UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 861 A 



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Contribution from the Bureau of Markets 

 GEORGE LIVINGSTON, Chief 



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Washington, D. C. 



September 13, 1920 



MARKETING EASTERN GRAPES. 



By Dudley Alleman, 

 Assistant in Market Surveys. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



The rise and fall of commercial pro- 

 duction ; 2 



Changes in market outlets 3 



Present commercial outlets 4 



Commercial varieties 5 



Methods of preparation for market- 9 



Tage. 



Description of leading producing 



sections 26 



Market preference 50 



Distribution ; " 53 



Conclusion ; [ 54 



Appendix : Destinations of grapes 55 



INTRODUCTION. 



There are three main types of grapes produced in the United 

 States, the European or vinifera type, grown extensively in Cali- 

 fornia, among the principal representatives of which are the Tokay, 

 Malaga, and Emperor; the labrusca type, grown in practically all 

 sections of the country, represented by the Concord, the Niagara, 

 and the Catawba; and the Muscadine grapes, grown in the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States, of which the oldest and best known variety 

 is the Scuppernong. This bulletin deals with the marketing of 

 labrusca grapes, known commercially as Eastern grapes; the Euro- 

 pean or Western grape and the Muscadines present very different 

 problems of production and use. 



HISTORY OF VARIETAL DEVELOPMENT. 



When the first colonists reached eastern America they found the 

 native grapes growing luxuriantly. As early as 1616 Lord Dela- 

 ware wrote to England, " In every boske and hedge we have thou- 

 sands of goodly vines running along and cleaving to every tree." 

 These flourishing native species of grapes encouraged the importa- 

 tion of the best English and French varieties, which were planted in 

 great number from New England to Florida. All of these vines 

 sickened and died, but apparently only those planters immediately 

 178922°— 20 1 1 



