Leaf-buds large to medium, long and thick, obtuse to conical, open late. Young leaves tinged on under side and along margin of upper side with brownish-carmine. Leaves large, of average thickness; upper surface light green, dull, medium to slightly rugose; lower surface grayish-white, pubescent; veins distinct; leaf usually not lobed with terminus obtuse to acute; petiolar sinus medium to deep, narrow, often closed and overlapping; basal sinus absent; lateral sinus shallow and narrow when present; teeth deep, wide to medium. Flowers fertile, open late; stamens upright.
Fruit ripens with Catawba or later, does not rank among the best keepers. Clusters very large to medium, long, broad, tapering to cylindrical, sometimes single-shouldered, compact; peduncle short to medium, above average thickness; pedicel medium to short, slender, smooth, considerably enlarged at point of attachment to fruit; brush short, pale yellowish-green. Berries medium to above in size, oval, pale green or golden yellow, glossy, covered with heavy gray bloom, persistent, firm. Skin thin, variable in toughness, sometimes inclined to crack, adheres considerably to the pulp, contains no pigment, slightly astringent. Flesh light green, translucent, juicy, fine-grained, tender, somewhat vinous, good to very good. Seeds separate easily from the pulp, one to five, average three, below medium to small, intermediate in width, long, brownish; raphe sometimes visible being partly submerged in the short shallow groove; chalaza of average size, above center, oval to circular, distinct.
ULSTER.
(Labrusca, Vinifera.)
1. Bush. Cat., 1883:141. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1885:104. 3. Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1885-6:224. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1889:24. 5. Mo. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1891:128. 6. Rural N. Y., 50:691. 1891. 7. Ib., 51:170, 681. 1892. 8. N. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 11:637. 1892. 9. Ill. Sta. Bul., 28:262. 1893. 10. Bush. Cat., 1894:183. 11. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 39:26. 1894. 12. N. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 17:536, 548, 553, 557. 1898. 13. Kan. Sta. Bul., 110:240. 1902. 14. Mich. Sta. Bul., 205:41. 1903.
Ulster Prolific (1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13). Ulster Prolific (8, 10).
The accompanying color-plate does not do justice to Ulster as to size and beauty of the fruit but it well illustrates one of the chief faults of the variety. The vines usually set too much fruit in spite of efforts to control the crop by pruning, and two undesirable results follow: The bunches are small and the vines, lacking vigor at best, fail to fully recover from the over-fruitfulness. Over-productiveness and lack of vigor are the two defects in Ulster that have kept it from becoming of more importance commercially and a greater favorite as a garden grape. The quality of the fruit is very good, being much like that of Catawba both in flesh characters and in flavor. The color of the berries seems to vary greatly, sometimes being nearly as red as Catawba and under other conditions an unattractive green with a reddish tinge. As a rule the fruit keeps well but there are exceptions especially when the variety is not grown under the conditions best suited to it. Ulster has many good qualities but its deficiency in vigor and capriciousness in both vine and fruit characters prevent its becoming a grape of value for either vineyard or garden.
Ulster was originated by A. J. Caywood of Marlboro, New York, and was introduced by the originator about 1885. It was included in the list of sorts recommended by the American Pomological Society in 1899. Its parents are said to be Catawba pollinated by a wild Aestivalis. Both vine and fruit show unmistakable traces of Labrusca and Vinifera, but the Aestivalis characters, if present, are not apparent.
