342 



CASSELL'S POPULAK GAEDENINO. 



toth hands over the hunch towards the lower end. 

 Then take a strip of wadding, four inches hy twelve, 

 place it against the hunch to form a division ; lay in 

 another douhle sheet of paper, and proceed hy laying 

 the next hunch with the shoulders in the opposite 

 direction, turn up the. ends of the paper as hefore, 

 and draw the second bunch close to the first. Add 

 another strip of wadding, and repeat until the hox is 

 full, when by raising it to a sharper angle the weight 

 of the fruit, aided by very slight pressure with the, 

 fingers, will make room for another bunch. Fill all 

 vacancies round the sides hy forcing moss between 

 the wood and the lining ; fold the upstanding ends of 

 the paper evenly over the fruit, secure the Ud with 

 two small nails, enclose the record of the weight, 

 and cord each box singly or two together. "Wadding 

 must be used with great care, and on no account be 

 put in contact with the grapes. 



Lady Downea, Alicantes, and other kinds having 

 long, tapering bunches, may be treated as Muscats, 

 placing them transversely across the box ; but it is 

 not necessary to place anything between them, as 

 they are less susceptible to bruising; indeed, the 

 tighter and closer these kinds are pressed together 

 the better they travel. Lady Downes, unless very 

 fine indeed, do not require a six-inch box ; but it 

 sim^fies the matter of packing if all the boxes are 

 of uniform size, and the unnecessary depth may be 

 reduced by increasing the thickness of the layer of 

 moss at the bottom. The hunches of the kinds that 

 lie transversely across the box should not, however, 

 touch the paper, which should be drawn tightly over 

 the top of the box, and retain its position by being 

 nailed down with the lid. 



The key-stone of success in adopting the foregoing 

 system lies in the use of dry, soft moss, the cheapest 

 and best material for general packing, and this 

 should be forced down between the sides of the box 

 and the paper untU it begins to form an arch near 

 the lid, when the boxes may be turned upside down 

 without injury to the grapes. 



Grapes for Exhibition. — Experienced ex- 

 hibitors and observant visitors to the great fruit 

 shows are often pained by the untidy way in which 

 good examples of grape culture are sometimes set up, 

 or the careless manner in which they are conveyed to 

 the tents. The grape-grower who wishes to succeed 

 must not only be able to finish his fruit on the vines, 

 but must also be able to convey it without spot or 

 blemish to the most distant part of the coimtry. He 

 must not be above spending a night with his cases in 

 a luggage van, neither must he he afraid of showing 

 a firm front when hasty midnight changes take 

 place on crowded platforms. Visitors to the great 

 exhibitions little think, of the watchful care and 



anxiety which have been devoted to the traasit 

 alone of a stand of spotless grapes ; and as many of 

 our confreres seem little better informed, a few hints 

 on setting up and exhibiting may not be out of 

 .place. 



Years ago it was the custom to show grapes on 

 dishes or in flat boxes, but now they are invariably 

 set up, or rather suspended, on stands specially 

 prepared for the purpose (Fig. 27). The bunches, 

 it wiU be seen, are resting on a sloping board or 

 stand, some fourteen to eighteen inches in height, and 

 of convenient length for carrying from one to three 

 bunches. When a greater number of bunches form, 

 one exhibit, it is best to use two or more stands of 

 uniform height, as three or at most four bimches are- 

 sufficient for one stand. In order to show th& 

 grapes to the best advantage, and to convey them, 

 with the greatest degree of safety, the sloping part 

 of the stand should he more upright than they ar& 

 sometimes made, as there is then less danger of the 

 berries moving or the shoulders of the bunches- 

 faUing back on the stand. The sloping part of the 

 stand should be first covered with a sheet of wadding, 

 and then -with a sheet of silver paper for black 

 grapes, and pink paper for white ones, neatly turned 

 under the edges, and secured with small tacks. The 

 bunches are cut with a piece of the wood on which, 

 they have been gr6wing, and are transferred at once 

 to the stands, where they are secured hy means of a 

 piece of strong string or tape passed round the stalk 

 and through the two holes in the back. This string, he 

 it borne in mind, should be tied tightly roimd the 

 stalk at the junction with the wood, so as to pre- 

 clude all possibility of chafing in transit ; the ends 

 are then passed through the two holes, and tied at 

 the back. When set up the bunches should be 

 about three inches apart to admit of inspection ; they 

 should be suspended with the fiattest side to the 

 hoard and, it is hardly necessary to say, with the 

 best side facing the judges. A bunch should never 

 be lifted after it is suspended, as with the greatest 

 care it cannot be done without disturbing the bloom. 

 Some writers on packing for exhibition adrae 

 passing a piece of string through the berries and 

 round the stem about the middle of the bunch, 

 thence through two holes in the stand ; but this is a 

 troublesome and unnecessary operation, which cannot 

 be performed -without removing the bloom. More- 

 over, it is a dangerous precaution, as any sudden 

 jerk in transit is likely to canse the stems to snap 

 where the string passes over them. Large bunches 

 having heavy shoulders may sometimes have wads of 

 cotton wool placed under them ; beyond this no pack- 

 ing of any kind must be used. When all the grapes 

 are cut and aiTanged on the boards, fit them into 

 the cases in which they are to travel to the show. 



