Concord grape

“ In the Chautauqua grape region there are six distinct types of soil upon which grapes are grown and the Concord is the leading grape on each of them.
A second character which commends Concord as a commercial variety is its high degree of fruitfulness, as it gives large crops year in and year out. Added to the above points of superiority are hardiness; ability to withstand the ravages of both diseases and insects; comparative earliness and therefore certainty of maturity in northern regions; fair size of bunch and berry, good color, and an abundance of bloom, making a most handsome{220} grape. ”

“ In New York, approximately seventy-five per ct. of all the grapes grown are Concords alone. The preeminently meritorious character of Concord, which has enabled it to take first place in American viticulture, is the elasticity of its constitution whereby it adapts itself to varying conditions; thus the Concord is grown with more or less profit in every grape-growing State in the Union and to an extent not possible with any other grape. It succeeds on a greater number of soils than any other variety. ”

“ The characters which distinguish the vine are: Adaptability to various soils, fruitfulness, hardiness and resistance to diseases and insects. The fruits are distinguished by certainty of maturity, attractive appearance, good but not high flavor, and by the fact that they may be produced so cheaply that no other grape can compete with this variety in the markets. Concord is, as Horace Greeley well denominated it in awarding the Greeley prize for the best American grape, "the grape for the millions." ”

“ Its chief fault is that the fruit cracks badly, often preventing the profitable marketing of a crop. The Concord cracks also in unfavorable weather but the cracked berries often, or nearly always, partly or wholly recover from the injury through the growing over of the wounds. The Worden lacks the power of overcoming the cracking. Beside this tenderness of skin, the pulp of Worden is softer than that of Concord, there is more juice and the keeping qualities are not as good, so that the variety hardly ships as well as the more commonly grown grape. ”

“ Vigorous, healthy, very productive; clusters large, cylindrical, shouldered, moderately compact; berries large, bronze or wine-colored, oval; pulp tender, mild, very juicy with a peculiar musky flavor and foxy aroma; fair quality; ripens about two weeks after Concord.
Western Beauty. Grown from mixed seed by E. P. Fisher, Sterling, Kansas, about 1904. Described by the originator as a black or purple grape of superior quality, better than Concord, a stronger grower than that variety and perfectly hardy; ripens about with Catawba. ”

“ While a northern grape it can be grown in the south and thrives under so many different climatic and soil conditions and under all is so fruitful that, next to the Concord, it is the most popular American grape for garden, vineyard and wine-press. ”

“ If we examine the must of most of our American wine grapes closely, we find that they not only contain an excess of acids in inferior seasons, but also a superabundance of flavor or aroma, and of tannin and coloring matter. Especially of flavor, there is such an abundance that, were the quantity doubled by addition of sugar and water, there would still be an abundance; and with some varieties, such as the Concord, if fermented on the husks, it is so strong as to be disagreeable. ”

“ King is similar to Concord, compared with which the vine is more vigorous and prolific, time of ripening and length of season the same, the clusters are one-fourth larger, the grapes are more persistent, the pulp is more tender, the flavor nearly the same but more sprightly, the seeds fewer in number, the wood harder and of shorter joints and the pedicels larger. ”

“ I answer, let them choose the best location they have, the most free and airy, and let them choose only those sturdy varieties that withstand everything. They cannot grow the most delicate varieties—the Herbemont, the Delaware, the Clara, are not for them; but they can grow the Concord, Hartford Prolific, and Norton's Virginia, and they at least are "very good," although they may not be the "best." There is no excuse for any one in this country why he should not grow his own grapes, for the use of his family at least, if he has any ground to grow them on. ”

“ Moore Early is the standard grape of its season in New York. It cannot be better described than as an early Concord. It comes in season from two to three weeks earlier than Concord and the last fruits of it are sent to market before those of the later grape are picked. The vines are readily recognizable from those of Concord, differing chiefly in being less productive and more precarious bearers. To grow the variety satisfactorily the soil must be rich, well drained and loose, must be frequently cultivated and the vines should be carefully pruned and cared for in every way. ”

“ There are many men who can remember its beginning in a commercial way. It seldom occurs to the younger generation, which is familiar with the [Pg 6] great vineyards in many states, that the Concord is yet scarcely forty years old, and that all grape growing in eastern America is yet in an experimental stage. Progress has been so rapid in recent years that the new methods outstrip the books. The old horizontal arm spur system, which is still the chief method in the books, has evolved itself into a high renewal training, which is widely used but which has not found its way into the manuals. ”

“ This fine grape was originated at about the close of the Civil War by James H. Ricketts of Newburgh, New York, from seed of Concord fertilized by Jura Muscat. It was introduced by Messrs. Asher Hance & Sons, who bought it of the originator. It is very common in varietal vineyards but it has not become popular as a commercial sort; it is a popular grape for exhibitions where, when well grown, it is hardly surpassed in appearance by any other American grape.
Vine variable in vigor, productive, healthy, often inclined to overbear. ”

“ In quality, the grapes are as good if not better than those of Concord or Niagara, being sweet, rich and pleasantly flavored, although as with the other grapes named, it has too much foxiness for critical consumers. ”

“ In hardiness of root and vine Niagara falls somewhat short of Concord; practically all grape-growers who have tested the two varieties in cold climates agree as to the greater hardiness of Concord. In some of the grape regions of New York Niagara is not grown profitably because of its susceptibility to cold. The variety cannot be relied upon without winter protection where the thermometer falls much below zero. Like Concord the Niagara has much of the foxiness of the wild Labrusca, distasteful to many palates. ”

“ The young shoots of grape vines are very tender, and therefore very sensitive to frost, yet if the Concord in some degree escaped, we think that these shrubs would endure late frosts much better than any grape vine, and therefore we should not be by any means discouraged from giving them a trial on account of the danger of late spring frosts. ”

“ The fruit is much superior to Concord in quality, being richer, sweeter, and having less foxiness. It hangs on the vines well but deteriorates rapidly after picking. The term “ironclad” used by grape-growers to express hardiness and freedom from diseases, is probably as{326} applicable to Lady as to any other of our Labrusca grapes. The foliage is dense and of a deep glossy green color, neither scalding under a hot sun, nor freezing until heavy frosts, making it an attractive ornament in the garden. It is deservedly popular as an amateur grape and should be planted more for nearby markets. ”

“ Lady is generally accredited with being the highest in quality of all the seedlings of Concord and, added to its high quality, it is early, fairly vigorous, hardy, and nearly as free from fungal diseases as its parent. It is not, however, without faults, one of which, a thin, tender skin which cracks badly, wholly debars it from ever making a commercial variety for other than nearby markets. The vine is much like that of Concord, though not as vigorous nor as productive, but ripening its fruit fully two weeks earlier. ”

“ The vine, although a rank and healthy grower, is unproductive; seldom setting more than half a dozen berries on a bunch, and these are so sour, have such a hard pulp, with such a decided frost-grape taste and flavor, and are so deficient in juice, that no sensible man should think of making them into wine, much less call it, as its disseminator did, "the true port wine grape." ”

“ The characters which have kept it in cultivation are earliness, good shipping qualities, though it does not keep well, productiveness, attractive appearance, and a vigorous hardy vine. The hardiness of the vine and its short season of fruit development and maturity make it a good variety for northern and cold climates. This grape is best, in appearance of fruit, in quality, and in the quantity produced, on a comparatively light sandy soil. As grape consumers become more appreciative of quality, Champion will be grown less and less. ”

“ There are innumerable other varieties, for which their originators all claim peculiar merits, and some of whom may prove valuable. But all who bring new varieties before the public, should consider that we have already names enough, nay, more than are good for us, and that it is useless to swell the list still more, unless we can do so with a variety, superior in some respects to our best varieties. A new grape, to claim favor at the hands of the public, should be healthy, hardy, a good grower, and productive; and of superior quality, either for the table or for wine. ”

“ As time goes on they will doubtless find that the land will be found suitable for both cantaloupes and watermelons and fruits of all kinds, including figs and grapes. In the matter of grapes alone, I happen to know that in a similar section in Butler County, Ala., a light, sandy land, with good clay subsoil, the finest of Scuppernong grape [518] arbors flourished, some of them covering a half-acre of ground, from which the best of home-made wines are brewed. ”

“ The seeds and skin of Concord are objectionable, the seeds being large and abundant and difficult to separate from the flesh and the skin is tough and unpleasantly astringent. The Concord does not keep nor ship well as compared with grapes having Vinifera blood and it rapidly loses flavor after ripening; the skin is inclined to crack and the berries to shell from the stems after picking. Concord is but slightly resistant to phylloxera and in calcareous soils is subject to chlorosis. It requires a rich soil and thrives best on a virgin soil ”

“ Then we find large quantities of the grapes so deficient in color and flavor as to be worthless; in some varieties whole bunches will hang flaccid, withered, and insipid—while perhaps a few, more favorably situated, will have their proper flavor. The grape vine is well called beautiful, and it is capable of sustaining most wonderful amounts of fruit; but on young vines, especially, it is very bad policy to allow of this over-production. ”

“ To the people of the South Atlantic coast the Scuppernong is by far the most important of the native grapes, for while it refuses to flourish away from its native home, yet its great possibilities as a wine-grape are beginning to be appreciated. All the early explorers gave it special mention. Hariot in his famous Narrative wrote, "There are two kinds of grapes that the soil does yield naturally, the one is small and sour, of the ordinary bigness of ours in England; the other far greater and of himself luscious sweet. ”

“ The fruit committee, who examined several hundred of the vines growing in the same vineyard with the Hartford Prolific, found the fruit fully ripe on Moore’s Early, while the Hartford Prolific was not ripe, requiring a considerable number of days more to bring it to maturity. The earliness and hardiness of this grape are qualities of considerable moment to all who grow grapes in our climate, whether they be grown by amateurs for their own tables, or on a more extended scale for the market. ”

“ On the other hand, very often southern grapes are hardy in vine in the North, but the season is not sufficiently long for the fruit to mature and to acquire sufficient sugar to give them good keeping quality, properly to pass through vinous fermentation, or even to make a good unfermented grape-juice. In the uneven topography of this continent, it is not possible to state the range in latitude in which grapes can be cultivated to advantage, for latitude is often set aside by altitude. ”

“ While the vine characters of Triumph are those of Labrusca there is scarcely a suggestion of the coarseness, or of the foxy odor and taste of Labrusca; and the objectionable seeds, pulp, and skin of the native grape give way to the far less objectionable structures of Vinifera. Grapes of this variety do not have the firm and often disagreeable pulpiness of many other similar hybrids, as for instance most of Rogers’ hybrids. The flesh is tender and melting and the flavor rich, sweet, vinous, pure and delicate, giving the variety high rank among the best American grapes. ”

“ Black Hamburg is a variety of Vitis vinifera, impossible to grow out of doors in eastern America, but illustrated and described here because it is one of the parents of many hybrids with American species and because it represents, in fruit characters at least, about all that is desirable in a good grape. Since it is a standard of excellence which American breeders of table grapes have long sought to attain, we may name its points of superiority over the table grapes now grown in our vineyards. ”