THE VINE AND ITS FRUIT. 



339 



weather, will be necessary ; but fire heat is not an 

 essential, pro^'ided the room can be kept dry, and a 

 temperatui-e of about 45° maintained without it. 

 Having filled and placed a sufficient number of ordi- 

 nary wine bottles with soft water, and heated the 

 pipes for several days in succession, to dry the walls 

 and floor, on a dry, fine day cut the grapes with idl 

 the wood close to the base or pruning bud ; carry 

 them steadily to the room, insert each piece of w^ood 

 in the bottles, and place a small piece of wadding in 

 the necks to prevent evaporation. Do not shorten 

 back the pieces of wood beyond the bunches, as 

 every fresh cut allows the water to pass in the form 

 -of in^dsible vapour into the air of the dry room, and 

 •constant filling up is objectionable. Lady Downes, 

 Mrs. Pince's Muscat, Black Morocco, and AVhite 

 Tokay, being the best for keeping after March is 

 •out, they should be placed in the ujDper tiers ; then 

 should follow Gros Colmar, Alnwick Seedling, 

 Black Alicante, Wests, St. Peters, Trebbiano, and 

 Muscat of Alexandria, for use fi'om January up to 

 "the end of March. It wiU be necessary to look 

 them over occasionally for decaying berries ; but if 

 •all defective berries are removed at the time of cut- 

 ting, the grapes will keep much better in the room 

 than on the vines, pro\dded the bottles are kept 

 filled up with soft water. 



"V\'Tien all the grapes are cut and the ^dnes are 

 relieved of a strain almost equal to that produced by 

 •early forcing, they can be pruned, cleansed, and 

 allowed a good two months' rest before they are again 

 ■excited into growth. "Where late Hamburghs are 

 in demand, all that are hanging on the vines in 

 October may be removed to the grape-room, where 

 "they will keep fresh and good, and with less loss 

 than if left on the vines until the end of the year. 

 ■Some grape-growers put a small piece of charcoal 

 into the bottles ; but this is not necessary, as many 

 years' experience proves that the grapes keep just as 

 well without it ; but when a portion of the grapes 

 lave been used, it is a good plan to empty and fill 

 Tip [their bottles with fresh water, and transfer the 

 Lady Downes to them. ]\Iuscats and Gros Colmar 

 should be thoroughly ripe some time before they are 

 •cut, and if one part of the room is drier than another 

 they should have it, as the Colmars are liable to 

 mould, and the fleshy stalks of the shoulders some- 

 times suffer from the moisture contained within 

 "themselves. 



Preserving Grapes in Troughs. — This is a 

 modern invention, patented by Mr. George Ward, 

 the well-known grape-grower of Bishop Stortfoi'd. 

 As yet it is too early to say whether the troughs are 

 a complete success, though, judging from their 

 extreme simplicity, and the fact that jMr. ard is 



satisfied after long trials, there seems little doubt 

 that they will soon be found in general use. 



The troughs, which are oblong in shape and seven, 

 teen inches in length, are single, as in Figs. 23 and 24, 

 or double, as in Figs. 25 and 26. The material used 

 in their manufacture is glazed earthenware, which 

 possesses the advantage of being non-porous, cheap, 

 and cleanly. Each single trough is made with a 

 flange against one of its sides ; there is also one 

 running along the middle of the double troughs, 

 the use of which will be readily seen. The 

 trough is filled with water nearly up to the brim. 

 The shoot bearing the bunch is cut back full length 

 to the pruning bud to admit of its hanging free of 

 the trough, while the end of the shoot is inserted 

 under the flange f. The shoot acts as a levei-, work- 

 ing on the edge of the trough as a fulcrum, and the 

 weight of the bunch keeps it in x^osition by pressing 

 it firmly under and against the flange f. 



The following are some of the advantages which 

 Mr. Ward claims for his invention: — The troughs do 

 not require tilting, and yet the grapes hang in their 

 natural position. They need not be fuU, as there is 

 no danger of the ends of the shoots becoming dry ; 

 the water keeps sweet, and there is no fear of drip. 

 Water can be added without removing the grapes. 

 Ko tying or fastening is required, and each bunch 

 may be lifted out and replaced at pleasure. 



The single troughs are made for fixing against a 

 wall in tiers fifteen inches apart, one above the other, 

 and are supported on L-shaped iron holdfasts, which 

 retain them in position, but admit of their removal 

 for cleansing and other pui'poses. Fig. 23 shows the 

 appearance on the w^all and Fig. 24 shows, on a larger 

 scale, a section thi-ough the trough. The double 

 troughs are made for fixing on stands specially con- 

 structed for the purpose ; the latter may be made 

 any length and to contain any number of tiers, and 

 placed in convenient positions in the grape or store- 

 room. Each shelf s (see Fig. 25) is made with a ledge 

 LL on either side to hold the trough in position. 

 Fig. 26 gives a view of the stand and troughs, and 

 Fig. 25 shows an enlarged section of one shelf and 

 trough. 



The Packing of Grapes. — The packing of 

 grapes for transit by rail, often to a considerable 

 distance, is a matter which requires a greater amount 

 of attention than is frequently given to it. Many 

 cultivators produce excellent fruit, but very often 

 damage or completely spoil it through not knowing 

 how to pack. The great art of packing, not only 

 grapes, but all sorts of tender fruit, either for 

 market or private use, is more than half attained 

 when the young beginner gets over the fear of pack- 

 ing too tightly, for if once allowed to move or change 



