348 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
gain in setting ordinary strawberry plants in 
the fall in that the soil is in better condition, 
and that the garden and other work is not so 
pressing. Blackberries and raspberries start 
very early in the spring, and should be 
planted in the fall. If it is desired to propa¬ 
gate the black caps, and a few varieties of the 
red, the canes must be bent down and earth 
placed on the tips, which then will soon strike 
root. Most red raspberries and blackberries 
may be propagated readily by “suckers,” or 
shoots which spring from below ground. The 
currants and gooseberries may be pruned as 
soon as the leaves are ready to fall. Propa¬ 
gation is done by cuttings planted in rows 
with one bud above the surface. If put in 
early, they will form roots before winter sets 
in. The gathering of the grapes is an im¬ 
portant operation, and is best done with the 
scissors made for the purpose ; this avoids 
handling the fruit, which, by removing the 
“ bloom,” injures the appearance and there¬ 
fore the sale. The use of trays for holding 
the fruit for curing, and the packing of 
grapes are fully treated elsewhere on this page. 
'l'lie Kitchen and market Ciarden. 
The late weeds will thrive vigorously at this 
season, and hoeing and raking should not 
cease until frosts put a stop to their growth. 
When a crop is removed, the ground should be 
cleaned of all refuse, and that which is worth¬ 
less for the pigs, etc., should be burned, espe¬ 
cially weeds with ripened seeds. As the cooler 
weather comes, the late crops will make a 
rapid growth. The celery will need a frequent 
stirring of the earth. If some is wanted for 
early use, the leaves can be straightened up 
and the earth drawn close about them. The 
banking for winter use need not be done un¬ 
til next month. The late plantings of cab¬ 
bage and cauliflower may be stimulated by 
an application of guano, or other concen¬ 
trated and quick-acting manure. The seeds 
for the plants that are to be kept through the 
winter in cold frames should be sown about 
the middle of this month, for localities with 
the climate of New York City. The soil 
should be rich and mellow. No cucumbers, 
except a few for seed, should be allowed to 
reach maturity, as they exhaust the plants. 
The fruit for pickles should be gathered every 
day. Martynias must be gathered while still 
very tender and brittle, else they will be 
worthless. The sweet potato vines should be 
kept from striking roots at the joints. The 
larger potatoes may be pulled from the rows, 
leaving the small ones to continue their 
growth. When the tomatoes are most abun¬ 
dant, the supply of catsup should be made. 
The fruit for green pickles should be gathered 
before the frosts come. Some of the later 
turnips may still be sown, but the soil should 
be rich, and the hoe frequently used. Seeds 
should never be saved from the “last pick¬ 
ing ” of a crop. The best, or none, should be 
the rule. It is cheaper to buy seeds from 
those who grow the best than to save the poor. 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
The show of out-door flowers should now 
be at its best. The rich foliage and bright 
flowers of the cannas and the bloom of the 
geraniums should make the garden brilliant. 
The dahlias will need to be supported by 
stakes, or else the heavy blossoms will break 
down the spreading branches at just the time 
when the plants are at the best. Old blooms 
from these and other plants should be re¬ 
moved. The chrysantheums are among the 
latest of flowers, and for this, as well as their 
real beauty, they should receive proper atten¬ 
tion. If the plants are potted they can be 
kept in the greenhouse or window for some 
weeks, making a beautiful show. The cooler 
weather will start the grass of the lawn into 
more vigorous growth, and the lawn mower 
will need to be frequently used. Annual 
grasses may spring up in the thinner spots, 
and if not allowed to form seeds, but little 
harm is done at this late season. New lawns 
may be made now. If the season is favorable, 
fall sowing is preferred to that of spring, 
for the grass gets a start before winter comes. 
Greenhouse and Window Plants. 
The time for taking in the more tender 
plants will be soon at hand. Everything 
about the greenhouse should be in readi¬ 
ness. Soil and pots should be at hand in 
good supply. New sand should be put on the 
shelves to avoid insect pests. It is much bet¬ 
ter to bring plants in rather early than to let 
them be injured by being too late out of doors. 
Slight frosts may be guarded against by pro¬ 
viding a cover for the choicest plants in the 
form of sheets, or even newspapers. Roses, 
carnations, etc., that are to flower in the 
winter, need to be potted and set in a cool 
place for awhile. Hanging baskets may 
now be filled with plants, and hung out-of- 
doors until the weather gets too cool for them. 
Preserving Grapes for Winter. 
As autumn approaches, we receive a num¬ 
ber of inquiries as to the method of preserv¬ 
ing grapes for winter use. It is not gener¬ 
ally understood that there is as much differ¬ 
ence in grapes, with respect to their keeping, 
as there is with other fruits. No one would 
expect to keep Early Harvest apples or Bart¬ 
lett pears for the holidays, and it is so with 
the most generally cultivated grape, the Con¬ 
cord ; it can not be made to keep in good 
condition long after it is fairly ripe. With 
other varieties it is different. There are 
some localities where that grand old grape, 
the Catawba, can still be cultivated with suc¬ 
cess, and, where this is the case, one need 
hardly to look for a better variety. The Isa¬ 
bella still succeeds in some places, and is a 
fair keeper. Better than either, if not the 
best of all grapes, the Iona gives good crops 
in some places, as does the Diana. Where 
either of these, the Isabella, Catawba, Iona, 
or Diana, can be grown, there is no difficulty 
in keeping them until the first of the New 
Year, or later. The grapes are allowed to 
ripen fully ; they are picked; and placed in 
shallow trays, in which they remain in an 
airy room to “ cure.” The operation of cur¬ 
ing consists merely in a sort of wilting, by 
which the skin becomes toughened, and will 
not break when the fruit is packed. The 
clusters, when properly “ cured,” are packed 
in boxes, usually of three or five pounds 
each. The bottom of the box is opened, the 
larger clusters laid in carefully, and smaller 
bunches packed in upon them in such a man¬ 
ner that it will require a moderate pressure 
to bring the cover (or, properly, the bottom), 
of the box to its place, where it is nailed 
down. The pressure used is such that when 
the top of the box is opened, the grapes next 
to it are found to be somewhat flattened. 
The fruit must be pressed in such a manner 
that it can not shake in travel, and this can 
only be done with grapes the skin of which 
has been toughened by being properly cured. 
If clusters were placed in the box as they 
come from the vines, and subjected to the 
needed pressure, the skin would crack around 
the stems, liberating the juice, and the whole 
would soon pass into decay. Towards Christ¬ 
mas and New Year’s, many tons of the vari¬ 
eties we have named come to the New York 
market in excellent condition. New varieties 
of grapes, of great excellence, have recently 
been introduced, but we have yet to learn as 
to their keeping qualities. With the Concord 
and related varieties, the skin is too tender 
to allow of long keeping, and it does not 
seem to toughen in the curing process. Still, 
with these, the season for home use may be 
considerably prolonged. The late Mr. Knox 
found that he could keep the Concord for 
some time by placing the thoroughly ripened 
clusters in baskets or boxes, with the leaves 
of the vine below and between them. We 
do not know how long this will keep these 
grapes, but we saw some in excellent condi¬ 
tion several weeks after the harvest was over. 
Those who set grape-vines should be aware 
that no one variety will meet every require¬ 
ment, and that the earlier the variety, the 
less likely it will be to prove a good keeper. 
Preparing for the Fair. 
So far as our experience goes, and it has 
not been limited, the success of a fair, espe¬ 
cially of a local one, depends mainly upon 
the work of a few—often one—very enthusi¬ 
astic and hard-working persons. We believe 
so thoroughly in fairs, and especially in the 
local ones—county in preference to State 
fairs, and town fairs rather than those of the 
county, that we would increase this number 
of workers, and have every one within the 
district included by the fair feel that he is a 
committee of one charged to make it a suc¬ 
cess. We went to a country fair several 
years ago, at which there was a display of 
vegetables that would have been very credit¬ 
able, had they been properly exhibited. Laid 
out on old tables, the boards of which had 
been weather-worn for many years, they 
made a most sorry appearance. Supposing 
that the exhibitor bad taken a lot of 3-inch 
stuff, tacked together some frames, placed 
some freshly-cut grass in each, and on these 
laid his beets, turnips, etc., in regular order. 
Every one would then have stopped to look at 
them, and have examined the card of the 
exhibitor. This illustrates a common trouble 
at our local fairs ; people bring things, which, 
not been properly exhibited,are unnoticed,and 
as a consequence, they do not bring anything 
the next year. It should be the business ©f 
some one at every fair to look out for these 
details. Many a good housewife robs her 
garden to make up a large decorative bouquet, 
and when she reaches the fair, finds no place 
to put it. It can only be laid down some¬ 
where, probably in the sun, no one to take 
charge of it or care for it. It is the neglect 
of these little things that discourages con¬ 
tributors. Take such a bouquet, for example, 
a proper person in charge, if he could not find 
a proper vase to hold water for it, he would 
take some newspapers, make a big ball of 
mud around the stems, bind the papers 
around the ball, and the bouquet could stand 
erect on its mud base, and remain fresh for 
days. But our intention was to suggest pre¬ 
paring for the decoration of the fair. Most 
