226 



The Grape Culturist. 



must keep your dogs at home while 

 applying it, or they might share the 

 fate of their arch e^mies. Where 

 you cannot obtain sjfychnine, steel 

 traps and dogs willT^ good service 

 against them. 



When grapes are to be marketed, 

 they should be packed in small, shal- 

 low boxes, containing from ten to 

 twenty pounds each. Do not cut them 

 when they are Avet Avith dew or rain. 

 The}' should be perfectly dry, and all 

 rotten or damaged berries carefully 

 picked out. Cut the stems long, and 

 lay a layer of grape leaves or paper 

 at the bottom of the bo.K, then a layer 

 of grapes, packed as tight as you can 



crowd them, then put on another layer 

 of leaves or paper, on this another 

 layer of grapes, and cover smoothly 

 and nicely with leaves or j^aper. The 

 boxes should not be deeper than to 

 hold two layers, say about six inches, 

 and the cover slightly pressed on in 

 nailing it down. They will bear 

 handling much better than when 

 loosely packed. 



Get all your casks ready for wine 

 making, your fermenting vats, etc., 

 so that the vintage will not find you 

 unprepared. 



We will give some advice about 

 wine makinic in another article. 



CAN GRAPE GROWING BE OVERDONE? 



In the July number of the Grape Cul- 

 turist, is an art'cle b}' the Editor, en-, 

 titled : " Can Grape growing be Over- 

 done?" 



The Editor arrives at the conclusion 

 that it cannot be overdone, and pro- 

 ceeds to depict the great future which 

 awaits American grape and wine-grow- 

 ing. I hope his prophecies Avill prove 

 true, but I am not quite so sanguine as 

 he is, and entertain slight doubts as to 

 the correctness of some of his asser- 

 tions ; and desiring to be set right, and 

 tQ be enlightened by so high an author- 

 ity as the writer of the article, I 

 beg leave to make some comments 

 on it. In doing so I follow the sub- 

 divisions under which the subject is 

 treated. 



Sub. 1st. It is asserted that grapes 

 can be retailed from the fruit stand, 

 with profit to the grape grower, at five 

 cents, and Concord even at four cents 



per pound, and that " at this price even 

 and taking the lowest average yield, 

 they will pay two hundred and fifty 

 dollars per acre." 



The price at which any commodity, 

 be it the product of agriculture or of 

 ; manufacture, can be furnished, is a 

 matter of calculation, and can be as- 

 certained beyond dispute like any other 

 problem in arithmetic. I am well 

 aware, that the calculation as to the 

 price at which a pound of grapes or a 

 gallon of wine can be grown, has often 

 been made and published in treatises 

 on the subject, and in agricultural 

 papers ; to them the curious reader 

 may refer, but they are not always at 

 hand^ and do not always agree very 

 well, and in connection Avith and in 

 support of tlie assertions above set 

 forth, it would not have been out of 

 place if the writer had given the data 

 or premises upon Avhich his said asser- 



