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FLORIDA FRUITS. 



only grapes, but all fruit, is one invented by a poor East India 

 native, who little expected its fame would ever travel beyond the 

 limits of his humble field. 



An empty bottle, a string, a cork, and a nail — these are the 

 materials required. 



The bottom of the bottle is cut off by a heated wire being drawn 

 along a file mark ; then the string is passed through the cork in the 

 mouth of the bottle, its lower end, with a nail (or small stone) tied to 

 it, hanging about two-thirds of the way down to the lower part of 

 the bottle ; this, you will see, at once converts the latter into a 

 bell, the nail being the clapper ; the bottle must now be hung 

 up on a twig of the plant to be protected, either by a continua- 

 tion of the clapper string, or, which is much better, by a wire 

 passed around the neck of the bottle. The least breeze causes 

 this novel bell to tinkle, and a number of them, placed here and 

 there, in an orchard or vineyard, will effectually frighten away 

 the birds, and preserve the fruit from their ravages. 



In picking grapes to send to market, great care must be 

 taken not to handle the bunch itself, as this will rub off" the 

 bloom, which lends so attractive a.n appearance to the grapes ; 

 the stem only should be held in the hand. 



Five-pound boxes, not larger than these, are the proper size 

 for packing them in ; they are very cheap, and are made either 

 of very thin pieces of wood, or of stiff pasteboard. The grapes 

 must be laid in carefully, shaken lightly to make them pack 

 firmly, and filled even with the top. 



The boxes thus prepared are placed in larger boxes, and 

 are then ready for shipment. 



When grapes are properly handled in picking, so that they 

 are not broken or bruised, they may be kept for months by the 

 following simple process : 



Nail cleats on the inside of nice, clean boxes, about an inch 

 from the top, and between them, on the inside of the top of the 

 box ; nail bars, made of two strips of wood, placed one on the 

 other, the lower one the widest, so that there will be a ledge on 

 each side of the narrower centre strip. 



