30 
SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE 
to 60 cents. I didn’t sell a crate of our grapes for less than' 
$1.20. The difference in the condition in which they arrived 
was due more to the method of shipping than anything else. 
We have had discussions at various times in our society in 
regard to leaving some circulation of air in the car. I ob¬ 
jected to it, thinking it would be damaging to the grapes. In 
the carload I went to Chicago with the grapes in the end of 
the car in which the ventillator was open were not as good as 
those in another part of the car. 
In regard to the failure of some of the vineyards in Or¬ 
ange county and in South Florida, (and I want to say right 
here that I grew grapes thirty years ago in New York, I 
have seen gr ipes growing in Missouri, Colorado and Califor¬ 
nia, and I have seen grapes growing on the Rhine, in different 
localities, and I think I know something about grape growing.) 
I believe the failure to day to grow grapes profitably, lies in 
the plan by which we are forced to get them to market. I 
know of one vineyard of 110 acres, all Niagaras, of which the 
owners are very sanguine of successful returns, but they are 
making arrangements for refrigerator service to market their 
crops. In the first place, we must cool down the car before 
putting grapes in. They must lie in refrigeration twenty-four 
hours before they are loaded. By that means we get the grapes 
all cooled through before they move, and then if they can go 
right through in the express trains, or if fast freight service 
can be secured, I venture to say that grape growing in South 
Florida can be made as profitable and as remunerative as in 
any other portion of the state. 
As a rule we must plant our grapes, especially the Niagara,, 
on higher ground. I have gone into nearly every vineyard in 
Orange county with a view of seeing what could be done with 
grape growing in South Florida, and I say in the paper I have 
read it is the method in which they are put into the market 
that causes the unprofitableness of the undertaking. The 
grapes are put into hot exprtss cars, piled in indiscriminately, 
and some growers only half pack them, taking no pains, and 
of cousse they do not get through in good condition. Our 
grapes went through to Chicago in better condition than any 
T saw from other points. I went to the auction and examined 
the grapes, and those from other points did not come up to 
the standard of ours. I also saw in Chicago some grapes from 
about Tallahassee that went into Chicago in very poor condi¬ 
tion indeed, although twenty-four hours nearer that market 
than we are. Anyone who will take a carload of grapes and 
run them through to Chicago, New York, Baltimore or Bos¬ 
ton on the plan that I have outlined, will find they will be im 
perfect condition on arrival at their destination. 
