264 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE GRAPE BUSINESS. 



HE grace of the vine is proverbial, and the beauty of its fruitage 

 gives it a high rank among the more attractive products of the soil. 

 It is difficult to imagine a more delicate and delicious fragrance than 

 that which greets one when entering a vineyard loaded with well- 

 ripened fruit. 



Grapes prefer a southerly exposure, a well-drained, fertilized and 

 cultivated soil. The uninitiated would scarcely credit the difference 

 careful cultivation makes, not only in the appearance, but in the flavor of the 

 fruit. The vineyards, in the famous grape region from Erie, Pa., to Brocton, N. 

 Y., look, in August, as free from weeds and as carefully kept as the daintiest 

 flower garden in the land, and the vines cling to the trellises perfectly, with no 

 vagrant branches to accuse their owners of carelessness. There is no fruit which 

 requires more delicate handling than the grape, for, if the bloom is rubbed off or 

 the clusters are in any way disfigured, the market value is seriously reduced. 



As soon as the fruit has ripened, the labor of picking and packing begins. 

 The picker is supplied with wooden trays, each of which holds about 30 pounds 

 when a little less than even full. These trays are made so that they can be 

 piled up |in tiers on the grape wagons. The picker takes each cluster by the 

 stem and cuts it from the vine with sharp-pointed grape scissors, and lays it 

 carefully in the tray. The clusters are handled entirely by the stems, and the 

 careful picker lays them in the tray with the stems up, so that the packers may 

 find no trouble in taking them out These sit at long, low tables. When boxes 

 with wire nails are used, there is a slit in the table to receive the wire, as the 

 boxes are packed face down, and there are blocks to incline the box or basket 

 toward the packer. 



Grapes are usually assorted by the packer into three or more grades. The 

 Niagara Company puts a certificate of excellence on its first-quality fruit, and 

 nothing goes into these boxes that is not absolutely i^erfect. The clusters must 

 be large and shapely, and the berries large, well ripened, and of good color. 

 The second-quality boxes contain smaller clusters, out all imperfect berries are 

 clipped out, and all webs and other foreign matters are removed. \o loose 

 clusters are packed in these boxes. If fruit is scarce and high, a third quality 

 may be packed with profit, but the fruit left from the second selection is usually 

 made into jellies, catsup, and fermented or unfermentcd wine. 



It is said that grapes may be produced at a fair profit for two cents per 

 pound, but unless sold in bulk the margin from such sales must be very narrow. 

 The care necessary to pack the grapes for market renders this i)art of the work 

 expensive, as cheap labor cannot be utilized. True, a great bulk of fruit may be 

 raised per acre ; but the average packer will not put uj) more than 500 pounds 

 per day, and skilled packers receive a dollar per day. — Rural Ncu* Yorker 



