THE GRAPE. 329 



bluish violet, sometimes becoming purplish in the sun. Flesh 

 tender, sweet, and pleasant. The leaves die off in autumn of 

 fine red, yellow, and green colours. 



34. LOMBARDY. Thomp. Lind. 



Flame Coloured Tokay. Rheniish Red. 



Wantage. Red Grape of Taurida. 



The Lombardy is remarkable for the very large size of the 

 bunches, which are frequently twelve to eighteen inches long. 

 It is a handsome fruit, the berries thickly set, (so much so as to 

 need a good deal of thinning,) and it requires fire-heat to bring 

 it to full perfection. 



Bunches very large, handsomely formed, with large shoul- 

 ders. Berries large roundish. Skin thick, pale red or flame 

 colour. Flesh firm, sweet, with a sprightly, very good flavour. 



35. BED CHASSELAS. Thomp. Lind. Fors. 

 fled Muscadine. Mill. Chasselas Rouge. Duh. 



This grape a good deal resembles the White Chasselas, ex- 

 cept that the berries are slightly coloured with red. Very rare- 

 ly, when over ripe, they become a dark red. 



Bunches loose, not large ; berries medium size, round. Skin 

 thin, at first pale green, but when exposed to the sun they be- 

 come red. Flesh tender, sweet, and very good. Not very hardy. 



Cultivation of the Native Grapes. 



The better varieties of the native grapes, are among the most 

 valuable of fruits in the middle states. Hardy, vigorous, and 

 productive, with a moderate amount of care they yield the 

 farmer, and the common gardener, to whom the finer foreign 

 sorts requiring much attention and considerable expense in cul- 

 ture, are denied, the enjoyment of an abundance of very good 

 fruit. In this part of the country no fruit is more common than 

 the grape, and many families preserve large quantities for use 

 during the winter months, by packing them away, as soon as 

 ripe, in jars, boxes, or barrels, between layers of cotton batting 

 -^in which way they may be kept plump and fresh till Feb- 

 ruary. 



The grape region has been lately greatly extended by the 

 addition of new varieties, which, in consequence of ripening 

 their fruit much earlier than the Isabella and Catawba, are 

 suited to two or three degrees of latitude farther north than 

 the limit of the cultivation of these varieties. 



The garden culture of the hardy native grapes, although 

 not very difficult, cannot be accomplished so as to give the 



