360 AMERICAN GRAPE CULTURE. 



grapes so that there shall be no space to permit 

 of jarring in handling the boxes, and no crushed 

 fruit. It is a kind of knowledge that can be 

 acquired by practice alone. In handling, care 

 should be taken at all times not to rub the 

 bloom from the berries, and thus mar their 

 beauty. 



We may remark in conclusion, that while 

 poorly ripened and ill-assorted grapes are often 

 sold with difficulty at low rates, those that are 

 ripe and selected with care are uniformly sought 

 after at high prices. 



And here we would add a concluding word 

 to every fruit grower upon the advantage of 

 earning a good reputation for growing the best 

 kinds in their greatest excellence, and also for 

 fairness in all the operations of preparing them 

 for market, so that the " brand," when once in- 

 troduced and known, shall be eagerly sought 

 after by all consumers. Such reputation and 

 superiority, it is true, can only be acquired by 

 high culture and a strict regard of the morali- 

 ties as respects both the man and the business ; 

 but it produces that fine, manly development 

 of the faculties which should be the emulation 

 of all pursuits, and for which grape culture 

 affords such a generous scope. No one need 



