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GRAPE GROIVING ON THE ISLANDS OF LAKE ERIE. 



which have establishments upon the island ; this gives 

 a very good near market. 



While there are extensive vineyards upon all the ad- 

 jacent islands, and all along the lake shore from the city 

 of Sandusky, east, the industry may be said to have 

 originated — so far as this section is concerned — upon 

 Kelly's island, and flourished there for ten or fifteen years 

 before obtaining much foothold elsewhere. Now, while 

 the industry is extensively pursued all about them, the 

 growers upon this island still claim that they grow the 

 best grapes produced in America. The island is certainly 

 fortunately situated, in many respects, for grape culture. 

 In the first place, the limestone soil is so strong that vine- 

 yards which have been producing for thirty years, with- 

 out being fertilized at all during all that time, show as 

 yet no diminution of vigor or productiveness. During 

 recent years, the vine growers have been experiencing 

 considerable trouble from mildew and rot, but are now 

 sucessfully battling this by spraying the vines with a 

 solution of sulphur and copper. In vineyards where 

 this has been practiced in part, one could at a glance 

 detect the difference between the rows which had been 

 so treated and those which had not. After soil, the next 

 advantage given to this spot by nature is the climate. 

 Winter lingers long hereabouts, and for a fortnight after 

 the buds have come forth upon the mainland they still 

 lie dormant here. Ice drifts down from the northern 

 shore of the lake, keeping the water and the air cold. 

 Not until the ice is gone does the temperature rise to a 

 point sufficient to start vegetation, so that the buds are 

 not out in time to be nipped by unseasonable frosts ; and 

 after the water has once become warm it operates to 

 hold frost in check. This influence, in turn, is felt un- 

 til late in autumn, prolonging the ripening season for the 

 late varieties. The curtailment of the crop by mildew 

 and rot has not been an unmixed misfortune, as the grow- 

 ers who have given their vines proper treatment, and 

 thus saved the crop, have profited by the higher prices 

 obtained, which has much more than offset the additional 

 cost of cultivation. Delaware, which sold last year at 

 three cents, brought five cents this year, and Ives and 

 Catawba three cents, againts two cents last season. 

 Those who grow grapes for shipment estimate the cost 

 upon an average crop at one and one-half cents a pound ; 

 this includes baskets, packing, freight and commission. 

 As an average crop equals about two tons, it may be 

 seen that at above prices, the business is quite profitable. 

 Those who sell to the wine makers are at much less ex- 

 pense, as the fruit is placed in barrels as gathered from the 

 vines and hauled direct to the presses. The cost of culti- 

 vating in this instance is placed at $25 per acre. Much 

 of the work, such as tying, picking and packing, is done by 

 women and children, which fact helps to reduce the 

 cost. A feature worth noting in this connection, is that 

 a carefully cultivated patch of osier willows is found 

 upon each vineyard, the green rods being used for fall 

 tying of the vines. It occured to me that with a little 

 extension of the osier patch, basket-making might be 

 profitably added to the other industries of the island 



affording employment during the long, cold winters, 

 when many of the people, must from force of circum- 

 stances, remain idle. The spring tying of the vines is done 

 with rye straw, and patches of rye are likewise cultivated 

 for this purpose. The rye straw might also be further util- 

 ized in the manufacture of hoods for packing the bottled 

 wine. These straw hoods are now wholly imported in 

 bales, prepared ready for use. Whether the new tariff 

 bill has protected this minor industry I am not prepared 

 to say ; but, if not, it might well have done so. 



There are numerous wine cellars upon the island, the 

 largest of which has an annual capacity of 500,000 

 gallons. The original cellar is 138 feet long, 37 feet 

 wide and 16 feet high. The sides are of solid rock, the 

 cellar having been quarried out between two parallel 

 seams and an arch then sprung across to form the roof. 

 This room is the main fermenting cellar, and has a ca- 

 pacity of 150,000 gallons. 



There are six other cellars, each 125 feet long, 22 feet 

 wide and 10 feet high, and in addition there is room 

 overhead, in the superstructure, equal to three more 

 cellars of the same capacity as those last mentioned. 



To this, and other similar establishments, the grapes 

 are carried as they are gathered from the vines, and 

 washed at once in order that the fresh, fruity flavors 

 may be most perfectly retained in the juices. The new 

 wine, as it leaves the press, is conducted by pipes to the 

 still wine cellars, into casks holding from 1,500 to 6,000 

 gallons each. That which is to be converted into cham- 

 pagne remains here until it has passed a sufficient fer- 

 mentation for bottling ; then it is bottled and put into 

 a warm room where the further fermentation is per- 

 mitted to go on until the bottles begin to break ; then it 

 is removed to the champagne vaults where it remains 

 with only an occasional handling until "ripe." It is 

 then placed on the clearing tables (or sediment racks) 

 inclined with the cork end down, and shaken by hand 

 with a rotary motion twice a day, for from three to five 

 weeks. By this means the sediment becomes entirely 

 deposited on the cork. The bottles are then taken to 

 the finishing room, the corks taken out together with 

 the sediment, a dose of syrup (made from pure sugar 

 crystals dissolved in old wine) added, recorked, wired, 

 labeled, foiled and packed for shipping. During the 

 two years which these processes require, each bottle is 

 handled more than two hundred times; and, as much of 

 the handling must be done by especially skilled workmen, 

 one may see some reason for the high values set upon 

 the best champagnes. 



While a considerable business is done in champagnes 

 and bottled still wines, the product is mainly sold in 

 bulk, and every steamer going from the islands carries 

 as part of its cargo, barrels and casks of various sizes, 

 containing the juice of the grape. The average pro- 

 duction of fruit is put at about 5,000,000 lbs., which 

 should produce about one-third of a million gallons of 

 wine. Statistics show that the shipments are much 

 greater than this, and the seeming inconsistency of the 

 figures can only be explained upon the supposition that 



