216 THE GRAPE 



Harvesting and Packing. — ^The grape should not be picked 

 until it is fully ripe for use in the home or for making wine. 

 There are many varieties which become highly colored some- 

 time before they are fully matured, but they are not ripe. 

 If the grape is picked so soon as it colors up the fruit will be 

 sour and inferior in quality. When the grape is ripe and in the 

 best condition to pick the stem will begin to shrivel slightly 

 or will soften a little so that it can be easily bent. 



The grape should never be gathered when the vines are 

 wet with dew or rain. The stems should always be cut and 

 the bunch should ne^-er be pulled or broken off. The bunches 

 should be laid either in shallow trays or in baskets when they 

 are carried to the packing house. The packing of grapes will 

 be made much easier if the grapes are allowed to lie for a 

 couple of hours until the stems become slightly wilted. The 

 bunches should be placed in the baskets with their stems 

 down. Each bunch should be packed firmly in the carrier 

 or the fruit will move about and be greatly injured before it 

 reaches the market. 



A package should never contain more than one variety of 

 grapes. Neither should mixed nor inferior fruit be included 

 in any pack, because it reduces the value of the good fruit. 



The grape ripens during the latter part of the summer 

 when it is still warm. Therefore grapes cannot be kept for 

 any length of time unless they are immediately placed in 

 cold storage. Even under the best conditions the grape 

 can only be held for a limited time. It is usually better to 

 dispose of the crop when it is harvested than it is to attempt 

 to hold it. 



Varieties. — The selection of varieties is a most difficult 

 undertaking. Their beha^•ior and requirements are varied 

 according to the soil and the climate, so that it would be folly 

 to offer a list for any given section. There are, however, 

 several varieties that do well o\'er a considerably large area 

 and might be listed for the aid of some. The Concord, 

 Worden and the Moore, which are dark grapes, and the 

 Niagara, which is a white grape, succeed in many parts of 

 the North. 



The Delaware is perhaps the finest quality grape, but it 



