VARIETIES OF GRAPES 353 



maturity in northern regions ; and fair size and handsome 

 appearance of bunch and berry. Concord also blossoms late 

 in the spring and does not suffer often from spring frosts, nor is 

 the fruit often injured by late frosts. The crop hangs well on 

 the vine. 



The variety is not, however, without faults : the quality is 

 not high, the grapes lacking richness, delicacy of flavor and 

 aroma, and having a foxy taste disagreeable to many ; the seeds 

 and skin are objectionable, the seeds being large and abundant 

 and difficult to separate from the flesh, and the skin being 

 tough and unpleasantly astringent ; the grapes do not keep nor 

 ship well and rapidly lose flavor after ripening ; the skin cracks 

 and the berries shell from the stems after picking ; and the 

 vine is but slightly resistant to phylloxera. While Concord is 

 grown in the South, it is essentially a northern grape, becoming 

 susceptible to fungi in southern climates and suffering from 

 phylloxera in dry, warm soils. 



The botanical characters of Concord indicate that it is a pure- 

 bred Labrusca. Seeds of a wild grape were planted in the fall of 

 1843 by E. W. Bull, Concord, Massachusetts, plants from which 

 fruited in 1849. One of these seedlings was named Concord. 



Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, thick, 

 dark reddish-brown ; nodes enlarged, flattened ; internodes long ; 

 shoots pubescent ; tendrils continuous, long, bifid, sometimes trifid. 

 Leaves large, thick ; upper surface dark green, glossy, smooth ; lower 

 surface light bronze, heavily pubescent ; lobes three when present, 

 terminal one acute ; petiolar sinus variable ; basal sinus usually lack- 

 ing; lateral sinus obscure and frequently notched; teeth shallow, 

 narrow. Flowers self-fertile, open in mid-season ; stamens upright. 



Fruit mid-season, keeps from one to twT> months. Clusters uniform, 

 large, wide, broadly tapering, usually single-shouldered, sometimes 

 double-shouldered, compact ; pedicel thick, smooth ; brush pale 

 green. Berries large, round, glossy, black with heavy bloom, firm ; 

 skin tough, adherent with a small amount of wine-colored pigment, 

 astringent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tough, 

 solid, foxy ; good. Seeds adherent, one to four, large, broad, distinctly 

 notched, plump, blunt, brownish. 



2A 



