SHELTERS FOR PROTECTING AND KIPENING. 367 



For winter keeping, only the best and evenly 

 ripened grapes should be selected. All bruised 

 and imperfect berries should be cut out, and 

 the bloom preserved as far as possible, for it has 

 something to do with the keeping of the fruit. 

 The bunches should be gathered when they are 

 dry, and handled with care, so as not to loosen 

 the berries from the stalk. Whether suspended 

 from wires or laid in drawers, the bunches 

 should not come in immediate contact with each 

 other, and they should not be handled, except 

 to remove decaying berries. Ventilation should 

 be regulated with reference to a uniformly low 

 temperature, ranging from five to ten above the 

 freezing point. Much moisture in the air 

 should be provided against, either by removing 

 the cause of it, or, where this can not be done, 

 using some good absorbent, such as the sulphite 

 or chloride of lime. If moisture is deposited 

 on the fruit, it is apt to produce mildew. With 

 these precautions, grapes may be kept well 

 during the winter. 



Shelters for Protecting and Ripening Fruit. 

 It sometimes happens that a temporary shel- 

 ter, even for a single night, will save a vine from 

 an early frost, thereby adding two or three 

 weeks to the season, and insuring the full matu- 



