54 



The three black varieties are vinous grapes in contradistinction to 

 the Sweetwater and Muscat flavoured varieties. When fully ripe 

 they have a very distinct Port Wine bouquet. They are all free set- 

 ters and require severe thinning. Gros Colman is the handsomest in 

 both berry and bunch ; Alicante is the easiest to grow and Lady 

 Downe's Seedling, which is a confessedly difficult subject is, when well 

 finished, by far the best keeper and the best flavoured. 



They all take on a better colour and preserve their bloom better 

 when grown with some shade from the foliage ; the ripening is also 

 more uniform. 



Of " Mrs. Pearson" I cannot speak from personal experience ; I have 

 never grown it and do not know that I ever saw it growing. It has 

 the reputation of being the latest white grape in cultivation and an 

 excellent keeper. 



Muscat of Alexandria is a universal favourite. More vines of this 

 variety are grown in Jamaica than of anyotberand it is not difficult to 

 grow well. It is by far the best mid- year and late grape in cultiva- 

 tion and well- grown and thoroughly ripened leaves nothing to be de- 

 sired as a dessert grape. 



Where grapes are grown simply for home consumption, and only 

 one vine can be grown, Muscat of Alexandria should be selected. 

 Where there is room for two or more vines and the duration of the 

 supply is desired, Foster's White Seedling for early use and Lady 

 Downe's Seedling or Alicante would be serviceable as a late supply. 

 Alicante is easy to grow, a free bearer and in many ways a desireable 

 variety. 



When grown for commercial purposes the varieties selected should 

 be confined (^unless the operation is to be on a large scale) to not more 

 than two kinds, one white and one black. By extending the period 

 of pruning and starting into growth over say from the end of January 

 to the middle of March it should be possible to market fruit from the 

 end of May to the end of September or later. 



Vines are raised in a variety of ways, from seeds, layers, single 

 buds, and from cuttings taken from healthy fruitful vines. These 

 should be obtained from stout well ripened canes of the present year, 

 the stouter and the more close-jointed the better. In England and 

 America one-year old vines can be bought from firms who grow them 

 largely for trade purposes. 



Plants raised from seed are seldom satisfactory, and layering is 

 seldom practised. The almost universal custom in England is to pro- 

 pagate from single eyes. The custom with us is to grow from cut- 

 tings with two to four buds, the fewer eyes the better. My method 

 is to use cuttings with two buds planted firmly in light soil so deeply 

 that the upper bud just peeps above the surface of the soil ; the bottom 

 bud remains dormant and on the cut surface just under it, the callous 

 is formed from which the roots proceed. All buds, without exception, 

 are produced on the internode or joint of the cane, but ro ts grow 

 from any part, nodes and internodes alike. By the time the cutting 

 has made a growth of three or four leaves it will have exhausted its 

 stored-up reserve of food and must depend upon the new rootlets for 

 further supplies. If a little good soil is now drawn around the base 

 of the bud from which the new growth proceeds, a number of new 



