DELAWBA.
(Labrusca, Vinifera, Bourquiniana.)
1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1891:126. 2. U. S. D. A. Rpt., 1891:393. 3. Bush. Cat., 1894:114, 115. fig. 4. Ga. Sta. Bul., 53:42. 1901.
Of Delawba we can say but little, not having vines of it on the Station grounds. It is an offspring of Delaware crossed with Catawba, as the name indicates, and was introduced with the expectation that it would take the place of one or the other or both of its parents. However, it has made no impress upon the viticulture of this State though it has been tested here and there in the several grape regions during the past ten years. The fruit resembles Catawba, though not as attractive, the berries averaging smaller, but it ripens almost as early as Delaware, a great point in its favor. The vine, too, is more like Catawba than the Delaware, being more vigorous and productive than the latter. The reports of this variety indicate that it is very promising but it seems not to be making headway as either a fancy or a commercial fruit probably because of characters lacking in the fruit.
Dr. L. C. Chisholm of Spring Hill, Tennessee, produced the Delawba some time about 1880 from seed of Delaware fertilized by Catawba. The variety was introduced in 1895, after having received high encomiums from various horticultural authorities. The following is a compiled description:
Vine usually vigorous and productive, resembling Catawba very closely, blooming with Concord. Cluster above medium to large, moderately compact, cylindrical or slightly tapering, sometimes slightly shouldered. Berries variable in size, ranging from above medium to below, of amber color with lilac bloom; skin quite tough. Not attractive in appearance. It is self-fertile and ripens its berries evenly. Quality good to very good. Ripens shortly after Delaware.
DEVEREAUX.[179]
(Bourquiniana.)
1. Mag. Hort., 9:373. 1843. 2. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt., 1853:299. 3. Horticulturist, 12:458. 1857. 4. Gar. Mon., 2:265. 1860. 5. Downing, 1869:531. 6. Grape Cult., 1:17, 326. 1869. 7. (?) Bush. Cat., 1883:118. 8. Ib., 1894:116. 9. (?) Texas Farm and Ranch, Feb. 8, 1896:11.
Black July (5). Black July (8, 9). Blue Grape (5, 8, 9). Devereux (5). Hart (4, 5, 8). Husson (5, 8, 9). Lenoir (9, incorr. 5, 8). Lincoln (4, 7). Lincoln (5,? 8, 9). McLean (4, 5, 8, 9). Sherry (5, 8, 9). Sumpter (5, 9). Thurmond (5, 8, 9). Tuley (5, 8, 9).
The Devereaux is an old southern grape now nearly obsolete because of its capriciousness as to location. When it can be grown it is of high quality and makes a very good wine. The variety is of only historical and botanical interest. In France the Devereaux was at one time considered a valuable wine grape.
An article in the Horticulturist[180] for 1857 states that the Devereaux was found in the woods over forty years before that date by Samuel M. Devereaux, who lived near Sparta, Georgia. It has been considerably confused with varieties which resemble it. The name Lincoln, in particular, is a questionable synonym which Dr. Curtis of Hillsboro, North Carolina, in a letter to the Gardener’s Monthly for 1860,[181] states was found near the junction of the South Fork and Catawba Rivers by Dr. William McLean. It was known locally under the names of McLean and Hart. Later it was sent to Longworth, who gave it the name Lincoln.