ALLEN'S HYBRID GRAPES 



19 



Lenoir, ripens three weeks before the Isabella ; vine very hardy, adapted to the North , very 

 productive. 



Woodson (Virginia), medium size, round, somewhat compressed, dull purple or chocolate color 

 with bloom, very peculiar color, juicy, vinous, sprightly acid, little dissolving pulp, no foxy flavor, 

 thin skin ; not pleasant for table, but makes tolerable wine ; cluster long ; ripens near end of 

 September. 



Wright's Isabella (Penn.), cluster and berry same size as Franklin, ripens perfectly, earlier 

 than Isabella, fully equal in flavor and more valuable. 



Wyoming (Penn.), medium size, glossy black, thin skin, very juicy, pleasant flavor, excellent 

 for wine, hangs long on the vine; very hardy, vigorous and productive. 



York Madeira (Penn.), small, roundish, nearly black with bloom, juicy, sweet, but little pulp, 

 rich, vinous, pleasant, peculiar flavor, cluster medium, very compact, sometimes shouldered, in 

 appearance nearest to Clinton, quality between that and Isabella; vine short-jointed, very hardy, 

 suited to the North ; vigorous, extremely productive ; foliage medium size, deep green ; it makes 

 excellent wine ; ripens twelve days before Isabella. 



Yonng's Seedling (Ohio), same size, flavor, and quality as Isabella, from which it is a seedling, 

 ovate, purple with bloom; cluster medium, shouldered; ripens middle of September. 



ALLEN'S HYBRID GRAPES. 



Allen's IVo. 5. — A Hybrid purple or black grape not yet named, from seed of the Isabella ; fruit 

 roundish or ovate, resembles its American parent, with less pulp and foxiness, and is preferred 

 by some persons; foliage large, and in general form and appearance resembles the European va- 

 rieties, having no down on the under side ; ripens at same time as the Isabella, and is quite as 

 hardy, and probably more so. 



ilien's Nos. 7 & 8. — Not named; are both round, purplish, black grapes, very good, but only 

 suitable for the South. In fact, most of Mr. Allen's seedlings have proved to be late in ripening, 

 except his Nos, 5, 9, and 13. 



Allen's Ko. 9. — A very superior grape, devoid of all pulp, very juicy and delicious, as delicate 

 and saccharine as the finest Chasselas ; berry round or compressed, white, with a pink amber tinge 

 in the sun, as hardy as the Isabella and Catawba, and ripens two to three weeks before the former; 

 a seedling from the Isabella impregnated by the Chasselas; vine extremely vigorous ; foliage very 

 diverse in form, unlike either the European or American varieties. It succeeds well both in the 

 forcing-house and the cold vinery. 



Allen's No. 13. — A Hybrid black grape, not yet named, very early, oval, fii'm flesh, less pulp 

 than Isabella, of good quality and valualjle for the table, but with the foxy flavor in an unequal 

 degree, some berries being free from it. The foliage assimilates to the Isabella, fruit ripens three 

 weeks before it, and at the same time with the preceding, but is not equal in quality. 



Allen's Black Hambarg, is not a hybrid; it is as tender as the other Hamburg varieties ,and 

 only suitable for the vinery or for the Southei-n States, 



Note. — As so many attempts to hybridize European and American grapes have been_unsuc- 

 cessful, we would suggest that these failures are attributable to two causes ; one arising,''doubt- 

 less, from the peculiar character of their inflorescence, and the other from a natural aversion, 

 mesalliance or nonsanguinity. In proof of this latter position, which is far the most difiicult im- 

 pediment to surmount (and perhaps not even yet surmounted save in imagination), we will refer 

 to the fact that Monsieur Vibert, an eminent amateur grape cultivator ofFrance, succeeded many 

 years since in producing about twenty hybrid varieties, and inserted them in his catalogue as 

 such, and sold young vines propagated from them before he had fruited them. When the period 

 came for his parent vines to produce fruit, they all proved barren (mules) and were thrown aside 

 as worthless. We obtained these vines, and cultivated them for several years without ever ob- 

 taining a single berry. 



It is a singular fact that the same incompatibility exists between all the European and Ameri- 

 can species and varieties of the strawberry. There never has been a perfect hybrid produced. 

 We once obtained five seedlings that were most perfectly blended in the foliage ; they were pro- 

 fuse in their bloom, but proved utterly barren (mules). 



