Narrative
Type = American Hybrid. Per Bush and Son and Meissner (see citation below): "The plant has a very vigorous growth and blossoms profusely, being one of the earliest to bloom; sometimes it sets its fruit in medium-sized, compact clusters, which are black when ripe and scarcely distinguishable from the Diogenes; it is also considered rot-proof, making a very dark - in fact, inky - wine (which, however, loses much of its inky character with age). The ripe fruit produces a sugary must with a very small fruit portion of acid." Per Hedrick (see citation): "Vine a rampant grower, hardy, medium to productive, somewhat subject to attacks of leaf hoppers. Foliage very healthy; leaves unusally large, intermediate in thickness, dark green with well defined ribs showing through the thin pubescence of the under surface. Flowers sterile, open very early; stamens reflexed. Fruit ripens late, and appears to keep well. Berries small to medium, roundish to slightly flattened, black, rather glossy, covered with blue bloom, peristent, firm. Skin rather tough, thinnish and inclined to crack, adheres slightly to the pulp, contains an unusually large amount of dark purplish-red pigment. Flesh reddish-green, moderately juicy, rather tender and soft, fine-grained, very slightly aromatic, spicy, neither so sprightly nor so high-flavored as other varieties of the same season, not good enough in flavor and quality in general for dessert purposes."