ABOUT MARKET-GARDENING. 313 



the grape. It is a very luscious fruit, and to me it is the 

 best that I can raise. Strawberries do not begin with it. 

 There is no comparison between strawberries as a fruit and 

 well-ripened Concord grapes. 



There is a great deal that might be said upon this subject, 

 but it has already been pretty well aired, and I will not occu- 

 py any more time. 



Mr. Lewis. I think strawberries are best the fore part of 

 the season, and grapes in the fall. How is that? 



Mr. Slade. There is a differeaice of opinion about that. 

 I would rather have grapes in the fore part of the season. 

 We have made two or three rather unsuccessful efforts to 

 keep grapes along into the winter. We packed them in cot- 

 ton, and kept them in pretty good condition. I am very 

 anxious to succeed (and that is the reason why I asked the 

 question of Dr. Fisher) in keeping them, so that I can have 

 the fruit all winter. This year, we packed two twenty-five- 

 pound boxes in sawdust, as we would Malaga grapes. Of 

 course, it is not time yet to test them, but we opened a box 

 at the house on Thanksgiving Day, and bad a very nice treat. 

 They were in very good condition, and I could not see that 

 they had deteriorated in the least. Perhaps they were a lit- 

 tle over-ripe, and those that were over-ripe cracked a little ; 

 but, throwing out those, the berries were plump, and 

 answered very well, a good deal better than no grapes. I 

 think the skin of the Concord grape is too thin to keep any 

 great length of time. 



MARKET-GARDENING. 



About market-gardening, I will say that I do not practise 

 market-gardening. I have a piece of asparagus, a piece of 

 currants, then come grape-vines, strawberries and a piece of 

 onions. The maggot is eating the onions, the beetle is eat- 

 ing the asparagus, the worm is eating the currants, and the 

 rose-bug is eating the grape-vines. I tell you we have just 

 as much as we can do to keep them free, and yet I say here 

 that the pleasure of growing these things would be consider- 

 ably lessened if there was no trouble about it. I think there 

 is a great deal of pleasure in overcoming these obstacles. I 

 said to Capt. Moore (I do not see him here), after I had 



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