PRICE,  FIVE  CENTS 
$2.00  PER  YEAR. 
VOL.  LI.  No. 
NEW  YORK,  OCTOBER  22,  1892 
All  About  Grapes. 
The  Green  Mountain  ;  Specimens  from  Syracuse ;  The 
Ulster  Prolilic. 
A  Well-Loaded  Green  Mountain. 
The  Rural  New-Yorker  gives  its  readers  a  picture 
(see  Fig.  266),  reproduced  from  a  photograph,  of  a 
Green  Mountain  Grape  vine,  on  the  grounds  of  Stephen 
Hoyt’s  Sons,  New  Canaan,  Conn.  The  vine  shown 
is  not  better  in  any  way  than  its  neighbors,  but  none 
of  the  fruit  had  been  cut  from  this  one  before  the  pic¬ 
ture  was  taken  ;  it  had  been  kept  so  that  it  could  be 
seen  with  its  crop  Some  of  the  grapes  which  ap 
pear  on  the  right  belong  to  another  vine  which  met 
the  one  photographed  on  the  trellis.  It  will  be  noted 
air,  it  would  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  list.  Out¬ 
side  of  its  value  to  amateurs,  it  might  as  well  be  dis¬ 
carded  from  the  list.  Like  a  good  many  of  the  varie¬ 
ties  given  us  by  Mr.  Ricketts,  its  foreign  blood  seems 
to  preponderate  and  calls  for  a  longer  season  than  we 
can  give  it  in  the  North. 
A  large,  shouldered  bunch  of  the  Jessica  showed  its 
earliness — the  grapes  were  beginning  to  shrivel,  but 
adhered  firmly  to  the  stem  and  were  still  eatable. 
They  are  only  of  fair  quality,  and,  except  in  some 
locations  where  they  may  succeed  better  than  in  others, 
have  but  little  commercial  value.  With  Mr.  Roberts, 
they  ripened  August  16,  which  makes  them  desirable 
as  an  early  variety. 
A  small  bunch  of  Hayes  was  labeled  “average  sam- 
The  sensation  of  the  lot  was  some  El  Dorado  grapes, 
which  we  understand  Mr.  Roberts  is  able  to  grow  suc¬ 
cessfully.  The  bunches  were  of  good  size,  fairly  well 
filled  and  of  good  quality,  perhaps  we  should  say  ex¬ 
cellent;  but,  after  all,  they  were  not  quite  so  fine 
as  those  grown  on  the  slaty  or  gravelly  soils  along  the 
Hudson.  As  we  have  more  than  once  stated,  it  cannot 
be  successfully  grown  at  its  home.  Where  it  can  be 
grown,  it  is  a  most  desirable  grape.  The  distinct  pine¬ 
apple  flavor  which  is  notable  in  the  best  specimens  of 
this  variety  is  scarcely  perceptible  in  the  specimens 
sent,  but  that  may  be  the  result  of  soils  varying 
widely  from  those  where  the  grape  first  saw  the  light. 
The  Ulster  (Prolific)  is  rather  a  cranky  grape.  For 
three  consecutive  years  a  vine  under  observation  has 
THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  GRAPE  IN  STEPHEN  HOYT’S  SONS  VINEYARD.  Fig.  266. 
that  it  is  heavily  loaded.  The  vine  has  been  pruned 
on  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  Fuller  plan — with 
two  horizontal  arms  with  upright  spurs  from  them. 
A  part  of  the  foliage  was  cut  away  before  the  photo¬ 
graph  was  taken,  so  that  the  fruit  should  not  be  hid¬ 
den.  The  Rural  in  the  previous  article  (see  page 
633),  gave  its  impressions  of  the  Green  Mountain 
grape,  which  need  not  be  here  repeated.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  it  is  hardy,  early,  vigorous,  productive  and 
of  good  quality. 
Notes  on  a  Basket  of  Grapes. 
The  Rural  is  in  receipt  of  a  basket  of  specimen 
grapes  from  Mr.  John  T.  Roberts,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
A  bunch  of  Jefferson  is  the  best  ripened  specimen  we 
have  seen  of  the  variety  this  season,  though  even 
this  is  not  perfectly  ripened.  If  this  variety  could 
only  be  successfully  grown  and  matured  in  the  open 
pie  as  to  condition  this  year.’  They  were  about  as 
good  as  any  we  have  seen,  but  we  should  very  promptly 
discard  this  variety  from  a  vineyard,  unless  wanted 
for  exhibition  purposes.  There  is  very  little  in  it  to 
call  for  commendation. 
A  bunch  of  a  seedling,  labeled  “  Second  crop  from  a 
vine  five  years  old.  It  appears  to  be  of  little  value 
now,  but  improves  with  frost — an  unlimited  yielder.” 
The  bunch  is  of  good  size,  berry  medium,  a  little 
smaller  than  Concord,  a  bright  green  in  color.  The 
quality  is  rather  poor,  too  much  acid,  too  little  sugar. 
It  would  never  have  value  as  a  table  grape,  and  we 
hardly  think  would  be  desirable  for  wine. 
A  small  cluster,  only  three  or  four  berries,  is  marked, 
“  seedling,  three  years  old  from  seed,  probably  of 
Salem  parentage.”  The  few  berries  were  tasted,  but 
seemed  unripe  and  altogether  unpromising,  though 
they  may  show  better  another  year. 
borne  good  crops,  and  ripened  its  fruit  perfectly. 
This  year,  on  September  25,  there  was  but  a  faint 
trace  of  color  in  the  fruit — not  a  bunch  will  ripen 
enough  to  be  good  eating.  Other  grapes  in  the  same 
row,  Wilder,  Vergennes,  Empire  State,  Concord  and 
Worden,  all  ripened  their  fruit  in  good  shape.  Why 
the  Ulster  should  act  in  this  manner  it  seems  hard  to 
understand.  It  has  been  pruned  about  as  closely 
as  is  desirable,  the  soil  is  in  good  condition,  and  a 
little  spraying  has  kept  off  all  mildew  and  rot.  But 
it  will  act  this  way  once  in  a  while,  while  in  other 
sections  it  seems  to  lack  constitutional  vigor,  and 
does  not  flourish  at  all.  It  is  such  an  excellent 
grape  that  we  regret  its  shortcomings.  By  the  way, 
let  us  hear  more  of  the  Nectar,  the  black  grape 
that  Mr.  Caywood  originated  and  prized  so  highly. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  early  grapes  tried  at 
the  Rural  Grounds. 
