2 BULLETIN 452, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



rotundifolia grapes from North Carolina. In New Jersey the terri- 

 tory about Vineland and Egg Harbor was fairly well covered, and 

 representative samples were collected and sent to the food and drug 

 inspection laboratory at Philadelphia, where they were analyzed. 

 In New York the region about Keuka Lake was covered and 

 representative samples of table and wine grapes were collected 

 and sent to the food and drug inspection laboratory at Buffalo, 

 where they were analyzed. Further collections in New York were 

 made of the Concord variety from the Chautauqua district. In this 

 district and the adjacent northwestern part of Pennsylvania are lo- 

 cated the largest grape-juice factories in the world; they use only 

 Concord grapes for making grape juice. 



During this investigation samples of every variety of grapes found 

 in cultivation in the territory covered have been taken purposely 

 because the available data on the composition of American native 

 grapes were very inadequate. 



Up to the present time, of the many varieties of grapes put out by 

 the plant propagators, only a few have proved sufficiently valuable 

 to warrant extensive cultivation. Yet it is important in a general 

 investigation to make a fairly complete examination of all varieties 

 found in cultivation until sufficient information as to their compo- 

 sition is available from which to obtain a basis for more discriminating 

 work. 



COLLECTION OF SAMPLES. 



The sampling in 1911 was done almost wholly by persons employed 

 temporarily by the Bureau of Chemistry and in a few instances by 

 volunteer assistants. These assistants lived in the locality where 

 the samples were taken and were engaged for this work because 

 of their knowledge of the varieties. Every precaution was taken 

 to secure samples which represented the average of the crop. The 

 preparation and treatment of the samples during analysis were the 

 same as described in Bulletin 145. 2 



The sampling in New Jersey and in the Keuka district in New York 

 in 1913 was done by a member of the Bureau of Chemistry who 

 personally visited the growers and collected samples of ripe fruit 

 typical of each variety and crop. The samples reached the labora- 

 tory in good condition in both cases. 



The sampling of Concord grapes in the Chautauqua district in 1913 

 was done at one of the large grape-juice factories. Certain crops were 

 sampled six times between October 10 and 21 and in each case average 

 fruit was taken. Care was observed to select crops which repre- 

 sented the different soil formations of the district. Eight crops were 

 sampled on each date and in every instance a composite of these 



2 Ibid, pp. 9-11. 



