Vol. XLIII. No. 1780 
NEW YORK, MARCH 8, 1884 
PRICE FITE CENTS. 
*2.00 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 18S4, by the Rural New-Yorker tn the office 
of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
doru shouldered, though ou some soils and in 
some locations it is of large size as to cluster, 
and shouldered. Berry of about the same size 
as the Concord, of a yellowish white color, 
slightly tinged with pink when fully ripe. It 
ripens late—after the Isabella and before the 
Catawba. It is a good keeper, has a vinous 
flavor, and is very fleshy when ripe. In quality 
it is worthy of cultivation. It is believed that 
this, among many others of the whites, will 
occupy a high place when grafting becomes 
more generally followed, j. b. Rogers. 
Essex Co., N. J. 
Fair (N. J.) labeled “Irving/ 1 supposing the 
judges (1) would detect the error and correct 
it. When the fair closed I found the plate of 
“Irvings"' set on one side with a first premium 
card on it! So much for the Waverly grape 
judges. “w.” 
the skin, that so much detracts from the value 
of the Rogers’s grapes. It very seldcm shows 
a rotten berry and never a cracked one. The 
skin is by no means thick for an out-door 
grape, not thicker than it ought to be. Salem, 
Triumph and Senasqua crack all to pieces 
with me. The vine cannot be called a vigor¬ 
ous grower, and shows a tendency not to ripen 
its wood well. This remark applies to the 
young plants as well. I would not recommend 
planting it in an exposed situation, for it un¬ 
doubtedly requires shelter from northwest 
winds. I think it would do best in a light, 
rich soil. Of course, the fruit could not be 
sold at the price Concords, etc., bring; but in 
spite of all the defects it may have, no garden 
should be without it. 
Richmond Co., N. Y. chas. j. copt.w 
THE IRVING GRAPE, 
OPINIONS REGARDING IT, 
l have seen the Irving on a neighbor’s 
grounds and like its appearance very much. 
Essex Co., N. J. - e. williams. 
. HE Irving Grape, shown at 
Yif Fig. 79, is claimed to be a 
hybrid, or cross between Con- 
cord and vV lute Frontignan, 
^1’ 1 aud ' vas Placed by Mr. Nte- 
phen W " Underbill, of Croton 
Point, N. Y , nearly 20 years 
ago. I have grown it for 10 
°r 12 years, and find it much 
like many other grapes of 
this character, a good 
I have had the Irving Grape from the first 
and value it highly as one of the best of its 
season. The bunch is of large size, the berries 
rather smaller than Isabella, color a transpa¬ 
rent light yellow. It always sets well—not 
very close, to be sure, but thick enough to 
look well. It has no foxiness or astringency in 
I bought an Irving Grape some years ago 
from what I considered a perfectly reliable 
source. When it fruited it proved to be a 
black grape. I exhibited it at the V averly 
grower, with foliage gene¬ 
rally healthy, bearing 
large clusters of hand¬ 
some white grapes; but 
rather late in ripeniug for 
this latitude. When well 
ripened it is of pleasant 
but not high flavor, though 
entirely free from foxi- 
ness. In character it is 
something like the foreign 
Chasselas or Sweetwater. 
The vine is not quite hardy 
iu severe Wiuters, and 1 
have found it necessary to 
lay it upon the ground in 
Autumn and cover it. light¬ 
ly with earth for protec¬ 
tion. It is also subject to 
rot in unfavorable seasons 
but not more so than many 
of our native varieties. It 
is a desirable amateur 
grope, where the Catawba 
can be ripened. 
GEO. W. CAMPBELL. 
Delaware, Ohio. 
The Irving Grape is 
one of the hybrids grown 
by Stephen W. Underhill, 
of Croton Point, N. Y. Its 
parentage is Concord 
crossed with White Fron¬ 
tignan. Like many of the 
hybrids, it is only a moder¬ 
ate glower upou its own 
roots, for which reason it 
has never been cultivated 
to any great extent. It is, 
however, much more wor¬ 
thy of cultivation than the 
Croton, raised by the same 
person. 
When the grafting of hy¬ 
brids and the weaker grow- 
ing varieties of grapes 
upon those of more vigor¬ 
ous habits came to be prac¬ 
tised, this, among others of 
the white grapes, came to 
the front. It seems to take 
readily when grafted, aud 
from present indications it 
would appear to be uil that 
could be desired as to vigor 
of growth when grafted on 
the Concord. I have uot 
fruited it as yet, though, 
owing to its fine appear¬ 
ance and good flavor, I 
hope for the best. The clus¬ 
ter is of medium size, sel- 
[The illustration we pre¬ 
sent to oar readers is a 
drawing from nature.] 
vergennes grape, etc. 
I am afiaidthe Rural 
correspondent—page 96— 
has not the genuine Ver¬ 
gennes Grape. We have 
had it since it was first 
offered for sale, and by re¬ 
ferring to my memoran¬ 
dum book I find it is one of 
the very few varieties out 
of over 100 sorts we have 
on our grounds, that were 
perfectly free from mildew 
during the very unprofit¬ 
able seasons of ’82 and ’83. 
For a wax in grafting 
the grape I use a thin sheet 
of pure beeswax. I make 
the joint similar to the 
Champin graft, as shown 
in a recent Rural, and 
tie securely with cotton 
twine; then wrap the 
sheet of beeswax—which 
should be quite warm— 
about the graft, pressing 
it firmly so as to exclude 
moisture. This is much 
cleaner than the mastic 
usually used, much more 
easily put on, and answers 
quite as well with us. Fine 
sheets of wax can be made 
for this purpose by dipping 
thin pieces of smooth 
boards—a planed shingle, 
for instance, that has been 
staked in water—into 
melted wax. then into the 
water, when the sheets 
will come off readily. 
F. l. w. 
Plainfield, Mich. 
GRAFTING THE GRAPE. 
It is not necessary to use 
any sort of application to 
exclude moisture in graft¬ 
ing the grape. See that the 
union is carefully made so 
that the cambiums of graft 
and stock meet,and merely 
put deep enough in the 
ground so that soil shall 
cover all except the top 
eye. If one desires to use 
any appliance, the best is 
made of old, nearly worn- 
