146 AMERICAN GRAl'E GROWIN-G 



GATHERING THE GRAPES. 



Having our cellar built, and stocked with the necessary 

 implements, we can now proceed to gather the grapes. 

 The proper time to do this depends very much upon 

 the varieties. The cBstivalis, and most of the cordifoUa 

 class, in short, all grapes which have an agreeable flavor — 

 one which we wish to have in its fullest development in 

 the must or wine — we ought to have thoroughly ripe. 

 The riper the grapes, the more fully will their peculiar 

 flavor be developed, the less acid and the more sugar will 

 they contain. We must, therefore, learn the nature of 

 our grapes before we know when to gather them. In the va- 

 rieties of Labrusca, at least in most of them, their peculiar 

 flavor is not desirable m its highest development, and is 

 generally characterized as '^foxy." A good many of 

 them also, for instance. Concord and Martha, do not 

 contain the proper amount of acid when fully ripe, to 

 bear the necessary dilution of this strong, foxy taste, and 

 as they must be '^Grallized" at any rate, to be palatable, it 

 is not advisable to let them get over ripe. I would advise, 

 therefore, to take these, and, in short, all the varieties 

 with a strong, foxy, and disagreeable aroma, when fully 

 colored, and let those varieties with an agreeable aroma 

 hang long, in order to obtain their flavor in its full 

 perfection and delicacy ; and also to develop the greatest 

 amount of sugar and diminish the acid. The best evi- 

 dences of a grape being thoroughly ripe are : 1st. The 

 stem turns brown and begins to shrivel. 2d. The berry 

 begins to shrivel around the stem. 3d. The skin is thin 

 and transparent. 4th. The juice becomes very sweet, 

 and adheres to the fingers like honey or molasses. 



It is often advisable to gather twice, as mfiny bunches will 

 ripen later than others. If the ripest are gathered first, the 

 remainder will ripen quicker, and a uniform product can 

 thus be obtained. The first implements needed for the 



