Secretary
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca)
Injured by mildew and rot which attack leaves, fruit and young wood,
the vines of Secretary are able to produce good grapes only in
exceptional seasons and in favored localities. The fruit characters
of Secretary, however, give the grapes exceptionally high quality, the
berries being meaty yet juicy, fine-grained and tender, with a sweet,
spicy, vinous flavor. The bunches are
medium-sized, purplish-black berries covered with thick bloom, making
a very handsome cluster. While the vine and foliage somewhat resemble
those of Clinton, one of its parents, the variety is not nearly as
hardy, vigorous nor productive. Moreover, in any but favored
localities in the North, its maturity is somewhat uncertain. These
defects keep Secretary from becoming of commercial importance and make
it of value only to the amateur. Secretary is one of the first
productions of J. H. Ricketts, Newburgh, New York, the original vine
coming from seed of Clinton fertilized by Muscat Hamburg, planted in
1867.
Vine vigorous, doubtfully hardy, variable in productiveness. Canes
numerous, light brown, conspicuously darker at nodes, surface
covered with thin, blue bloom; tendrils intermittent, bifid.
Leaves small to medium, thin; upper surface light green, dull,
smooth; lower surface pale green, glabrous. Flowers semi-fertile,
early; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens after Concord, keeps and ships well. Clusters large,
long, cylindrical with a large, single shoulder, often loose and
with many abortive fruits. Berries large, round, flattened at
attachment to pedicel, dark purplish-black, glossy, persistent,
firm; skin tough with wine-colored pigment; flesh green, juicy,
fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet; good. Seeds free, large,
broad, notched, long, dark brown.
More
-
Pests
Several pests vex the gardener in growing grapes indoors. Of these, mealy-bug, red-spider, thrips and mildew are most troublesome. In a well-conducted grapery, there is never an intermission in the warfare against these pests. Mealy-bug is usuall... Plant Characters And Growth Habits Of The Grape
A grape plant is a complex organism with its many separate parts especially developed to do one or a few kinds of work. The part of a plant devoted to one or a group of functions is called an organ. The chief organs of the plant are the root, stem, ... Planting
The dangers and difficulties of planting hardwooded plants are greatly exaggerated. The tyro, in particular, is impressed with his responsibilities at this time, and often sends a hurry-up call to experiment station or nurseryman to "send him a man ... Planting And Training
Two-year-old vines are most commonly planted. The vines are set inside the house at least a foot from the walls and four feet apart. The grapery must be built on piers with spaces of at least two feet between, and the vines are placed opposite these... Pocklington
(Labrusca) Before the advent of Niagara, Pocklington (Plate XXII) was the leading green grape. The variety has the fatal fault, however, of ripening its crop late, which with some minor defects has caused it to fall below Niagara for northern gra... Poughkeepsie
(Bourquiniana, Labrusca, Vinifera) Poughkeepsie has been known long on the Hudson River, yet it is now little grown there and has not been disseminated widely elsewhere. In quality of fruit, it is equal to the best American varieties, but the vin... Prentiss
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Prentiss is a green grape of high quality, once well known and generally recommended, but now going out of cultivation because the vine is tender to cold, lacks in vigor, is unproductive, uncertain in bearing and is subject t... Preparation For Planting
It is impossible to put too much emphasis on the necessity of thorough preparation of the land before planting the grape. Extra expenditure to secure good tilth is amply repaid by increased growth in the grape, and all subsequent care may fail to st... Propagation
The grape commends itself to commercial and amateur growers alike by its ease of propagation. The vines of all species may be propagated from seed, and all but one of the several cultivated species may be grown readily from cuttings or layers. All... Proper Planting Of Grafted Vines
Europeans and Californians long ago learned that failures with grafted vines often came from setting the vines too deep in the soil, the result being that the cions struck root and became independent, whereupon the stock dies or becomes so moribund ... Pruning And Training Distinguished
The grape is pruned to increase in various ways the economic value of the plant by increasing the quantity and value of the crop. This is pruning proper. Or grapes are pruned to make well-proportioned plants with the parts so disposed that the vines... Pruning And Training Muscadine Grapes
The Muscadine grapes of the South are so distinct in characters of growth and fruit-bearing that their requirements as to pruning and training are quite different from the methods so far given. Until recent years when these grapes have become of com... Pruning The Grape In Eastern America
The inexperienced look on pruning as a difficult operation in grape-growing. But once a few fundamentals are grasped, grape-pruning is not difficult. There is much less perplexity in pruning the grape than in pruning tree-fruits. Pruning follows a... Purple Cornichon
(Vinifera) Black Cornichon By virtue of attractive appearance and excellent shipping qualities of the fruit, this variety takes high place among the commercial grapes of California. Late ripening is another quality making it desirable, while i... Raisins
The grape is best conserved as a raisin. Canning is seldom practiced with this fruit. A raisin is a dried grape. Tree-fruits are evaporated as by-products, but the raisin is a primary product. This is a difference worth noting; for with tree-fruits ... Rebecca
(Labrusca, Vinifera) In the middle of the last century, when grape-growing was in the hands of the connoisseurs, Rebecca was one of the sterling green varieties. It is wholly unsuited for commercial vineyards and for years has been disappearing g... Red Eagle
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Red Eagle is a pure-bred seedling of Black Eagle which it resembles in all characters except color of fruit. Vine and fruit exhibit the characters found in Rogers' hybrids. It takes high rank as a grape of quality and can be ... Regal
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Regal is an offspring of Lindley, which it greatly resembles. The fruit is attractive in appearance and high in quality. A seemingly insignificant fault might make Regal undesirable in a commercial vineyard; the clusters are ... Rejuvenating Old Vines
When pruning and training are neglected, a vineyard soon becomes a sorry company of halt and maimed vines. These neglected vines can rarely be reshaped and restored to their pristine vigor. If the old vines seem capable of throwing out a strong new ... Renewing Fruiting Wood
There are two ways of renewing the fruiting wood on a grape-vine, by canes and from spurs. The manner of renewing refers to pruning and not to training, for either can be used in any method of training. Cane renewals. Renewal by canes is made e... Requa
(Labrusca, Vinifera) This is one of Rogers' hybrids which equals other grapes of its color and season. The grapes are attractive in cluster and berry and are of very good quality but are subject to rot and ripen too late for northern regions. The... Results Of Grape-breeding
There are now 2000 or more varieties of grapes of American origin, all produced within approximately a century. It is doubtful whether any other cultivated plant at any time in the history of the world has attained such importance in so short a time... Ringing Grape Vines
The ringing of woody plants is a well-known horticultural practice. Three objects may be attained by ringing: unproductive plants may be brought into bearing by ringing; the size of the fruits may be increased and thereby the plants be made more pro... Ripening Dates And Length Of Season For Grapes
Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may be expected to ripen and the length of season that they will keep. The commercial fruit-grower by all means should have this information. It is not sufficient that he know only roughly at what se... Rochester
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The fruit of Rochester is a large-clustered red grape, handsome and very good in quality. The vine is a strong grower, productive and free from diseases. The variety is difficult to propagate and, therefore, not in favor with... Rommel
(Labrusca, Vulpina, Vinifera) Rommel is rarely cultivated in the North, because the vines lack in robustness, hardiness and productiveness and are susceptible to the leaf-hopper; and the grapes do not attain high quality and crack as they ripen. ... Rosaki
(Vinifera) Rosaki is a table-and raisin-grape of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. According to some of the California nursery companies, it is grown in that state under the name Dattier de Beyrouth, although it would seem from French descripti... Rose Of Peru
(Vinifera) Rose of Peru is a favorite table-grape in California, confused with and possibly the same as Black Prince. Its chief commendable characters are handsome appearance and high quality of fruit and very productive vines. It is not adapted ... Salem
(Labrusca, Vinifera) Rogers' No. 22, Rogers' No. 53 Salem (Plate XXVII) is the one of Rogers' hybrids of which the originator is said to have thought most, and to which he gave the name of his place of residence. The two chief faults, unproduct... Scuppernong
(Rotundifolia) American Muscadine, Bull, Bullace, Bullet, Fox Grape, Green Scuppernong, Green Muscadine, Hickman, Muscadine, Roanoke Scuppernong is preeminently the grape of the South, the chief representative of the great species, V. rotundifo... Secretary
(Vinifera, Vulpina, Labrusca) Injured by mildew and rot which attack leaves, fruit and young wood, the vines of Secretary are able to produce good grapes only in exceptional seasons and in favored localities. The fruit characters of Secretary, ho... Seedlings
Growing seedling grapes is the simplest of operations. The seeds are taken from the grapes at harvest time, after which they must pass through a resting period of a few months. At once or in a month or two, the seeds should be stratified in moist sa... Selecting And Preparing The Vines
Young grape vines covet life, for they are usually vigorous and not easily injured. Hence, the plants may be brought from a distance without fear of loss. The local nurseryman is, however, a good adviser as to varieties if he is honest and intellige... Senasqua
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The vine of Senasqua lacks in vigor, hardiness, productiveness and health. The grapes are of good quality, and when well grown are up to the average fruits of the Labrusca-Vinifera hybrids. Unfortunately the berries have a te... Some Principles Of Pruning
Leaving the shaping of the plant out of consideration and having in mind pruning proper, all efforts in pruning are directed toward two objects: (1) The production of leafy shoots to increase the vigor of the plant. (2) The promotion of the formatio... Species Of American Grapes
The number of species of grapes in the world depends on the arbitrary limits set for a species of this fruit, and knowledge of the genus is yet too meager to set these limits with certainty. Indeed, the men who have made grape species have seldom be... Sultana
(Vinifera) This variety was formerly the standard seedless grape in California for home use and raisins, but it is now outstripped by Sultanina. Sultana is possibly better flavored than Sultanina but the vines are hardly as vigorous or productive... Sultanina
(Vinifera) Thompson's Seedless Sultanina is one of the standard seedless grapes of the Pacific slope, grown both to eat out of hand and for raisins. Probably it can be grown in home plantations in favored parts of eastern America where the sea... Taylor
(Vulpina, Labrusca) Bullitt While it is from the species to which Taylor belongs that we must look for our hardiest vines, nevertheless this grape and its offspring, although not tender to cold, do best in southern regions, as they require a l... The Determinants Of Grape Regions
Climate, soil, site, the surface features of the land, insects, fungi and commercial geography are the chief factors that determine regions for money-making in grape-growing. This has been made plain in the foregoing discussion of grape regions, but... The Domestication Of The Grape
The domestication of an animal or a plant is a milestone in the advance of agriculture and so becomes of interest to every human being. But, more particularly, the materials, the events and the men who direct the work of domestication are of inter... The European Grape
The European grape, Vitis vinifera (Fig. 1), is the grape of ancient and modern agriculture. It is the vine which Noah planted after the Deluge; the vine of Israel and of the Promised Land; the vine of the parables in the New Testament. It is the gr... The Genus Vitis
The genus Vitis belongs to the vine family (Vitaceae) in which most botanists also put the wood-vines (Ampelopsis), of which Virginia creeper is the best-known plant. The genus Cissus, to which belong many southern climbers, is combined with Vitis b... The Grape Regions Of America
There are four chief grape-growing regions in North America, with possibly twice as many more subsidiary ones. These several regions, each of which has its distinct varieties and to less extent distinct species, and in each of which grapes are grown... The Grapery
Almost any of the various modifications of greenhouses can be adapted to growing grapes. Firms constructing greenhouses usually have had experience in building graperies, and, as a rule, it will pay to have these professional builders put up the hou... The Trellis
The trellis is a considerable item in the grape-grower's budget, since it must be renewed every fifteen years or thereabouts. Wires are strung in the North at the end of the second season after planting, but in the South the growth is often so great... The Vineyard And Its Management
A vineyard is more artificial than other plantations of fruits, since the vine requires greater discipline under cultivation than tree or bush. Yet greater art is required only when the attempt is made to grow the grape to perfection, for the vine... The Work Of Pruning
The pruner may take his choice between several styles of hand pruning-shears with which to do his work. The knife is seldom used except in summer-pruning, and here, more often, the shoots are broken out or pinched out. In winter-pruning, the cane is... Tillage
Grape-growers are not in the fog that befuddles growers of tree-fruits in regard to tillage. He is a sloven, indeed, who permits his vines to stand a season in unbroken ground, and there are no growers who recommend sod or any of the modified sod-mu... Training On Arbors Pergolas And As Ornamentals
The grape is much used to cover arbors, pergolas, lattices and to screen the sides of buildings, few climbing plants being more ornamental. Leaf, fruit and vine have been favorite subjects for reproduction by ornamentalists of all ages. As yet, howe... Triumph
(Labrusca, Vinifera) When quality, color, shape and size of bunch and berry are considered, Triumph (Plate XXVIII) is one of the finest dessert grapes of America. At its best, it is a magnificent bunch of golden grapes of highest quality, esteeme... Ulster
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The vines of Ulster set too much fruit in spite of efforts to control the crop by pruning; two undesirable results follow, the bunches are small and the vines, lacking vigor at best, fail to recover from the overfruitfulness.... Varieties
Out of the 2000 or more Vinifera grapes, probably not more than a score are grown under glass, and of these but a half dozen are commonly grown. Black varieties have the preference for indoors, especially if grown for the market, where they bring th... Varieties Of Grapes
Nature has expended her bounties in fullest measure for the vineyard. More than 2000 varieties of grapes are described in American viticultural literature, and twice as many more find mention in European treatises on the vine. Few other fruits off... Verdal
(Vinifera) Aspiran Blanc Verdal is one of the standard late grapes of the Pacific slope, ripening among the last. The grapes are seen seldom in distant markets and the quality is not quite good enough to make it a very great favorite for home ... Vergennes
(Labrusca) The most valuable attribute of Vergennes (Plate XXIX) is certainty in bearing. The vine seldom fails to bear although it often overbears, causing variability in size of fruits and time of ripening. With a moderate crop, the grapes ripe... Vine Pruning In California
The systems of pruning in use in California may be divided into two classes according to the arrangement of the arms on the trunk of the vine. In the commonest systems, there is a definite head to the trunk, from which all the arms arise symmetrical... Vineyard Returns
Grape-growing as a business is a comparatively new industry in America. It is true that the first attempts at growing this fruit were made to found an industry, but these were complete and dismal failures, and the start in growing grapes in America ... Walter
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana) Were it not almost impossible to grow healthy vines of Walter, the variety would rank high among American grapes. But stunted by fungi which attack leaves, young wood and fruit, it is possible only in exceptiona... Wilder
(Labrusca, Vinifera) The fruit of Wilder is surpassed in quality and appearance by other of Rogers' hybrids, but the vine is the most reliable of any of these hybrid sorts, being vigorous, hardy, productive, and, although somewhat susceptible to ...