For many years Hartford was looked upon as one of the standard early black grapes, if not the standard. It is now being very largely superseded, and greatly to the betterment of viticulture, by other grapes of its season of better quality, though it is still quite commonly grown in New York at least. It is probable that for many years there will be locations in which Hartford may be profitably cultivated (some in which it alone will be worth growing), and purposes for which it may be recommended. The many good characters of the vine make it a desirable grape for breeding work. The vine of Hartford can be well characterized by its good qualities but the fruit is best described through its faults. The plants are vigorous, prolific, healthy, and the fruit is borne early in the season, ripening from a week to two weeks in advance of the Concord. After Concord the Hartford is one of the most fruitful of American grapes. The canes are remarkable for their stoutness and for the crooks at the joints. The bunches are not unattractive (the color-plate fails to do them justice as to size and color), but the quality of the fruit is low, even for an early grape where the highest quality is hardly expected. The flesh is pulpy and unpleasant to eat while the flavor is both too insipid and too foxy to be good. Because of its poor quality, now that there are so many really good early grapes, Hartford should be discarded. But there is another reason for ceasing its culture. The berries shell badly either on the vine or when packed for shipping, so that the fruit neither ships, packs, nor keeps well. The competition of the southern states from which later and better varieties can be shipped to northern cities to compete with Hartford is still another reason for the passing of this variety from commercial cultivation. Still other faults are that it colors a long while before it is ripe; and it is only partly self-fertile so that in seasons when there is bad weather during blooming time the clusters are usually loose and straggling. [Illustration: HARTFORD] The original vine of Hartford was a chance seedling in the garden of Paphro Steele of West Hartford, Connecticut. It fruited for the first time in 1849. This seedling was supposed by those familiar with the surroundings at the time to be a cross of Isabella and the wild fox grape. It was named Hartford Prolific by the Hartford County Horticultural Society. The American Pomological Society placed it in their fruit catalog in 1862 and it has never been removed. The word "Prolific" appears to have been dropped from this name by common consent about 1890.