FRUITS. 133 



would be best for vineyard culture. It is for home use that 

 we labor. Climate and soil have been conquered by the skill 

 of the laborer. No country in the world grows such beautiful 

 exotic grapes as Scotland. No country in Europe is seem- 

 ingly more unfit. 



So far as our climate is concerned, we have examples of 

 vineyard culture, and of good success. That success, in a 

 single instance, should incite us to grow enough for home con- 

 sumption in our families. Now, how many grapes ought a 

 family to consume? Some of your Committee believe, from 

 actual experiment, that a family liberally provided for can use 

 a good many pounds. With a good assortment of varieties, 

 the supply can easily extend over several months. And a 

 box of grapes is convenient at any season. We don't know 

 of anything more relishable before breakfast. They are cer- 

 tainly enjoyable at dinner, and if you happen to see a bunch 

 or two after supper, one can manage to dispose of them in the 

 usual way. Where a whole family of six or eight comes in 

 for each a share, several thrifty vines will be needed to grow 

 the supply. 



The beautiful specimens of hot-house and exotic grapes on 

 exhibition should elicit a sentence of comment from your 

 Committee. There is no mystery about raising grapes under 

 glass any more than out of doors. Different persons possess 

 different qualities of skill and experience, and there will be as 

 much difference in grape-growing as in tobacco or corn grow- 

 ing. There are certain conditions of soil, exposure, manure 

 and pruning in both cases. The two prime conditions are : 

 first, a good, dry border for the roots of the vines ; second, a 

 covering of glass, to secure the requisite moisture of the 

 atmosphere, and, more particularly, to protect from the early 

 frosts in the spring and late frosts in the fall. The practice 

 of one of your Committee in the matter of ventilation has been 

 never to close the ventilators and doors of his cold grapery 

 from the 10th of June till danger of frosts in autumn. The 

 annual exhibitions at our fairs must be the test of his 

 success. 



The general summing up of your Committee would be : 

 raise grapes, raise the best you know, raise plenty of them 

 for the whole family, raise some for the neighbors, and 



