122 THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 



HIGH-PRICED GRAPES. 



Grapes that sell for $1.50 to $3 a pound suggest an Aladdin-like vision to those 

 grape-belt growers who reckoned their net returns at but a few cents a basket. 

 These aristocratic fruits, however, are greenhouse grapes of select European va- 

 rieties. They are sold only to wealthy buyers, the Rural New Yorker says, 

 and though the malrket is limited, it is not by any means overstocked, since we 

 import a quantity from England every season. 



Most of these grapes are planted out in permanent beds, in grape houses, 

 usually so built that the roots may ramble into an outside border. Well trained 

 and cared for, such vines grow to a great size and produce enormous crops. We 

 saw recently, however, pot-grown vines which were giving fine results. The va- 

 rieties were Bowood Muscat, a white grape, and Black Hamburg, which is gen- 

 erally regarded as the most reliable black grape under glass. These pot vines, 

 which were grown by H. H. Stevens, of Essex county, N. J., were only one year 

 old, and were fruited in sixteen-inch pots. The fruit began to be cut about the 

 middle of April, and the weight of grapes averaged twelve pounds to the pot. 



The pots in which the vines were grown were plunged nearly to the rim in 

 earth upon greenhouse benches, and the vines trained up near the glass. The 

 soil is well-rotted soil broken up with cow manure; sometimes a little charcoal 

 and lime rubbish are added. The vines in question were brought from a cellar, 

 where they had been kept in a dormant condition, in the beginning of December, 

 and started with a temperature of forty degrees. As the buds swell, the tem- 

 perature is increased to forty-five and fifty degrees ; then, when buds are fully 

 opened, the heat is increased to a steady temperature of sixty-five degrees, rising 

 fifteen or twenty degrees higher on sunny days. The pot culture gives an early 

 crop, which reaches the markets when the late crop is over. The bunches are 

 often thinned, especially in the case of certain varieties, that the bunch may be 

 well-shaped. Great care is needed, while the fruit swells and colors, to avoid 

 blemishes, which will diminish its value, and as each variety has peculiarities of 

 its own, which must be studied individually, experience is required to grow first- 

 class fruit successfully. 



PRESERVATION OF FRESH GRAPES. 



A recent bulletin of the school of agriculture of Scandicci, Italy, describes 

 experiments made by Professor Marchi for the keeping of grapes fresh during the 

 winter. A certain quantity of grapes, comprising different qualities, was hung 

 up in a cool and dry place, all damaged berries having been previously removed, 

 and a second lot was packed in dry, pulverized peat, in wooden boxes. At the 

 end of four months the grapes that had been hung up were decayed and had 

 dropped off; on the other hand, those that were packed in the boxes were found 

 to be in an excellent condition. Another method consists in gathering the 

 bunches with some of the stem attached, and immersing their tips in bottles 

 containing pulverized charcoal. Experiments were also made for preserving seed 

 potatoes by using corn shucks, sawdust, peat, and very dry sand. The three 

 first named gave the best results, while the sand proved a failure. Practical 

 Fruit Grower. 



