WHAT GRAPES SHALL I PLANT? 



VARIETIES FOR HOME AND FOR MARKET. 



RAPE culture is full of inter- 

 est to the careful cultivator. 

 In gardening, selection of va- 

 rieties is all-important, given 

 soil and location. This per- 

 tains with all fruits, grapes 

 not the least. It is a puzzling 



question to the novice, and one 

 not easily answered by the professional. Were I to 

 locate on a new place in a different locality with a 

 different soil and climate, and using my best judg- 

 ment after all my experience, I might make a mis- 

 take in some varieties, for the above conditions are 

 all important factors in influencing results. We 

 have ample evidence of this fact in the conflicting 

 testimony emanating from differently located culti- 

 vators as to the merits and demerits of certain kinds. 



Other considerations, no doubt, contribute to these 

 differences, such as variation in taste and pecu- 

 niary interests, which, it is feared, sometimes bias 

 judgment; and the most careful and critical analyst 

 will hardly prove sufficiently infallible to detect 

 the extent of these various influences. 



The New Jersey State Horticultural Society in 

 1884 took a vote as to the best six varieties of 

 grapes for general use, two of each color, with 

 this result : Brighton and Jefferson for red grapes ; 

 Pocklington and Duchess for white, and Concord 

 and Worden for black varieties. At this day, there 

 can hardly exist a doubt but that pecuniary in- 

 terests dictated some of the votes on that occasion. 

 At all events, if the same persons were to vote to- 

 day with the added experience since, the result 

 would doubtless be very different. 



Last year the society took a vote as to the three 

 best grapes for general culture, one of each color, 

 which resulted in favor of Brighton, red ; Niagara, 

 white; Worden, black. It will thus be seen that 

 since 1884 the Niagara and Worden have been 

 growing in public favor. 



A more extended concensus of personal experience 

 is found in the society's fruit hst, compiled from the 

 individual reports from thirteen counties, and em- 

 bracing individual experience from many outside 

 of the society membership. This list is composed of 

 thirty-four varieties, and taking eight of each color 

 receiving the highest votes for family use, twenty-four 



in all — an ample number for general purposes — 

 the result was as follows, in the order named : 



Red : Brighton, Agawam, Delaware, Salem, Ca- 

 tawba, Jefferson, Lindley and Diana, the two 

 latter being a tie. 



White: Lady, Pocklington, El Dorado, Martha, 

 Niagara, Prentiss, Duchess and Lady Washington, 

 the second and third a tie. 



Black: Moore's Early, Worden, Concord, Wilder, 

 Hartford, Champion, Clinton and Ives. 



This list was compiled in 1884 from votes re- 

 ceived subsequent to the annual meeting, at which 

 the first vote recorded above was taken. It will be 

 noticed that Brighton heads the list of red grapes 

 in each case. While Jefferson stood second in the 

 first vote, in the list it stands sixth. Pocklington 

 and Duchess, considered the best whites in the first 

 vote, were neither of them noticed in the second 

 vote, and stand second and seventh in the last list 

 respectively. Concord and Worden changed places, 

 and are headed by Moore's Early. No doubt if 

 the vote were taken to-day there would be as great 

 if not greater changes in the result, and if all those 

 voting had experience with all the varieties, the re- 

 sult would represent very fairly their status in pub- 

 lic esteem ; but until such experience forms the 

 basis of each one's vote, there will exist discrepancies 

 in all lists of this kind that can be explained in no 

 other way. 



To me, the most striking feature of the list is the 

 position occupied by Pocklington and El Dorado. 

 The former is a very foxy grape of poor quality, 

 with strong proclivities to rot and uneven ripening, 

 and has failed to make much of a show at exhibi- 

 tions, a very good indication of its value. The 

 latter is a grape of most delicious quality, but so 

 notorious for poor setting, that I wonder what 

 the existing conditions are where it produces satis- 

 factory clusters. 



Foxiness, or native aroma, in a grape is not con- 

 sidered an orthodox quality by grape-growers gen- 

 erally, especially for family use, but occasionally 

 we find a person who prefers that peculiar flavor to 

 all others. I have put Pocklington on the market 

 that were sold for 20 cents a pound, as much 

 as my choicest Niagara brought, which seems an 

 indication of a preference on the part of the pur- 



