Perkins


(Labrusca, Vinifera)



At one time Perkins was grown largely as an early grape but has been

discarded very generally on account of the poor quality of the fruit.

The pulp of the grape is hard and the flavor is that of Wyoming and

Northern Muscadine, grapes characterized by disagreeable foxiness. As

with nearly all Labruscas, Perkins is a poor keeper. Notwithstanding

the faults of its fruit, the variety may
ave value in regions where

grape-growing is precarious; for in fruiting it is one of the most

reliable grapes cultivated, the vines being hardy, vigorous,

productive and free from fungal diseases. Perkins is an accidental

seedling found about 1830 in the garden of Jacob Perkins, Bridgewater,

Massachusetts.



Vine vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive. Canes long, numerous,

thick, dark brown, deepening in color at the nodes, surface

heavily pubescent; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes long;

tendrils continuous, bifid or trifid. Leaves medium in size,

thick; upper surface rugose; lower surface heavily pubescent;

veins distinct; lobes three; petiolar sinus deep, narrow;

serration shallow. Flowers self-fertile, early; stamens upright.



Fruit early, ships well. Clusters of medium size and length,

broad, cylindrical, often with a single shoulder, compact; pedicel

short, thick, warty; brush long, yellow. Berries large, oval, pale

lilac or light red with thin bloom, inclined to drop from the

pedicel, soft; skin thin, tough, without pigment; flesh white,

juicy, stringy, fine-grained, firm, meaty, very foxy; poor in

quality. Seeds adherent, numerous, medium in size, notched.



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