GRAPES 
come sweeter or better flavored, and will 
retain the excess of acid which disap- 
pears when the grapes are ripened on the 
vines. 
Gathering grapes for market should be 
done only in fair weather when the vines 
and fruit are not wet with either dew or 
rain. The stems should be cut with a 
knife or scissors and the bunches should 
be laid in shallow wooden trays or bas- 
kets for carrying to the packing shed. 
Baskets holding five, eight or ten pounds, 
with covers fastened on by wire hooks, 
are the best packages in which to ship, 
as they are inexpensive, easily handled in 
transportation, and convenient and tempt- 
ing to purchasers. The fruit should be al- 
lowed to lie a few hours so that the 
stems will become slightly wilted; and 
all diseased, unripe, or bruised berries 
should be removed before packing begins. 
The bunches should be placed in the bas- 
kets with the stems downward and 
packed snugly, the smaller bunches being 
used to fill the spaces between the larger: 
ones. The top of the fruit should be 
about half an inch above the top of the 
basket and should be even and level. The 
baskets should be so full that some pres- 
sure will be needed to bring the cover 
down into place, though the pressure 
should not be so great as to crush the 
grapes or break them from the stems. 
A basket which is not packed closely 
Will never carry the fruit in good con- 
dition; and, as the fruit is sold by 
weight, close packing is economical. The 
name of the variety, as well as the name 
and address of the grower, should be 
stenciled on the tops of the covers before 
they are put in place. Mixed or inferior 
fruit will seldom pay for shipping and 
will never add to the good reputation of 
the grower. 
Nearly all of our grapes ripen in July 
or August while the weather is still 
warm and it is difficult to keep them 
any great length of time without placing 
them in cold storage, which is expensive. 
They can be kept a short time by wrap- 
ping each bunch in paper and putting 
them in a cool place. Still better re- 
sults will be secured by placing a layer 
of cotton batting in the bottom of the 
1103 
box, then a layer of fruit covered by 
another layer of batting. Not more than 
two layers of fruit should be placed in 
a box, and the upper layer should have 
a thick covering of cotton. Neither of 
these methods will be found profitable 
for market purposes, but will often be 
desirable when a little fruit is to be kept 
for some special purpose. There is con- 
siderable difference in the keeping quali- 
ties of different varieties, and, in general, 
the late-ripening sorts will keep longer 
after being gathered than will those 
which ripen early in the season. 
Influence of Nativity 
As the character of every seedling is 
determined by the ancestry and environ- 
ment of the growing seed, it is only rea- 
sonable to look for the best varieties for 
cultivation in any given locality among 
those springing from seeds which were 
grown in the same or a similar region. 
Among the native grapes there are cer- 
tain species which succeed best in certain 
localities, some being quite local, while 
others are found widely distributed. The 
same vital principle which governs the 
range of the native species also controls 
the range of the cultivated sorts, and 
the best varieties for cultivation in any 
locality will usually be found among the 
descendants of those species which grow 
wild in the same region. Among the 
valuable hybrid varieties it is rare to 
find a satisfactory one which is not, in 
part at least, descended from the wild 
native species of the locality. The Vini- 
fera varieties, which are the common 
sorts in Europe and in California, are 
generally worthless in the Southern 
states, and their hybrids, even those 
having only a small percentage of the 
foreign stock, usually show great li- 
ability to disease. 
The Labrusca is native to the north- 
eastern part of the United States, and 
there the varieties of that parentage, 
like Concord, Moore Harly, Catawba, and 
others, are among the best; but farther 
south, where the wild Labrusca is un- 
known, they are less desirable. They be- 
come less valuable the farther they are 
removed from their place of origin, and, 
in the extreme South, they are weak in 
