PRESERVATION  OF  GRAPES  AND  OTHER  FRUITS.  65 
bunches  are  then  cut  with  a  sharp  knife,  all  the  damaged  fruit 
removed  with  scissors,  and  then  left  for  several  days  in  a  cool 
room.  They  are  then  put  between  layers  of  ordinary  cotton, 
handling  them  very  carefully,  and  placed  in  vessels  such  as  tin 
boxes,  or  glass  preserve  pots,  taking  care  not  to  put  too  many 
layers,  so  as  to  crush  the  lowermost.  The  receptacles  are  then 
covered  and  sealed.  The  latter  precaution  is  certainly  of  use, 
though  American  farmers  generally  disregard  it,  and  neverthe- 
less have  good  grapes  often  as  late  as  April.  The  fruit  is  kept 
in  a  cool  place,  but  out  of  the  reach  of  frosts. 
Apples  and  pears  are  still  more  easily  preserved  in  cotton, 
through  it  retards  their  ripening,  which  wool  on  the  contrary, 
accelerates.  American  farmers  therefore,  a  few  days  before 
they  wish  to  eat  the  fruit,  wrap  it  in  wool,  when  it  ought  to  take 
a  beautiful  golden  color  ;  and  pears  ripened  in  this  way  are 
sold  for  almost  double  the  price  of  those  still  a  little  unripe. 
The  most  recent  method  was  invented  by  a  Frenchman,  M. 
Charmeux,  whose  grapes,  exhibited  at  several  exhibitions,  exci- 
ted considerable  attention.  His  method  I  have  tried,  and  found 
it  succeed  very  welL  He  attaches  great  importance  to  the 
maintenance  of  a  certain  degree  of  humidity.  His  directions 
are  as  follows  : — 
Leave  the  fruit  on  the  vine  as  long  as  the  season  allows,  cut 
off  the  bunches  so  as  to  leave  a  piece  of  the  branch  adhering  to 
the  stalk,  comprising  about  two  nodules  above  and  three  or  four 
below.  Carefully  cement  the  upper  end  of  the  branch,  and  place 
the  lower  end  in  a  phial  filled  with  water,  containing  a  little  pow- 
dered charcoal,  to  prevent  decomposition.  Close  the  phial  with 
wax,  place  the  grapes  in  straw  or  cotton,  in  a  cool  room,  but 
screened  from  frost.  It  might  be  better  to  hang  them  up, 
which  could  easily  be  done  if  the  phials  are  well  sealed.  In 
this  way,  and  by  occasionally  picking  out  any  decayed  grapes, 
I  succeeded  in  preserving  them  from  the  autumn  of  1859  to  the 
beginning  of  April,  1860,  and  when  I  found  the  fruit  excellent. 
They  might,  no  doubt,  be  kept  longer  in  a  cellar,  or  in  some 
place  where  the  temperature  is  constantly  at  the  same  low  degree, 
and  darkness  would  probably  be  favorable  to  their  preservation. 
—Chem.  News,  London,  Oct.  31,  1863,  from  Moniteur  Scien- 
tifique,  v.,  74. 
5 
