12 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



GRAPES FOR PROFIT. 



MR. M. D. BUSKIRK^ PAW PAW^ MICH. 



What I mean by profit is not just wages for the labor actually per- 

 formed. 



It is, at least, 6% on the investment; 10% for depreciation of the 

 equipment, — wages for every hour expended — taxes, insurance against 

 hail — and — something besides. 



A tT\o weeks' vacation for the grower and his family and some of the 

 luxuries that the merchant, banker and manufacturer have. 



For instance, they get their milk in glass packages, — we get ours in a 

 tin pail. 



They get tlieir eggs from a patent cooler with all animal heat ex- 

 tracted, — we get ours warm from the nest. And their large, red apples 

 are all in the center of the barrel, just where we packed them, you know. 

 You ask how this can be accomplished. 



By using good business judgment along the whole line, from the selec- 

 tion of a location to the marketing of the finished product. 



I will treat the graj^e subject from five different essentials for profitable 

 grape growing. Namely, location, acreage, cultivation, harvesting and 

 [marketing. 



Location is the foundation of the business. 



You would not expect to build a successful manufacturing business 

 without a proper foundation for the factory. And you cannot make a 

 success of grapes unless you have the right soil — which is not too heavy 

 or too light. If it is too heavy it grows too much wood, aud if it is too 

 light it grows too few grapes. 



It should have the proper elevation and exposure. 



May frosts and October freezes must be eliminated as much as pos- 

 sible or the seasons you get no grapes will eat all the profits of the 

 good years. 



It must have a good elevation but not too rough or the problems of 

 cultivation — spraying and harvesting will be too expensive. 



A north exposure is preferred, west next, then south and east. 



In this section the lake frontage is protected from most spring and 

 fall frosts, but in the interior elevation is imperative to success. 



Too much stress cannot be placed on location if you are contemplating 

 purchasing or setting a vineyard. 



Half of the failures are due to lack of judgment in location. 



Acreage is an important item in profit. The day of the small vine- 

 yard has passed. The grape berry moth, black rot, thrip and root worm 

 have or will put the three, five and seven-acre vineyard out of the profit 

 class. Twenty acres is small enough vineyard to allow the proper equip- 

 ment. 



The power sprayer that can do the business right is expensive but it is 

 a jwsitive necessity to a profitable crop. 



