Hicketts\ 



DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 



Rammers. 133 



Ricketts' Hybrids. Our Index contains a list cf 

 the very remarkable seedlings raised by J. H. Ricketts 

 at Newburg, N. Y,, as far as named and disseminated 

 by him. He has given his attention, for nearly twenty 

 years, to raising new varieties by crossing, and by his 

 long-continued, carefully and skillfully conducted 

 labors has produced the most wonderful collection 

 of hybrid grapes, embracing many hundred different 

 sorts, mostly as yet unnamed and designated only by 

 numbers. The American Pomological Society repeat- 

 edly awarded him its " WILDER SILVER MEDAL." At 

 the Centennial Exhibition, 1876, he was awarded me- 

 dal and diploma with a most flattering report of the 

 judges ; and hundreds of premiums, from Horticultu- 

 ral Societies all over the country, have been awarded 

 to Mr. Ricketts for his seedling grapes. 



There is no question about the beauty or the excel- 

 lence of many of these grapes, and, though some have 

 proved entire failures with us and others, especially in 

 the Mississippi valley, the very fact that he brings 

 for exhibition every year his magnificent specimens is 

 evidence that they can be grown successfully in great 

 perfection. His location may be specially favorable, 

 but there must be other places equally so, where the 

 same care and attention will produce the same splen- 

 did results. The soil of his vineyard is a medium 

 loam, possessing a moderate degree of fertility, facing 

 the east, sloping towards north-east, and sheltered by 

 hills on the west. His vines are not pampered nor 

 covered with glass, as some suppose, but merely laid 

 down without covering for winter, pruned long and 

 cultivated with but ordinary care. We have therefore, 

 no reason to doubt that some of these excellent new 

 varieties will become valuable acquisitions to our 

 finest and most useful grapes, especially those which 

 have the Concord for the pistillate parent, as the LADY 

 WASHINGTON, EL DORADO, JEFFERSON, for the Atlantic 

 and north central States ; and those which are crosses 

 on the Clinton, as the BACCHUS and EMPIRE STATE, for 

 the middle and south central States, usually (though 

 wrongfully) called the " western States." 



Geo. W. Campbell justly remarks : " While much 

 improved over the purely native varieties and suc- 

 ceeding well in some places as' Mr. Ricketts has 

 abundantly demonstrated in other and less favored 

 localities they were injured by severe winter-freezing 

 and suffered, in common with many of our natives, by 

 mildew and rot in variable and unfavorable seasons. 

 I have always hoped and believed that some of these 

 remarkable grapes, or their successors, would be found 

 adapted to general cultivation ; and, even if they re- 

 quire a little more careful treatment than our hardiest 

 natives of coarser mould, they are well worth the extra 

 trouble, and their greater value will abundantly pay 

 for it. A judicious selection of soil and situation, and 

 perhaps protection during winter, and care as to train- 

 ing and pruning adapted to the habits of different va- 

 rieties, may be necessary for complete success. Mri 

 Ricketts claims that his later productions are crosses 

 between hardy natives, leaving out the foreign ele- 

 ment. 1 ' 



Rochester. (Labr.) One of Ell wanger & Bar- 

 ry's seedlings. Not having as yet any vines 

 in bearing of this new variety, we give their 



description of it : " Vine a remarkably vigorous 

 grower ; wood short-jointed and hardy ; foli- 

 age large, yet resembles that of Delaware ; the 

 habits of the vine are similar to those of the 

 Diana, and it requires ample room and rather 

 long pruning. Bunch large to very large, 

 shouldered, frequently double -shouldered, 

 very compact; berries medium to large size, 

 round, dark purple or purplish-lilac ; peculiar, 

 with thin white bloom ; flesh very sweet, vi- 

 nous, rich, and aromatic. Ripens usually the 

 first week in September; has never failed to 

 ripen well in the worst of seasons since it first 

 bore." This description refers, of course, to 

 the locality of Rochester, N. Y., where it was 

 raised. We admired the fruit there, and con- 

 sider this variety a valuable addition to the 

 grapes of the Labrusca class. 



Rommel's Seedlings. No person has been more 

 successful in the production of valuable hardy and 

 healthy seedling-grapes, adapted to general cultiva- 

 tion in a very large section of this country, than Jacob 

 Rommel, of Morrison, Mo. His grapes cannot rival 

 those of Rogers or Ricketts in beauty and in fine qual- 

 ity as a fruit for the table or for family use, but they 

 far surpass them in vigor and productiveness, and are 

 of fair to very good quality, especially for wine and 

 brandy. Those named and disseminated are described 

 in this Catalogue. See AMBER, BEAUTY, BLACK DELA- 

 WARE, ELVIRA, ETTA, FAITH, MONTEFIORE, PEARL, 

 TRANSPARENT, WILDING. 



But, besides these, he has raised and fruited for sev- 

 eral seasons quite a large number of seedlings, from 

 which he selects and recommends the following as 

 fully tested and worthy of cultivation and dissemina- 

 tion : 



(A) TAYLOR SEEDLING No. 9 Vine vigorous, healthy 



and hardy, moderately productive, free from 

 mildew and rot ; bunch medium, shouldered; 

 berry medium to above medium, round ; color 

 black ; ripens early, before Concord ; quality 

 excellent for a dark red wine. 



(B) TAYLOR SEEDLING No. 18 Vine vigorous, healthy 



and hardy, very productive ; bunch meflium ; 

 berry above medium, amber color ; quality ex- 

 cellent ; ripens at same time as Catawba. 

 (c) TAYLOR SEEDLING No. 16 Vine a moderate 

 grower, but healthy and sufficiently produc- 

 tive ; bunch small; berry medium, very firm, 

 of cream color; quality very good ; ripens ear- 

 ly, before Concord. 



(D) ELVIRA SEEDLING No. 5 Vine vigorous, healthy 



and hardy, very productive ; bunch above 

 medium ; berry medium, straw-color ; quality 

 good ; ripens later, soon after Concord. 



(E) ELVIRA SEEDLING, No. 6 Vine healthy and har- 



dv, very productive ; bunch medium to large ; 

 berry medium, color yellowish tinctured with 

 red ; of very fine quality. 



(F) ELVIRA SEEDLING No. 8 Vine vigorous, healthy 



and productive ; bunch large ; berry medium ; 

 red, transparent, and of good quality ; ripens 

 just after Concord. 



