Practical papers—Grape Growing. 
39 1 
In Agricultural Report for 1869, William Saunders, Superin¬ 
tendent of Garden and Grounds, says: 
“ No grapes attain, full maturity until the wood supporting the bunch be¬ 
comes brown and hard, and the foliage is assuming its autumn coloring; in 
other words, ripe fruit cannot be gathered from unripe wood, the ripening of 
the fruit depending upon the general maturity of the current growth of the 
plant. I am aware that this seldom occurs in ordinary culture and manage¬ 
ment, the fruit being gathered, usually, long previous to the ripening of the 
■wood; that is to say, the fruit is picked before maturity.” 
If the process of checking growth, of which we have spoken, 
has been faithfully followed, the reward will now be in harvesting 
large, delicious fruit from the thoroughly ripened wood, one or 
two weeks earlier than imperfectly ripened and inferior fruit can 
be gathered from the unchecked vine. 
KEEPING THE FRUIT. 
Many varieties of the grape can be kept far into the winter, 
some even until spring, and as the earliest usually ripen in Au¬ 
gust or the first of September, with a well selected assortment of 
varieties we may have it in season nearly or quite as long as the 
apple. For keeping they should be gathered when the vines and 
fruit are dry, (the middle of a bright day is the best), spread a 
few days for the evaporation of any chance moisture and the dry¬ 
ing of the ends of the stems. All unripe, decayed and imperfect 
berries should be removed. Then pack in shallow boxes two or 
three layers deep, with or without a thickness of paper be¬ 
tween the layers, cover the boxes and keep dry and as cool as 
possible above the freezing point. Perfectly clean, dry oats are 
excellent for packing—there is not the objection to them that is 
found in sawdust, chaff, chopped hay or other fine and dusty ma¬ 
terials. The fruit will require an occasional examination, but 
with a little care we may enjoy it for months. 
ENCOURAGEMENT TO PLANT IN WISCONSIN. 
I have thus hurriedly given the process of growing the grape 
from the planting of the root to the storing of our fruit for the 
winter, a subject the full detail of which requires a book to be 
written. 
