of Rural Art and Taste. 



245 



on the market in crude style of packages, and 

 without due selection or proper packing. 

 Thus the market is constantly supplied with 

 grapes that must be sold quickly, and at 

 prices made by the buyer, not the seller, for 

 it is only the choice fruits that he can really 

 hold to secure their value, and the value of 

 this is materially affected by this mass of 

 common quality of fruits. Another point is, 

 that on account of its tenderness, the heat 

 soon spoils it, when it has been handled care- 

 lessly ; in many instances the juice runs from 

 them in streams on arrival, and if not sold the 

 same day will spoil before the next. 



Isabella. — The Isabella is a good grape, 

 and takes the place of the Concord among 

 those who wish a cheap black grape, but it is 

 singular how the demand for this variety will 

 stop all at once, and while there is plenty of 

 them in the market. In order to explain the 

 cause of this stoppage, I would state that 

 among the buyers of these black grapes are a 

 large number of Grerman grocers, Italians 

 who keep stands on the sidewalks, and deal 

 largely in these varieties because they are 

 cheap ; also licensed venders, or peddlers, as 

 they are commonly called, who buy them by 

 the load, and drive through the city, and sell 

 them to whom they can. These parties 

 supply all the demand by the poorer class of 

 citizens, until they seem to exhaust the con- 

 sumers' appetites for grapes, or in other words, 

 are tired of them ; consequently this large 

 class of buyers cease to purchase them, and 

 the Catawba having arrived, the better class 

 of consumei's take hold of them, and the de- 

 mand for Isabellas virtually comes to an end, 

 with a few exceptions of out-of-town buyers 

 who sell them to a limited extent. 



JJelawares. — The Delaware is a very 

 popular grape among the better classes, who 

 admire them for their beauty and sweetness, 

 but it is too small for general use. The 

 Eastern people are our best customers for this 

 variety, and the wine cellars buy it in large 

 quantities to sweeten their other wines. 



Dianas. — The Diana is not popular with us, 

 nor is the demand for it very great. It sells better 

 in the Southern cities than it does in our own. 



lona. — The lonas must be well ripened, 

 and present a good appearance to sell well. 

 In fact there has been so few of this variety 

 sent to our market that but few appreciate its 

 excellent qualities. When fully ripened, so 

 that it can reach up among the nineties, it is 

 valued highly, and bought largely by the wine 

 cellars to flavor and mix with other wines. 



Catawba. — The Catawba is our principal 

 late grape. They are grown largely in the 

 vicinity of Keuka and Seneca Lakes in New 

 York State, and the best grown in the State. 

 Owing to their peculiar location, soil and cli- 

 mate, they will ripen thoroughly, hang on the 

 vines later, and retain their sweetness and 

 plumpness up to the holidays without diffi- 

 culty. In fact they are the standard fruit in 

 our market, and can be bought as readily, and 

 cheaper than apples for our New Year's tables. 



White 6r/-«^>e.s-.— What we want now, is a 

 good white grape. It is a curious feature of 

 grape growing that none of our scientific grow- 

 ers have ever succeeded in supplying us with 

 this article. It is true that there are several 

 varieties of white grapes, but it is a rare sight 

 to see a case of them in our market, and per- 

 sons desiring a white article procure either 

 the hot-house or foreign article. Any person 

 who can succeed in raising a white grape that 

 will prove to be as prolific as any of the above 

 named varieties, can readily secure high prices 

 for them. 



Malagas, — In former years, the foreign 

 white grape did not interfere with our native 

 fruit, for it arrived in limited quantities, and 

 sold at high prices, say from ten to fifteen dol- 

 lars per barrel ; but the importing of them 

 proved to be profitable, and a greater number 

 entered the business. Some of our native 

 fruit dealers entered into a competition with 

 the foreigners, and the result was an increase 

 of quantity, and a cheapening of them to such 

 an extent that it affects the sale of the Cataw- 

 ba very seriously. 



For the benefit of those not acquainted with 

 this foreign article, I will give a brief sketch 

 of the fruit, the package made ixse of to import 

 them in, and the mode of selling them. 



The largest packages used are known as 



