53 THE GRAPE. 



Bagging Grapes.— In sections of the country where blacl: 

 rot of the fruit is abundant it may be profitable to put all the 

 g'rapes in bags, but in sections where this disease is only occasion- 

 ally destructive it will seldom be a paying operation. But in grow- 

 ing fruit for home use, or where something very nice is wanted, it 

 will often be worth undertaking, as the expense for labor and ma- 

 terial need not exceed a half cent per pound. The bagged grapes 

 have a little thinner skin than those not bagged, are free from dust, 

 and spiders' webs, and are not so liable to be caught by the first 

 autumn frost. Some varieties seem to ripen more evenly when 

 bagged. 



Bagging should be done when the berries are about the size of 

 small peas, and if there is danger from rot, even earlier. For this 

 purpose ordinary one-pound manilla paper bags should be used, 

 such as may be obtained from any grocery store. They should be 

 cut down about two inches on each side, and a small hole made 

 in each bag, generally by cutting off the lower corners, to let out 

 any water that might collect in them. They are then ready for 

 use. A bag is brought up over the bunch, above the branch, and 

 securely fastened with a pin. The bags should be left on until 

 picking time, when the bag and bunch may be taken off together. 

 If the fruit is to be stored it will be found that the fruit will 

 keep longer in the bags than without them. Generally the bags 

 remain on the whole season without trouble, and some growers use 

 the same bags for two seasons. Cloth bags made especially for 

 this purpose will last about four years. In France a wire bag is 

 used to some extent for this purpose. 



Keeping Grapes.— The keeping qualities of grapes varies 

 much with the different kinds ; some varieties will hardly keep a 

 week after being gathered, while others are easily kept for two or 

 three months by using only ordinary care. A moist, cold cellar is 

 a very good place to keep them. The bunches should first be re- 

 lieved of any cracked or injured berries, and then laid one tier deep 

 on shallow trays or shelves, so that the air may circulate freely 

 among them. The fruit should be perfectly dry when put ia the 

 cellar. If the cellar is not cool when needed for use some ice may 

 be put in it in a tub and the windows kept shut in the day time and 

 opened at night. If the grapes are packed in dry saw dust or cork 

 bark they will keep even better than on trays. Where cold storage 

 is accessible they may be packed in baskets before being stored, 

 but in any case great care should be taken to remove any injured 

 berries, or they will rot and spoil those near them. 



Girdling the Grape to advance the period of ripening is 

 practiced to a limited extent, but there is quite a difference of 

 opinion regarding the ultimate effect of the operation on the health 

 and vigor of the vine. It seems, however, to be pretty generally 

 conceded that it can be done to a limited extent without serious, if 

 any injury. That it generally advances the period of ripening 

 from seven to ten days, and that the fruit from girdled vines is 



