Lindley
(Labrusca, Vinifera)
By common consent, Lindley (Plate XXII) is the best of the red grapes
originated by Rogers in his crosses between Labrusca and Vinifera. The
bunches are of only medium size and are loose, but the berries are
well-formed, of uniform size and an attractive dark red color. The
flesh is firm, fine-grained, juicy, tender with a peculiarly rich
aromatic flavor. The skin is thick and tough b
t is not objectionable
in fruit fully ripe. The fruit keeps and ships well, and the berries
neither crack nor shatter. The vine is vigorous, hardy for a Vinifera
hybrid, healthy but, as with most of its kind, susceptible to mildew.
The chief defects of Lindley are self-sterility, precariousness in
bearing and lack of adaptation to many soils. Lindley is a general
favorite in the garden. In 1869 Rogers gave this grape its name in
honor of John Lindley, the English botanist.
Vine vigorous, usually hardy, susceptible to mildew. Canes very
long, dark reddish-brown with thin bloom; nodes enlarged, usually
flattened; internodes long, thick; tendrils continuous, long,
bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface light green,
dull, slightly rugose; lower surface grayish-white, pubescent;
obscurely three-lobed with terminus acute; petiolar sinus deep,
narrow, often closed and overlapping; teeth shallow. Flowers
self-sterile, open in mid-season; stamens reflexed.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters long, broad,
cylindrical, frequently single-shouldered, the shoulder being
connected to the bunch by a long stem, loose; pedicel short,
slender, smooth; brush short, pale green. Berries large,
round-oval, dark-red with faint bloom; skin tough, adherent,
unpigmented, strongly astringent; flesh pale green, translucent,
juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous; good to best. Seeds adherent,
two to five, notched, brown.