(Labrusca)
Dracut Amber is representative of the red type of Labrusca. The fruit has no particular merit, its thick skin, coarse pulp, seeds and foxy taste all being objectionable. However, the vine is very hardy, productive, and ripens its fruit early so that this variety becomes valuable in locations where a vigorous, hardy, early grape is wanted. Asa Clement, Dracut, Massachusetts grew Dracut Amber from seed planted about 1855.
Vine vigorous, hardy, productive. Canes long, numerous, dark brown; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils continuous, long, bifid or trifid. Leaves large, thick; upper surface dark green, dull, smooth; lower surface pale green, cobwebby; lobes three to five with terminal one obtuse; petiolar sinus deep, narrow; basal sinus shallow, wide; teeth shallow. Flowers on plan of six, semi-fertile, mid-season.
Fruit early, season short. Clusters short, broad, cylindrical, irregular, rarely shouldered, compact; pedicel short, covered with warts; brush long, light yellowish-green. Berries medium to large, oval, dull pale red or dark amber, covered with thin bloom, soft; skin very thick, tender, adherent, astringent; flesh green, translucent, juicy, tough, very foxy; inferior in quality. Seeds adherent, two to five, large, broad, light brown.
Dutchess
(Vinifera, Labrusca, Bourquiniana? Æstivalis?)
Dutchess ([Plate XIII]) is not grown largely in commercial vineyards because of several faults, as: the vine is tender to cold; the berries do not ripen evenly; berries and foliage are susceptible to fungi; and in soils to which it is not adapted, berries and bunches are small. In spite of these defects, Dutchess should not be discarded by the grape-lover, for there are few grapes of higher quality. The grapes are sweet and rich, yet do not cloy the appetite; although of but medium size, they are attractive, being a beautiful amber color with distinctive dots; the flesh is translucent, sparkling, fine-grained and tender; the seeds are small, few and part readily from the pulp; the skin is thin, yet tough enough for good keeping; and the bunches are large and compact when well grown. The variety is self-fertile and, therefore, desirable when only a few vines are wanted. The clusters are especially fine when bagged. A. J. Caywood, Marlboro, New York, grew Dutchess from seed of a white Concord seedling pollinated by mixed pollen of Delaware and Walter. The seed was planted in 1868.
Vine vigorous, an uncertain bearer. Canes dark brown with light bloom, surface roughened; nodes enlarged, flattened; internodes short; tendrils intermittent, short, bifid or trifid. Leaves irregular in outline; upper surface pale green, pubescent; leaf entire with terminus acute; petiolar sinus narrow; basal sinus shallow when present; lateral sinus medium in depth or a mere notch. Flowers self-fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit mid-season, keeps and ships well. Clusters large, long, slender, tapering with a prominent single shoulder; pedicel slender, smooth; brush amber-colored. Berries of medium size, round, pale yellow-green verging on amber, some showing bronze tinge with thin bloom, persistent, firm; skin sprinkled with small dark dots, thin, tough, adherent; flesh pale green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, vinous, sweet, of pleasant flavor; quality high. Seeds free, one, two or occasionally three, small, short, sharp-pointed, brown.