88i.] THE GRAPE-VINE CONTROVERSY. 563 



I will now tell what, in my opinion, was the cause of the Muscats 

 setting worse this year than usual. Before doing so, however, I had 

 better say that the Muscat-house here contains ten Vines — that is, seven 

 Muscats, one Trebbiana, one Syrian, and one Raisin de Calabrie — all 

 of them being very vigorous ; and having been thoroughly ripened in 

 1880, they were in first-rate order for starting in the first week of Feb- 

 ruary this year. Well, as before stated, the Muscats, although treated 

 to the orthodox temperature, never set so well as I would like them to 

 have done ; and I determined last January that I would try them on 

 the "cool system." The buds swelled and started into growth with 

 great regularity all over the canes, and a magnificent " show " for fruit 

 followed. Everything seemed to be right until the period arrived 

 when the berries should have been set, when, to my amazement and 

 chagrin, they dropped off in showers; and such ragged jack-like bunches 

 of Muscats as we have had this year has not been seen in these parts 

 before. Now, as regards the other varieties of Grapes in the same 

 house, the set was all that could be desired, which, in my humble 

 opinion, proves that Muscats require a higher night-temperature than 

 50° to insure a good set, I will now refer to another house containing 

 the same number of Vines — that is, three Gros Colmar, three Lady 

 Downes, two Alicante, one Gros Guillaume, and one Mrs Pince. In this 

 case the set w^as all right, and the bunches and berries are of good size, 

 but the colouring process did not commence until three weeks later 

 than in former years. At the present time the colour is as good as 

 needs be, as a bunch of Gros Colmar sent to the Editor will prove [Jet 

 Black — Ed.]; but none of the kinds mentioned are ripe in the right 

 sense of the word, consequently they are keeping very badly, and the 

 bunches are fast becoming in looks like their ragged friends the Mus- 

 cats in the adjoining house. And thus we are now squandering in the 

 vineries more than we economised in the stoke-hole earlier in the year. 



It is of as much importance to those of us who have to supply Grapes 

 every day for ten months of the year, to know the conditions that are 

 most conducive to them keeping plump and sound the longest period, as 

 it is to know the conditions under which the best set of the berries are 

 secured ; and to insure them keeping well, they should be thoroughly 

 ripe before the days have crept in much — that is, not later than the first 

 week of September. After this time Grapes will improve in colour ; black 

 Grapes will become blacker, and Muscats and other white sorts will 

 become a bit yellower, but neither black nor white will get much riper. 

 True, the flavour may improve or change after this time, but this is 

 not the kind of ripening that tends to their keeping fresh, sound, and 

 plump daring the winter and spring months. What is required to 

 enable them to do so is a thorough maturing of the skin, pulp, and 

 seeds of the berries before the sun has declined in power, and the 

 autumn nights have come on, and these conditions cannot be secured 

 under the '" cool system " of Grape-growing. 



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