340 Sciippernong . Is There A.n/y profit in Us 'Product ioti ? 



Scuppernong. Is There Any Profit in its Production? 



THIS question is asked together with another, viz. : Will there likely be any 

 market for the fresh juice at figures that would pay ? 



First. We have abundant proof to answer, unhesitatingly, yes, providing one goes 

 to work right. Grape culture, which at one time promised to assume vast propor- 

 tions in the Southern states, was suddenly checked by a revolution in the labor 

 system (which should rather have given it an increased development if we better 

 understood rural economy), and the liability of loss in fruit from blight. Dis- 

 couragement seemed to become as universal as it was sudden. Nearly all the vine- 

 yards of what is commonly termed bunch grapes went to decay from forced neglect. 



But what of the Scuppernong ? Far from meeting the fate of the other varietes, 

 it has stood the test of time, as well as the ordeal of neglect in culture. Vines 

 planted twenty years ago, when Catawba, Warren, etc., were alone thought worthy of 

 attention, are yet yielding their annual crops of fruit, when their less robust con- 

 geners have gone where their vines twineth. The official reports of the Department 

 of Agriculture show that the average yield of Scuppernong vines in North Carolina, 

 when in full bearing, is from 400 to 500 bushels per acre, yielding from 2,000 to 

 2,500 gallons of wine. So much for producing capacity, which, however, must not 

 be expected from every vineyard or in every section ; but even reducing this yield 

 to 100 bushels per acre, or 400 gallons of juice, and the profits are still exceedingly 

 large in comparison with the outlay in forming the vineyard. 



Fresh grape juice is unsaleable, unless one had his vineyard in proximity to a large 

 wine making establishment. If this fails, one must convert the juice into wine. 

 Small vineyards will seldom give enough products to warrant making wine for 

 market. There is some difficulty in establishing a reputation for a certain brand, 

 which, to become popular, must sustain its standard of quality. Tl|js can only be 

 retained by working upon a large scale. In the wine growing districts of Europe, 

 very few of the grape growers make wine; they sell their grapes to the wine maker 

 or take in return a certain quantity of wine after it is made and becomes fit for use. 

 In this manner the product of a number of small vineyards is converted into one 

 uniform quality of wine, which if made separately by each producer, would give as 

 many different kinds, and no regular market price be secured. Whenever a good 

 article of wine has been produced for a series of years, there has been no difficulty 

 in obtaining a ready sale for it at good prices. But when the supply is irregular as 

 well as its quality, there will be neither demand or profit for the wine maker. 

 North Carolina Scuppernong is sold in New York at from $1.50 to $8.00 per gallon, 

 according to quality and age. When one thousand gallons is produced, the net cost 

 of manipulating the crop, allowing liberal interest for outlay, labor, etc., is from 30 

 to 40 cents per gallon. 



We are satisfied that there is more profit in growing the Scuppernong for wine 

 than in the cultivation of any other fruit within the reach of our southern fruit 

 growers, excepting, perhaps, strawberries and pears in a few unusually favorable 

 localities. Unlike our other grapes, it is free from the depredations of insects, 

 fungoid disease, liabilities of damage by late frost, and its fruitfulness increases 

 rather than decreases with age. — Farmer and Gardener. 



