic flavor. Ripens 

 earlj% with Concord. 



Esther. (Labr. ,<) Originated by E. W. Bull, 

 the well known originator of the Concord, and 

 supposed to be a cross of this variety and Vin- 

 ifera. Vine a fairly good grower, healthy and 

 quite productive ; bunch and berries large, white, 

 flesh dissolving; although solid in texture, juicy 

 and sprightly vinous; quality best; ripens early. 

 It is of the Pocklington type, but superior in 

 quality; it has been growing for several years 

 at the Rural New Yorker's grounds and is pro- 

 nounced ''excellent" — though not as tender 

 pulp nor as pure in flavor as Diamond. Berckmans, 

 Augusta, Ga., saj^s: We have found this varietj^ 

 (Esther) after three years' fruiting a most promis- 

 ing one; quite productive and a fairly good 

 grower. (He classes it as a Vinifera cross.) 



Etawa. (Labr.) Syn., Woodruff's No. 1. An 

 accidental seedling, raised by the late W. W. 

 Woodruff, of Griffin. Georgia. Vine most vigor- 

 ous, foliage luxuriant; bunch very large, also 

 the berry; color blue, pulp dissolving, vinous, 

 quality best; a very showy fruit, keeping sound 

 on the vine for two months. (Committee on 

 native fruits, Am. Pomol. Socty., 1883.) 



Etta. (-B'p.) Understood to be a descendant 

 from Taylor in the third generation, a daughter 

 of Elvira, raised by Jacob Rommel (first ex- 

 hibited in 1879 as Elvira Seedling No. 3) ; resem- 

 bles Elvira, with firmer skin, not disposed to 

 crack, and is of very good quality. It ripens 

 later. The vine is of very vigorous growth with 

 strong, healthy foliage, hardy, and productive. 

 This grape was awarded the premium '"for the 

 best bearing Cane of New Seedlings for Wine, 

 quality and productiveness to rule," at the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley Horticultural Society meeting in 

 St. Louis. Dr. L. C. Chisholm, Spring Hill, 

 Tenn., to whom we sent the Etta for trial in his 

 locality, reports very favorably, saying: "It is a 

 very reliable late grape for this section — I like 

 the Etta." 



We consider this grape an improvement over 

 Elvira, but not as free from rot as her parent. 



