GRAPE 



GRAPE 



675 



tices will come back to the point from which they started 

 like a boomerang. Grapes designed for shipment are 

 packed in climax baskets. The size prevailing in the 

 Keuka district are "poneys,' having a gross weight of 

 'less than five pounds. In the Chautauqua district the 

 1 8-pound is the almost universal size. The reason 



972. The third movement. 



for such distinct customs is due to the demands of the 

 markets to which the Grapes are shipped. Shipments of 

 the Keuka section go to the Atlantic cities, and those 

 i from Chautauqua go to the west. 



In the Lake Keuka district of western New York there 

 are a number of wine cellars involving large capital, 

 ;two or three of which make excellent champagne. This 

 i industry began at Hammondsport in the sixties, and 

 severalvarieties of Grapes were planted solely for wine 

 purposes, but the quality of the fruit was not good for 

 stable use. In the Chautauqua district the wine in- 

 dustry has received little attention compared to that 

 given in the Keuka district. There has been no oppor- 

 tunity for the blending of several juices, for the reason 

 :that the Concord is so nearly the universal variety 

 planted. But another industry that of bottling Grape 

 juice as it comes from the press has lately been estab- 

 lished, and promises considerable development. 



The methods of marketing Grapes are of great variety. 

 During the season of 1893 and 1894 there was formed in 

 the Lake Keuka district and adjacent lakes a coopera- 

 tive marketing association composed of producers. This 

 ; association was incorporated and officered by its own 

 members, and represented over three-fourths of the pro- 

 duction of that district. The plan was to maintain prices 

 ! more evenly and to secure a better equalization of sup- 

 ply and of markets. This association was abandoned 

 after two years' trial. The failure was not due to exces- 

 | sive cost in selling nor want of integrity of the officers, 

 but to inability "to pull together," and a desire of each 

 producer to be independent, hoping to do a little better 

 ' for himself than the association could do for him. 



The Chautauqua district has had two periods of coop- 

 erative shipments, and each of longer duration than that 

 i of the Keuka field. The first was for the seasons of 

 1892, 1893 and 1894. The plan was resumed again in 

 1897, and continued through the seasons of 1898 and 

 1899. For the season of 1897 the association represented 

 I about 85 per cent of the acreage of the district beginning 

 at Silver Creek, N. Y., and continuing to Harbor Creek, 

 Pa., comprising about 25,000 acres. 



These associations, no doubt, serve a good purpose in 

 ; giving a more even distribution of fruit in different 

 markets. When there is no concert of action the market 

 of a certain city may be poorly supplied to-day and an 

 advance of prices follows, a state of affairs qtiickly 

 | known to all shippers, with a result that everyone, trying 

 to benefit by such an advantage, will consign to that mar- 

 ket, making an aggregate far beyond the demand ; and a 

 1 sharp decline of prices will follow. A union represent- 



ing a high percentage of acreage can prevent such gluts, 

 provided the over-supply or underconsumption is not 

 such that all the available markets in the country are 

 not glutted, a state of affairs that is liable to happen at 

 mid-harvest, when double the number of cars is forced 

 on the market. 



The total shipments from the Chautauqua district for 

 seven seasons have been as follows: 



No. of Cars 



1893 3,100 



1894 3,600 



1895 3,200 



1896 4,050 



1897 6,000 



1898 



1899 7,000 



A. B. Clothier, of Silver Creek, N. Y., gives the fol- 

 lowing as the expense of planting and developing an 

 acre of Grapes: 



Plowing and marking an acre of land $3 00 



Number of plants, 8 ft. x 9 ft., 605. Cost 12 10 



Cost of planting 1 50 



Number of cultivations first season, 7. Cost 7 00 



Cost of cultivation second season 7 00 



Number pounds of wire for 2 wire trellis, 600 Ibs.; 



staples, 6 Ibs. Cost 22 80 



Number posts for trellis, 202; number braces, 20. Cost.. 14 14 



Cost of putting up trellis 3 00 



Cost of acre of Grapes, exclusive of land $70 54 



S. S. Crissey, of Fredonia, N. Y., horticultural editor 

 of the "Grape Belt," without going into details, puts 

 the total cost of an acre of vineyard at from $75 to $80, 

 which practically agrees with that of Mr. Clothier. 

 These are men of experience and wide observation, and 

 their estimates may be considered to be representative 

 and reliable. 



Mr. Clothier gives the following estimate for the cost 

 of labor for an acre of Grapes in bearing, per season: 



Cost of pruning, pulling brush, tapping posts, righting 

 braces, stretching wires, tying of vines, and cultiva- 

 tion per acre $12 00 



Cost of picking into crates, 4 tons of Grapes 4 50 



Cost of hauling to station and loading in car, 4 tons of 



Grapes 4 00 



$20 50 



Mr. Crissey's estimate is a little higher, making cost 

 under the same conditions to be $23. 



As to the yield of an acre of Grapes in the Chautauqua 

 belt, the variation is great. A vineyardist who has any 

 expectation of standing in line with progressive men 



973. The tie complete. 



should expect to have a record of 4 tons of Concords 

 per acre. This is more than the average, but unless a 

 man can exceed the average in any line, there is small 

 chance for him to succeed. 



As to prices, the variation during the past seven years 

 has been greater than that of the yield. Grapes have 



