ON PRESERVING GRAPES. 



221 



ON PRBSERVIl^G grapes for "WINTER USB. 



BY W, WILLIAMS, NEW-YORK. 



Dear Sir — The Isabella and Catawba grape 

 vines are among' the most valuable fruit 

 trees known to Americans ; for I am inclin- 

 ed to doubt greatly, if any other tree will 

 bear so large and so regular a crop as they 

 do, in all soils and in all sections of the 

 country, except the upper part of New-Eng- 

 land, where the climate is too cold for them. 



They have been multiplied within the 

 last ten years so much, in some of the At- 

 lantic States, that there is now hardly a 

 farmer's garden without one or more of 

 these vines. In many farmers' dooryards 

 I have noticed, with much pleasure, the 

 Isabella grape, trained over a trellis in 

 front of the kitchen or dairy, so as to make 

 a cheap or very ornamental kind of veran- 

 dah, such as you may see in Italy. 



There are but few, however, of those 

 who raise this prolific grape, who are aware 

 how much the season in which ripe grapes 

 are fit for the table, may be prolonged by a 

 little care and management. Indeed, for 

 my own part, I consider the ease with 

 which these two grapes may be kept for 

 winter use to be one of the strongest re- 

 commendations to their culture. 



I will, if you will allow me, detail two 

 modes of preserving these native grapes, 

 that I have, for three years past, practised 

 with success. They are, no doubt, fami- 

 liar to many of your readers, but as I very 

 seldom meet with this pleasant fruit at any 

 of my neighbors' houses in winter, I con- 

 clude that it will also be new to many 

 others. 



At my farm, a few miles from the city, I 

 have an ice-house well constructed, which 

 keeps a supply of ice through the whole 

 year. In this I practise one mode of pre- 



serving grapes. This mode is applied to 

 those which I wish for more immediate use, 

 say from the season of frosts till near 

 Christmas. 



I have, in this ice-house, a series of open 

 shelves, made of thin and narrow strips of 

 pine, so as to form slender lattices. As 

 soon as there is danger of a frost which 

 might injure the grape, (in general early 

 in October,) I have the grapes for this pur- 

 pose carefully picked, and laid in single 

 layers on these lattice shelves in the ice- 

 house. There the temperature is so low 

 and regular, that no perceptible change 

 takes place for a long time, and I am there- 

 fore, able to supply my table every day 

 with grapes, as fresh, to all appearance, as 

 when picked, for a month or six weeks af- 

 ter they are usually to be had in market. 



The second mode is calculated to pre- 

 serve them for a longer time. By its means, 

 I usually have a good supply from Christ- 

 mas to March, and have once or twice kept 

 them quite sound till April. 



It is very simple. The grapes should be 

 gathered a little before full maturity — say 

 the last of September here. A fine windv 

 day should be chosen, and the fruit sliould 

 be picked and packed away, quite dry, as 

 upon this depends their keeping well. You 

 should be provided with a proper number 

 of small boxes, holding about a peck each, 

 grape jars, or champagne baskets — the lat- 

 ter answer the purpose well, if lined loose- 

 ly with paper before using them. I put a 

 layer of cotton in the bottom, and then a 

 layer of grapes, and so alternately till the 

 box is full ; I then cover with a layer of 

 cotton, and fasten the cover down with 

 nails or otherwise. 



