DESCRIPTION OF VARIETIES. 185 



breaks down by decay, which vitiates the 

 whole mass. It is true that this does not 

 take place till some time after the berries are 

 ripe ; but ultimately it does. Hence the Dela- 

 ware is not a very long keeper. The flesh of 

 the lona, on the contrary, ripens evenly and 

 thoroughly in all its parts ; its uniform con- 

 sistency is remarkable. It ripens into juice, it 

 is true, from center to circumference ; but this 

 juice is held together, as it were, in little sacs, 

 and has such a peculiar meaty consistence, that, 

 instead of decaying, it is slowly converted into 

 a rich sugary mass equal to the best Malaga 

 raisins ; hence it is a long keeper. It makes a 

 good raisin without the help of artificial means ; 

 the Delaware will not, even with their aid. 

 This property of gradually resolving itself into 

 sugar without evaporating all its juice gives the 

 lona great value as a wine grape. The juice 

 of the Delaware is rich in the peculiar sugar 

 and acid of the grape, and hence it makes a 

 fine wine ; its defect is the small fibrous center, 

 which affects the wine just in proportion as it 

 is more or less ripe : its presence contributes an 

 element which interferes with vinous fermenta- 

 tion, and prevents the wine from attaining per- 

 fection and maturity. The juice of the lona is 



