1882.] 



165 



THE DUCHESS GRAPE, 



This new White Grape, originated by A. J. 

 Caywood, has now been on public trial for 

 three seasons, having been first introduced 

 in the spring of 1880. The vine is claimed 

 to be of purely native origin, the mother 

 being a white unnamed Concord seedling 

 fertilized by Delaware. While not disputing 

 this claim, there are those who think the 

 foliage and general characteristics of the 

 fruit and vine present unmistakable evi- 

 dence of foreign 

 blood through 

 some of its an- 

 cestors. 



The vine is 

 of very vigorous 

 growth and fruits 

 abundantly. The 

 size of berry and 

 bunch ordinarily 

 average a little 

 larger than well- 

 grown Delawares. 

 To obtain fine 

 clusters, like the 

 illustration, se- 

 vere thinning of 

 the fruit is neces- 

 sary. The vines, 

 though winter- 

 ing perfectly on 

 the originator's 

 grounds, are not 

 as thoroughly 

 hardy in less fav- 

 ored localities, 

 and should re- 

 ceive some winter 

 protection. As in 

 all but the "iron- 

 clad," purely na- 

 tive varieties, the 

 fruit and foliage 

 are subject to 

 mildew and ' rot, 

 and precaution- 

 ary measure;-; 

 should be em- 

 ployed to insure 

 success with it in 

 our variable cli- 

 mate. Inclosing 

 the clusters, as 

 soon as . the fruit 

 is fairly set, in 

 paper bags, will 

 prevent the rot, 

 though Mr. A. 

 Caywood thinks 

 that this favors 

 the cracking of 

 the berries — the 

 only clusters af- 

 fected in this way 

 were bagged, 

 while the exposed 

 clusters alongside 

 were entirely ex- 

 empt. This appeared to be the case on his 

 grounds, but on my own vines I could see 

 no difference in splitting either in or out of 

 the bags. 



Dusting the vines with sulphur is, I be- 

 lieve, the only remedy used to prevent mil- 

 dew, though I have never applied any to 

 my vines, preferring to test them under 

 such treatment as vines ordinarily receive ; 



but I am satisfied that in such seasons as 

 this has been, precautionary or preventive 

 measures are absolutely necessary to suc- 

 ceed satisfactorily with our finer varieties. 



In quality, the Duchess, when fully ripe, 

 approaches some of the foreign varieties. 

 I have not been able to recognize this qual- 

 ity so fully till recently, from the fact that 

 previous trials have been confined to grapes 

 not fully ripe. That they are eatable at the 

 Concord season is true, but the claim that 



THE DUCHESS GRAPE. 



they ripen together will hardly be sustained 

 by the evidence. At this date, October 7th, 

 most of my Duchess may be considered fully 

 ripe, while Concords are past that point two 

 weeks at least. 



The berries of the Duchess appear to grow 

 much slower during the early stage than other 

 varieties, and develop more rapidly toward 

 the. period of ripening. This has tended to 



disappointment, and may be due in a measure 

 to the early drought of the past two peculiar 

 seasons. 



Notwithstanding these apparent defects in 

 the Duchess (and they will apply to most of 

 our finer varieties), its surpassing excellence, 

 when in perfection, is siifficient inducement 

 to those who relish a really fine fruit to take 

 extra care and pains to prevent them. 



Mr. Caywood attributes the cause of failure 

 with the Duchess "to be due mainly to 

 excessive fertiliz- 

 ing after the vines 

 were planted. If 

 planted in good 

 ground, little or 

 no fertilizer, ex- 

 cept bone, wood- 

 ashes, etc., should 

 be applied. If 

 forced too much, 

 late growth, un- 

 ripe wood, and 

 consequent win- 

 ter-killing, is the 

 result." Be this as 

 it may, a recent 

 tour of observa- 

 tion among the 

 vineyards of Ul- 

 ster and Duchess 

 counties, New- 

 York, where we 

 saw finer Duchess 

 than on Mr. Cay- 

 wood's grounds 

 convinced 

 us of the import- 

 ance of protect- 

 ing the vines in 

 winter. 



Another im- 

 portant and in- 

 teresting feature 

 is the method o£ 

 grafting the Duch- 

 ess and other ten- 

 der sorts on hard- 

 ier varieties. It 

 is now extensive- 

 ly practiced by 

 those grape-grow- 

 ers visited, and 

 their experience 

 indicates that it 

 is favorable to in- 

 creased healthful- 

 ness and product- 

 iveness. The ex- 

 hibits shown us 

 certainly seemed 

 to confirm the cor- 

 rectness of the 

 theory that the 

 graft does par- 

 take of the stock, 

 which imparts an 

 influence that is 

 seen and felt, 

 evidence was not confined to the Duch- 

 ess, but Allen's Hybrid, Eebeeca, Walter, 

 Delaware, Montgomery, and others all seem- 

 ed to confirm these convictions. It may 

 safely be predicted that grafting of tender 

 varieties will be a source of much experiment 

 and observation among grape-growers for 

 the next few years. 



E. Williams. 



Tli 



