66 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



vinery, and Mr. Luke had been his instructor in its management. 

 From the 20th of June to the first or middle of August, he keeps 

 the ventilators open day and night, excepting in heavy easterly 

 storms. In winter he airs the house thoroughly, always keeping 

 the ventilators down in the day time, except during severe storms. 

 His house has no ventilators at the base. He covers the vines 

 with mats. 



C. M. Hovey said that Mr. Luke had never had a hired man to 

 look after his house, though he is away at his business during the 

 day, yet he raises good grapes. His house is no trouble whatever, 

 for six months in winter. He agreed with P. B. Hovey, in regard 

 to ventilation. He had been asked hundreds of times how to pre- 

 vent mildew, and he answered that the house must not have a draft 

 through it. The vines do not want to be in a draft any more than 

 a man does. It is a very simple thing to raise good grapes, but it 

 requires great care and skill to produce superior fruit, or such 

 clusters as have been lately shown at Edinburgh and « London, the 

 Black Hamburg weighing twenty-one pounds, aud being well 

 colored, and the bunches of ten different varieties exhibited aver- 

 aging seven pounds each. The Raisin de Calabre weighed twenty- 

 six pounds and four ounces, and the vine produced another bunch 

 of eighteen pounds, and two more of six pounds each. The White 

 Nice weighed twenty-five pounds and fifteen ounces. These were 

 forced grapes. The lai'gest bunch ever raised in this country, so far 

 as he could remember, weighed about seven pounds. Some of the 

 best grapes he had ever seen raised in this country, were produced 

 by Mr. Haggerston, when gardener at Mr. Cushing's, Belmont, and 

 by J. W. Russell, gardener to the late Mr. Lemist, of Rox- 

 bury. He had seen these houses full of Muscat of Alexandria, 

 Hamburg, and Syrian grapes, averaging two and a half pounds to 

 the bunch. 



The Chairman differed from Mr. IIove3^ and did not regard 

 these great bunches as results of the highest culture. He wished 

 to hear from Mr. Watt concerning the quality of such grapes. 



Mr. Watt replied that he would prefer bunches of from a pound 

 to a pound and a half in weight to those of two pounds. He had 

 never been able to color large bunches as well as small ones. The 

 weather when grapes blossom makes a great diff"erence. He 

 would like dull weather for Hamburgs and fine for Muscats. He 

 seldom saw a bunch with four seeds to a berry,, and you cannot 



