SMALL-FRUITS AND THE GRAPE 221 



They are not dried on the vine as is the case in countries 

 where labor is cheap, but are picked and dried on trays. To 

 hasten the evaporation process, the grapes are dipped in 

 various solutions. They are then stacked or piled to produce 

 sweating. Stemming and seeding are done entirely by 

 machinery. 



Efforts to grow the Sultana, a Smyrna seedless variety, 

 met with indifferent success. The variety seems to revert to 

 a seeded form whenever removed from its native habitat. 

 A California variety has now been secured, the Thompson's 

 Seedless, or Sultanina. This has proven to be superior to the 

 Sultana in almost every respect. 



Zante currants, known also as English currants, are in 

 reality a type of raisin. They are the products obtained by 

 drying a small black grape called the Corinth, which grows 

 in Greece and some of the islands adjacent to it. Efforts have 

 been made recently by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture to introduce this fruit into the United States and 

 the result will be awaited with interest. 



EXERCISES 



EXERCISE I. Study of bearing habits of various kinds of berries. 



Materials. Small patches of plants of as many kinds of berries as 

 possible. 



Procedure. (1) Study blossoms of as many kinds of the small-fruits 

 as possible. Note their arrangement, size, and structure. What is the 

 age of the wood upon which the blossoms are borne? Are the flowers 

 perfect or imperfect? 



(2) Examine berries "of as many bush-fruits as possible. Study their 

 structure. Note where they are borne. State the relation the bearing 

 habit of each kind of bush-fruit has to pruning. 



EXERCISE II. Study of commercial methods in berry production. 



Materials. Berry farms in your locality. 



Procedure. If possible visit berry farms in your locality. (1) Make 

 a list of favorable and unfavorable factors present for the growing of 

 the berries. (2) Study and. report on the methods of harvesting and 



