30 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



pends on manufacture and reputation in Europe, that wine 

 from the same variety of grape, and the vines divided by a 

 footpath in the same vineyard, have very different reputa- 

 tions. The one will bring eighteen dollars per dozen, where 

 its neighbor will not command three dollars. Many com- 

 mence the manufacture at the lowest price, and in a few 

 years, by great care and skill, command the highest." 



In the Horticulturist of January last, a writer from Mis- 

 sissippi recommends the use of whisky barrels, in wine-making. 

 Perhaps they might answer in Mississippi, but it would be a 

 great mistake to use them here. The taste of the whisky 

 would destroy the flavor of our Catawba grape, — which we 

 prize so highly in our wine, — and render it unsalable. To 

 avoid giving any extraneous taste to the wine, the casks 

 should be at first, new, filled up with pure water, and soaked 

 for ten or fifteen days ; then, well scalded out, and fumigated 

 with sulphur. In using them afterward, they should be 

 thoroughly cleansed every year, before the wine is put into 

 them to ferment. 



FERMENTATION. 



This process as generally pursued here, is very simple. 

 The casks are filled up wdthin five or six inches of the 

 bung, and the bung put on loosely. The gas escapes without 

 the wine running over. Usually, in two to three wrecks, the 

 fermentation ceases, and the wine becomes clear; then^^^ up 

 the casks and tighten the bungs. 



In February or March, rack off the wine into clean casks 

 and bunof tif>ht. 



A second, but moderate fermentation, will take place late 

 in the spring; after that the wine fines itself, and is ready for 

 sale ; and if the casks are kept well filled, and the bungs 

 tight, it will improve by age for many years. Use no brandy 

 vr sugar, if the grapes are sound and well ripened. 



Since the above was written an improvement has been 

 adopted by many, in the fermentation of wines. — When the 



