Vol. LVIII. No. 2557. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY 28, 1899. 
*1 PER YEAR. 
A BASKET OF GRAPES. 
THE CROP AT LAKE KEUKA. 
The Whole Story Told. 
Lake Keuka. —Probably few people who buy and 
eat Keuka Lake grapes, have any definite idea where, 
or how, they are grown. This gem of the lakes of 
western New York, lies in Steuben and Yates Coun¬ 
ties, is 22 miles long, and from one to three miles in 
width. A bold promontory, called Bluff Point, ex¬ 
tends about 10 miles into the lake from the northern 
end, and is from one-half to two miles wide, rising to 
a height of 700 feet at the southern extremity, divid¬ 
ing the north half of the lake into two branches, thus 
giving a shore line of nearly 70 miles which is almost 
one continuous vineyard. It is said by those who 
have sailed up the Rhine, that a few old castles 
perched here and there on the steep and terraced hill¬ 
sides of the southern shore, would make the two scenes 
quite similar. 
Our pictures 
show two views 
from Bluff 
Point. Fig. 19 
shows the lake 
looking south, 
while Fig. 20 is 
a view to the 
west, showing 
the hillside as it 
stretches back 
from the water. 
A Bit of 
History —The 
first planting of 
grapes on the 
shores of Lake 
Keuka, was 
made in 1836, 
by J. W. Pren¬ 
tiss, who in 
after years or¬ 
iginated the 
Prentiss grape. 
The Isabella 
was the only 
variety grown 
for several 
years. In 1854, 
was made the 
first shipment 
of grapes to the 
city markets; 
one ton of Isa¬ 
bellas was sent 
to New York, 
packed in bar¬ 
rels sawn in 
halves. They arrived in good condition, and sold for 
15 cents a pound. New York City could use one ton, 
but the second shipment broke the market, and they 
had to be peddled out at a sacrifice. In 1853, a three- 
acre vineyard was planted, which is still productive. 
When the suitability of the soil and climate for 
grape-growing became known, people went wild over 
it, and plantings increased rapidly from 1860 to 1880. 
Land values increased from almost nothing to several 
hundred dollars per acre. Bearing vineyards were 
considered worth SI,000 per acre, and in fact, at that 
figure, paid big interest on the investment. Large 
farms were subdivided, and sold for vineyards at a 
great profit, and growing roots for planting was a 
large and profitable industry. Concord, Catawba and 
Delaware were the varieties chiefly grown. 
Between 1860 and 1865, several large wine cellars 
were built, which annually use many thousand tons. 
In 1881, the Niagara was introduced, and large plant¬ 
ings were made of that variety. For the past 15 years, 
prices received for grapes have been declining until, 
in some instances, they have gone below the cost of 
production, and some have torn out their vineyards in 
disgust. There are now about 10,000 acres bordering 
on this lake, with about 5 000 more on the neighbor¬ 
ing lakes of Seneca and Canandaigua. Concord is 
still the leading variety, closely followed by Catawba. 
The latter is seldom planted more than one-half mile 
from the lake, as it is a late variety to ripen, and 
needs the protecting influence given by a large body 
of water in warding off the early Autumn frosts. As 
the water absorbs the cold, it radiates heat. Some¬ 
times the foliage will be killed, and the fruit injured 
on the hills above the lake, weeks before any signs of 
J ack Frost’s presence are seen near the shore. Such 
was the case in 1897. 
Growing 1 the Fruit. —Vines are usually set about 
8x8 feet, though the distance varies with different 
planters and with different varieties, and from 600 to 
700 vines are required for an acre. A post is placed 
for every third vine in the row ; these posts support 
three wires to which the vines are tied. The cost of 
vines has varied greatly with supply and demand. In 
the eighties, thousands of Niagara vines were planted, 
which cost SI. 50 each, or $900 per acre, one man near 
the shore setting 30 acres. Last Winter, I was offered 
Niagara vines by a reliable nurseryman of Fredonia, 
at 80 cents per 100. 
Saying nothing about the first cost of the land, 
stakes, wire, picking boxes, packinghouse, team and 
tools for cultivating, spraying apparatus, and other 
necessary outfit, besides four or five years’ care and 
cultivation before a full crop can be secured, let us 
see what amount of labor is required to produce and 
market a crop. First is the pruning. The surplus 
wood must be cut off, drawn away and burned, stakes 
and wires tightened, then the bearing wood is tied to 
the wires with willow or fine wire. Three systems of 
pruning and training are practiced : The renewal, the 
Brocton and the Kniffin. The renewal ties the bear¬ 
ing canes to the lower wires, and the new growth is 
tied with rye straw to the upper wires ; the Brocton 
prunes the same, but ties the old canes to the top 
wire, allowing the new growth to hang down or go 
where it pleases; while the Kniffin trains the vines 
in an altogether different manner. After tying, comes 
plowing away from the vines, and hoeing; then most 
vineyardists spray with Bordeaux Mixture from two 
to five times, as a preventive of rot and mildew. In 
June or July, the soil is plowed back toward the vines, 
and many at this time sow Crimson clover, the use of 
which is rapidly increasing in this locality. 
In harvesting, the clusters are cut from the vine, and 
carefully placed in trays holding 25 or 30 pounds, 50 
or 60 trays being a good day’s work picking. The 
trays are drawn to the packinghouse, where the 
clusters are ex¬ 
amined and 
after all imper¬ 
fect or broken 
berries are cut 
out, they are 
packed in four- 
pound baskets. 
A skillful 
worker will 
pack for three 
or four trim¬ 
mers, and fill 
300 or 400 bas¬ 
kets in a day. 
The covers are 
stamped with 
the name of the 
variety, and 
the grower’s 
name and ad¬ 
dress, placed 
and hooked 
down, and the 
basket is ready 
to be drawn 
with hundreds 
of its fellows to 
the shipping 
station. All 
this labor for 
a basket of 
grapes which 
often brings 
the grower 
only three 
cents, exclu¬ 
sive of the cost 
of the basket. 
The price last season, after November 1, gradually 
advanced to 10% cents a basket, the highest figure 
reached in several years, which seems to have been 
due to a slightly shortened crop, and to the excellent 
quality of the fruit. Grapes with the Lake Keuka 
brand on the basket, sell for one cent more than those 
grown on the neighboring lakes. The grapes of this 
vicinity are all packed in the four-pound basket, while 
Chatauqua and Lake Erie growers use the eight-pound. 
The Basket. —Basket making is one of the lead¬ 
ing manufacturing interests in this locality, calling 
for the investment of many thousands of dollars, and 
giving employment to hundreds of people ; one factory 
alone turns out annually, 2,000,000 grape baskets, 
besides large quantities of peck, half-bushel, market, 
peach and other sorts too numerous to mention. 
Material for the basket is brought from different sec¬ 
tions of our country; the bottoms come from Mich¬ 
igan in car-load lots, being made there from a very 
LAKE KEUKA LOOKING SOUTH FROM BLUFF POINT. Fig. 19. 
