CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 



CHAPTER V 



CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 

 Airing the House 



THERE has probably been more written concerning the Grape vine than 

 about any other fruit. Different growers have, from time to time 

 within the last one hundred years, given valuable information and 

 cultural directions, so that it might seem as if very nearly the last word had 

 been said as to the wonderful possibilities of the vine in northern latitudes. 



Where the climatic conditions are not favorable to outdoor culture, the 

 consumer must depend almost wholly upon the hothouse product. But that 

 is not the case in this country, with its wonderful and varied temperatures. 

 In the United States fruits of all kinds can be and are produced outdoors- even 

 in the northern sections. Splendid crops of Grapes are grown there, and the 

 same fruit that comes up from the south is well known. In this land of plenty, 

 which Nature has showered with her products, I hardly expect to see indoor 

 Grape growing carried out on any scale as a commercial enterprise, as the out- 

 door competition from all over the country has a tendency to militate against 

 its successful operation from the money point of view. 



In Great Britain different conditions obtain. There mammoth establish- 

 ments have sprung up within easy distance of the English metropolis during 

 the last thirty or forty years. The largest growers are probably the Rochfords, 

 who have nearly fifty acres under glass, about one-half of which is devoted to 

 the culture of Grapes for the London market. This establishment alone produces 

 hundreds of tons of Grapes every year. A few years ago I had the pleasure of 

 ^•isiting this wonderful plant and the sight was a bewildering one. 



Rapid advance has been made here in recent years in the cultivation of 

 hothouse Grapes in private establishments, and the greater number of the new 

 ranges now set up include provision for the production of fruit under glass. This 

 is not surprising in view of the high class of fruit that can be grown in this way. 

 There is, furthermore, as an incentive, the pleasure our employers deri\e from 

 the products of their own greenhouses. Grapes under glass, if properly handled 

 and finished to the highest state of perfection, are incomparably superior to the 

 outdoor fruit, for we have all the factors toward bringing about the best results, 

 such as heat, moisture, etc., and, above all, there are no storms to damage the 

 fruit, so that a bunch of Grapes perfect in finish and without a flaw may be sent 

 to the dining table, and this the millionaire owner of the house appreciates. 



