310 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
best to adopt. Probably we shall arrive at the same diversity 
of practice as is witnessed here. Stemming is usually done 
by rubbing the fruit upon a grating of iron rods; but the bet¬ 
ter way decidedly is a grating of wood. It is made ot bars, 
two-thirds of an inch square, carved into each other where 
they cross so as to bring them down to an even face, leaving 
openings or meshes two-thirds of an inch square. This is 
established like a table with four legs, with a rim around it 
about ten inches high, and a proper receptacle beneath to re¬ 
ceive and carry off the stemmed fruit as it falls through and 
the juice which escapes. The table is four feet square and 
four feet high. About three bushels of grapes are prut on to 
the grating, which four men, with bare arms, soon rub through, 
leaving the stems behind, which are then thrown into a small 
circular press like our hand cider presses, which extracts the 
juice of the few grains remaining on them. In this way four 
men can stem enough to make fifty barrels of wine per day. 
For one who makes but a small quantity, a deep tub and a 
three-pronged stick will do very well. 
CRUSHING. 
This is next to be done, by trampling the grape with the 
naked foot. It is said to be a better way than to use a large 
mill, for the reason that the mill will crush the seed ; but the 
seeds are not easily crushed, and a properly made grape mill 
need not bruise them in the least. At a well managed wine- 
house—that of Messrs. Averons Brothers, in Pauilliac—they 
put the grapes to ferment with no further crushing than what 
js given them in the process of stemming, which experience 
has satisfied those gentlemen is all that is needed. 
Treading out grapes with bare feet is well enough if the feet 
first be made clean ; but probably no American will ever adopt 
the plan of crushing with naked feet, either clean or unclean, 
but will either rely on the crushing given in the stemming 
process, or use a mill, or a bucket and tripod. 
