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 its curious, long, curved berries add novelty to its attractions. The fruit does not take high rank in quality. The description has been compiled.
Vine very vigorous, healthy and productive; wood light brown striped with darker brown, short-jointed. Leaves large, longer than wide, deeply five-lobed; dark green above, lighter and very hairy below; coarsely toothed; with short, thick petiole. Bunches very large, loose or sometimes scraggly, borne on long peduncles; berries large, long, more or less curved, dark purple, spotted, thick-skinned, borne on long pedicels; flesh firm, crisp, sweet but not rich in flavor; quality good but not high. Season late, keeps and ships well.
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 gradually from cultivation. The fruit is exceptionally fine, consisting of well-formed bunches and berries, the latter handsome yellowish-white and semi-transparent. In quality, the grapes are of the best, with a rich, sweet flavor and pleasing aroma. But the vine characters condemn Rebecca for any but the amateur. The vines lack in hardiness and vigor, are susceptible to mildew and other fungi and are productive only under the best conditions. The original vine was an accidental seedling found in the garden of E. M. Peake, Hudson, New York, and bore its first fruit in 1852.
Vine weak, sometimes vigorous, doubtfully hardy. Canes long, numerous, slender, dull brown, deepening in color at the nodes; tendrils continuous or intermittent, bifid or trifid. Leaves variable in size; upper surface dark green, dull, rugose; lower surface grayish-green, pubescent. Flowers self-fertile; stamens upright.
Fruit late mid-season, ships and keeps well. Clusters small, short, cylindrical, rarely with a small, single shoulder, compact. Berries of medium size, oval, green with yellow tinge verging on amber, thin gray bloom, persistent, firm; skin thin, without pigment; flesh pale green, very juicy, tender, melting, vinous, a little foxy, sweet; good to very good. Seeds free, short, narrow, blunt, brown.