ET 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Vine—continued. ` ` : i 
. warm seasons, the Black Hamburgh ESCH its fruit 
very well. 
KEEPING THE FRurT. Grapes, pie ‘cet other kinds 
of fruit, will keep in a ripened state, and in a usable 
condition, on the plant for a long time, a certain 
amount of nourishment being necessary to the main- 
tenance of the berries_in a properly fresh and plump 
condition. If severed from the Vine, they soon shrivel 
or decay, unless the stalks be placed iu water, or sus- 
tenance be provided in some other way. Properly 
ripened, and placed under favourable circumstances, 
grapes will keep in excellent condition for a long time. 
Some varieties possess this keeping property to a 
greater extent than others. The fact of being thus 
able to keep ripe grapes prolongs the season of their 
use, and assists in maintaining a continuous supply. 
The cultivation of the Vine in glass-houses is the 
primary means by which we are enabled thus to keep 
its fruit. Grapes grown in the open air cannot be pre- 
served for any length of time on account of the weather, but 
in vineries they are under control Houses, therefore, 
that are required for late or keeping grapes should be 
so constructed as to meet the special requirements of 
the case; and these are an equable temperature and a 
dry atmosphere, which are maintained by proper heating 
powers and thorough ventilation. 
Grapes that are required for late use should be 
ripened by the end of September. When the fruit be- 
comes ripe, the most active period of the growth of the 
Vine is past; but it is not well, although a very old 
custom, to keep the borders and the roots dry. The 
artificial drought is injurious to the roots, which are 
still in action, and not beneficial to the fruit, for the 
longer the foliage can be maintained fresh and green, 
the better the grapes will keep. Constant supervision 
is necessary, and great care should be taken to remove 
any decaying berries, keeping the temperature as near 
. as possible. 
pe: grapes may be kept in good condition on the 
e : Vines: until March, or later if carefully shaded from 
the sun, and a cool, dry atmosphere be maintained. 
If allowed to hang until the rise of the sap, the 
operation of pruning is likely to be injurious to the 
Vines. 
Botlling Grapes. Grapes may be eut from the Vines, 
and, having their stalks placed in bottles of water, may 
be kept in a fruit-room, or other suitable apartment, in 
almost as perfect a condition as those that are allowed 
to hang on the Vines; and where the quantity is limited, 
this can be done at much less expense. Further, they 
may thus be preserved to a later period than it is 
possible to keep them on the Vines. This is a method 
of keeping grapes that has been for some time adopted 
in France, although it was scarcely known in this eountry 
until brought under notice by Mr. Robinson, in his 
x. Parks, Promenades, and Gardens of Paris,” in 1869. 
It is now, however, adopted, with modifications, in many 
establishments in this count "The originator of the 
system was M. Rose-Charme of Thomery, who had 
a small room in his house fitted for the purpose, 
from whieh light and air were, as far as possible, 
excluded. 
One of the best examples of this method is that used 
at Ferrières, near Paris, the seat of Baron Alphonse de 
Rothschild, where M. Bergmann, the excellent i 
has a grape-room specially fitted for the pur d 
in this all the grapes are placed as they eege. ripe. 
Fig. 185 is an illustration of his mode of fixing the 
bottles, and Fig. 186 shows the arrangement of screens 
or partitions adopted within the room for the convenient 
mre of the bottles when in use. 
> mm the grapes cannot be kept with other fruits, 
France and in other Continental Bene... ` diia 
ae more 
| tivated MG and their destruction from any cause 
The ordinary fruit-room will not answer for this | mean ruin to their cultivators. Hei 
Vine—continued. ` 
as they require special provision made for them. A 
thoroughly dry, close, dark room, wherein an equable 
temperature of 40deg. to 45deg. can be maintained, is 
what is required. Dryness is the first consideration, 
so, if a separate room has to be constructed, it should 
be built with hollow walls and a double set of doors, 
in order to counteract the effects of fluctuations in tem- 
perature and moisture. The grapes intended to be thus 
kept should be cut with a considerable portion of the 
shoot attached, and the end of the shoot placed in a 
Fig. 185. MODE or FIXING BOTTLES Fi 
bottle filled with pure water. Opinions differ as to 
whether the fruit is deteriorated in quality by being 
thus kept. It is obvious that support is derived from 
the water, and this subsequent absorption of water can 
scarcely act otherwise than to reduce the amount of 
saccharine properties in the fruit. 
The best late-keeping Grapes are those varieties having 
thick skins, viz.: Alnwick Seedling, Gros Colman, Gros 
Guillanme, Lady: Downes’ Seedling, Muscat of Alexandria, 
Trebbiano, West's St. Peter's, and White Tokay. It is 
FIG. 186. SECTION OF PORTION OF UPRIGHT FOR SUPPORTING 
: BOTTLE-RACKS, 
difficult to keep Black Hamburgh Grapes in con- 
dition on the Vines after Christmas; but if cut before that 
time, and placed in bottles, they may be had in a sound 
state during the month of January. 
DISEASES, Ze, These have been far 
have been 
y luxuries, grown in 
