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CHAPTER XXII. 



COMMERCIAL GRAPE CULTURE, OR THE GROWING 

 OF GRAPES FOR MARKET. 



'HE extraordinary increase in the cultivation of Grapes for sale or 

 I market purposes, and the rapid development of the trade in this 

 fruit during the past few years is altogether of a very remarkable 

 character. No other fruit, excepting the Tomato, has ever 

 advanced so rapidly into popularity and general use. A few years 

 ago, Grapes could only be obtained by the wealthy in small quantities, 

 and at high prices ; now they form a staple article of commerce, and 

 may be obtained in abundance and at a moderate price in all parts 

 of the country, and at all seasons. 



It is important to note the causes which have led to this result. 

 Partly, no doubt, it i* owing to the introduction into cultivation of 

 good late-keeping varieties of Grapes. Chiefly, however, it is due to 

 the Tomato. Extraordinary as it may at first appear, it is the great 

 popularity and demand for Tomatos which has rendered the cultiva- 

 tion and the present enormous supply of Grapes possible. Both crops 

 requiring much the same treatment, houses erected for Grapes are at 

 lirst cropped with Tomatos, which producing an immediate return help 

 the growers to tide over the first two or three years whilst the Vines 

 are getting established ; in this way we are provided with a bountiful 

 supply of the most luscious and enjoyable fruit this earth produces. 



The magnitude of the trade in Grapes that has thus arisen is of the 

 utmost importance, and can scarcely be over estimated. An enormous 

 amount of capital has been called into requisition, and is engaged in the 

 furtherance of this trade. Directly and indirectly many thousands 

 find employment, and are thus benefited by Grape-growing. We do 

 not ourselves know of any industry that can compare, or which has 

 done so much in so short a time for the welfare of the people. The 

 approximate supply in 1886 of what are termed English-grown Grapes, 

 amounted to about 400 tons, one commission agent in Covent Garden 

 (Mr. Monro) disposing of forty thousand baskets, or an equivalent of 

 about two hundred and fifty tons. During the past year, 1891, this 

 quantity has been greatly exceeded. The greatest quantity ever sold in 

 one day was in October, 1891, and amounted to 4 tons = 750 baskets. 



The chief producing establishments are to be found within a com- 

 paratively easy distance of London, so that the fruit may be delivered 

 by van without the intervention of the railway ; the Grapes are thus 

 obtained without a blemish in the best possible condition. Several of 

 the Vineyards or Grape-growing establishments are of a leviathan 

 character, whole fields being covered with glass, presenting in some 



