SHELTERS FOR PROTECTING AND KIPENING. 367 



For winter keeping, only the best and evenly 



ripened grapes should be selected. All bruised 



and imperfect berries should be cut out, and 



the bloom preserved as far as possible, for it has 



something to do with the keeping of the fruit. 



The bunches should be gathered when they are 



dry, and handled with care, so as not to loosen 



the berries from the stalk. Whether suspended 



from wires or laid in drawers, the bunches 



should not come in immediate contact with each 



other, and they should not be handled, except 



to remove decaying berries. Ventilation should 



be regulated with reference to a uniformly low 



temperature, ranging from five to ten above the 



freezing point. Much moisture in the air 



should be provided against, either by removing 



the cause of it, or, where this can not be done, 



using some good absorbent, such as the sulphite 



or chloride of lime. If moisture is deposited 



on the fruit, it is apt to produce mildew. With 



these precautions, grapes may be kept well 



during the winter. 



Shelters for Protecting and Ripening Fruit. 

 It sometimes happens that a temporary shel 

 ter, even for a single night, will save a vine from 

 an early frost, thereby adding two or three 

 weeks to the season, and insuring the full matu- 



