28 The West American Scientist. 
CHANGES IN THE COLOR OF GRAPES GROWN IN 
NORTHWESTERN MEXICO. 
(Written for the WEsT AMERICAN SCIENTIST.) 
The village of San Jose de Guaymas is nine miles north of 
Guaymas proper. At the village are numerous gardens, which 
supply the city of Guaymas with fruit and vegetables. As there 
is no certainty when rain will fall, or the amount, the cultivators 
have recourse to. wells. The soil has more the appearance of 
that found about old dry river beds than anything else, and one 
unacquainted with its quality would decide it was worthless; but 
with water and heat, many of the finest varieties of grapes are 
grown—not surpassed in size of bunches or flavor of fruit by the 
grapes of California. | 
Some kinds of grapes, known in other localities by their dis- 
tinctive colors, are here so modified or entirely wanting in their 
natural color as to be unrecognizable. 
FLAMING TOKAY. 
Here this beautiful grape belies its name, for it gradually and 
variously changes its color until the fifth year, when the original 
color is an exception, and a greenish white is the new hue taken 
on. Sometimes all the bunches of a vine are of that color; on 
another vine a bunch may have a few berries with a slight tinge; 
then another with three or four together nearly as deeply tinged 
as the original. Then a large bunch may have a number of ber- 
ries very slightly shaded, or there may be here or there one 
tinged; while several bunches on the same vine are not the least 
tinged. In fact, the fruit of some entire vines is a greenish 
white, and they are therefore not easily recognizable. 
OLD MISSION GRAPE. 
This grape is remarkable for its eccentricity of coloration. On 
the same vine and bunch, the berries may be of every shade of 
reddish black or purple to greenish white. On some vines all 
bunches will be nearly of the original color, while the bunches 
on another vine may be purely greenish white; or a vine will have 
a bunch or two variable in color. 
BLACK PRINCE. 
This well known black grape is seldom seen here in his gen- 
uine black dress, but in every shade of black or brownish black 
‘—or with the slightest tinge of those colors, or not at all colored, 
being more like the Sweetwater in hue, yet perfectly ripe There 
are vines that grow side by side with the changeable ones, yet 
their fruit is not the least affected in color; for instance, the 
Sweetwater, Malvadeir, the Rhine-wine grape and a large one 
