4ig 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  7,  1868. 
When  I  supposed  myself  to  have  had  sufficient  experience  in 
that  establishment  I  came  to  a  real  market-growing  place  near 
London,  then  owned  by  one  of  the  best  growers  and  best  of  men  ; 
brut  the  practical  experience  I  at  once  had  there  was  of  the  opposite 
character,  for  I  was  the  very  first  day  put  to  tie  down  Hamburgh 
Vines,  standing  on  an  empty  glass  box.  This  appeared  to  me  to  be 
profane,  but  I  soon  found  that  the  commercial  aspect  of  Grape 
growing  was  altogether  different  in  its  methods  from  those 
prevalent  in  ducal  establishments. 
There  has  been  a  wonderful  revolution  during  the  last  few 
years  in  Grape  growing  for  market,  not  only  as  regards  prices,  but 
in  methods  ;  and  if  some  of  our  forefathers  could  see  now  the  large 
places  that  have  developed  from  the  foundations  they  laid  it  would 
probably  astonish  them. 
While  speaking  of  the  older  generation  I  would  like  to  remark 
that,  taking  into  account  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  to 
contend,  I  believe  that  they  over  and  over  again  obtained  results 
that  we  nowadays  with  our  what  we  deem  more  scientific  ways, 
and  certainly  greater  advantages,  fail  often  to  equal. 
All  Grape  growers  of  say  fifteen  to  twenty  years  standing  can 
tell  tales  of  20s.  and  even  25*.  per  pound  for  Grapes,  and  such 
prices  as  5s.  and  10s.  were  quite  ordinary.  Nowadays  the  prices 
obtained  vary  from  6d.  to  5s.,  and  yet  during  those  times  there 
were  hardly  any  who  launched  out  into  building,  or  seemed  to  have 
had  any  idea  of  developing  the  industry.  One  can  trace  easily 
the  evolution  of  the  business  to  its  present  proportions. 
What  has  especially  tended  during  the  last  few  years  to  increase 
Grape  growing  is  the  popularity  of  the  Tomato,  for  growers  now 
can  erect  glass,  at  once  growing  Tomatoes  and  thus  having  the 
houses  in  profit,  instead  of,  as  in  the  old  days,  depending  on  other 
crops  to  tide  them  over  till  the  Vines  came  into  bearing.  This 
advantage,  of  being  able  to  have  glass  immediately  in  some  amount 
of  profit,  would  seem  to  point  to  a  state  of  things  that  must  tend 
to  make  the  margin  of  profit  on  Grapes  grow  less  and  less — indeed, 
during  the  last  three  years  the  fall  in  prices  has  been  very  marked 
and  as  commerce  is  without  sentiment  or  consideration  it  leads 
only  into  paths  where  the  fittest  will  survive. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Grape-growing  as  an  industry  in  the 
past,  whatever  may  have  been  the  cultural  methods,  has  from  a 
commercial  point  of  view  been  carried  on  in  a  very  homely  and  in 
many  cases  uncommercial  spirit.  By  this  I  mean  that  places  have 
been  added  to  from  time  to  time  as  means  allowed,  and  that  profits 
have  been  considered  as  the  surplus  over  and  above  brdinary 
expenses,  and  no  notice  has  been  taken  of  depreciation. 
The  fact  is,  that  while  the  Vines  are  young,  say  from  five  to 
ten  years  old,  the  produce  both  in  quality  and  in  quantity  is  much 
better  than  ever  afterwards,  and  that  in  reality  such  good  years 
recoup  part  of  the  actual  capital,  and  unless  considered  as  such  the 
property  becomes  by  natural  depreciation  of  less  value  year  by 
year,  so  that  it  is  wise,  as  well  as  right  in  principle,  that  when  one 
commences  a  Grape-growing  establishment  a  proper  system  should 
be  adopted  in  order  to  guard  against  what  are  only  appearances  of 
profit  being  counted  as  real  profits.  Such  profits  can  only  be 
known  when  the  cash  capital  is  guarded  from  loss.  So  that  in 
speaking  of  a  Grape-producing  establishment  of  the  present  time 
we  have  to  deal  with  the  circumstances  as  they  now  are,  and  only 
have  the  sweets  of  memory  in  regard  to  the  past  and  palmy  days. 
The  great  change  in  the  industry  has  been  brought  about 
principally  by  the  enterprise  of  growers  themselves,  together  with 
perhaps,  during  the  last  few  years,  a  lessened  spending  power  of 
the  would-be  consumer.  The  particular  occupation  of  producing 
Grapes,  or  indeed  any  fruit  under  glass,  with  the  exception  of 
Pine  Apples,  is  not  under  the  ban  of  foreign  competition  so  much 
as  most  other  producing  industries. 
Indeed,  the  foreign  fruit  has  probably  prevented  a  greater  fall 
in  prices  than  has  occurred,  because  its  cheapness  makes  it  as  it 
were  a  preparatory  pioneer  for  the  undoubtedly  superior  English 
produce,  and  by  thus  immensely  enlarging  the  consumption  of 
fruit  educating  the  consumer  towards  the  better  article.  Here  I 
might  remark  that  the  grower  who  sets  a  high  ideal  of  quality 
before  him  will  be  the  best  off  in  the  end,  as  the  prices  obtained  for 
best  goods  is  double  that  obtained  for  even  second  rate. 
But  to  come  to  some  more  definite  statements  with  regard  to  the 
practical  procedure  towards  establishing  and  carrying  on  a  place 
for  the  growth  of  Grapes  for  market  purposes.  In  the  very  first 
place,  the  choice  of  situation,  taking  carefully  into  account  its 
suitability  to  place  the  grower  in  the  best  position  towards  the 
markets.  Much  of  the  success  of  a  Grape  grower  for  profit  lies 
within  the  plain  ring  of  common  sense,  and  that  points  to  the 
immense  advantage  that  a  grower  must  start  with  if  he,  in  every 
possible  respect,  enlists  nature  and  circumstances  on  his  side. 
The  land  would  be  best  that  has  soil  2  to  3  feet  deep,  resting 
upon  a  subsoil  easily  drained.  There  Bhould  be  ample  means  for 
obtaining  abundance  of  water,  and  equally  ample  means  for  getting 
rid  of  the  same.  Whether  the  land  is  pasture  or  arable,  is  not 
vital,  but  of  course  preferably  pasture,  then  its  closeness  to  means 
of  communicatfoD,  especially  with  regard  to  fuel  and  carriage  of 
produce  to  market,  and  these  things  may  vary  so  much  in  different 
localities  that,  with  all  the  best  conditions  appertaining  to  it,  an 
acre  may  be  cheap  at  £300,  where  in  another  locality  it  would  be 
dear  at  £100. 
Certainly  a  most  important  point  must  always  be  the  system  of 
tenure.  Whether  the  tenure  is  freehold,  or  long  leasehold  with  an 
option  to  purchase  at  a  fixed  price,  does  not  much  matter,  and  in 
many  cases,  provided  fixity  of  tenure  is  made  the  first  considera¬ 
tion,  and  the  increment  of  value  in  the  land  is  protected  to  the 
tenant  by  a  fixed  purchase  sum,  the  leasehold  will  be  preferable,  as 
the  capital  can  then  be  used  to  erect  the  necessary  buildings  rather 
than  it  being  tied  up  in  a  le^s  productive  form. 
Other  things  being  equal  with  regard  to  the  fitness  for  Vine 
growing  for  profit,  it  is  wise  to  give  preference  to  land  likely  to 
improve  into  building  land,  and  further,  it  is  a  better  position  that 
such  land  as  frontages,  or  other  parts  of  a  different  value,  not 
immediately  necessary  for  the  business,  should  be  conveyed 
separately,  thus  not  overweighting  the  enterprise  with  unnecessary 
charge,  and  also  thus  separating  the  eggs  into  different  baskets. 
We  will  suppose  that  the  enterprising  grower  has  secured 
land  that  he  thinks  suitable  for  the  purpose,  then  he  will  proceed 
towards  the  erection  of  the  vineries.  Early  autumn  would 
probably  be  the  best  time  to  begin,  so  that  the  houses  might  be 
glazed  in  readiness  for  the  early  spring.  The  first  glass  that  it 
is  right  to  build  is  a  propagating  house  furnished  with  bottom 
heat.  Then  he  will  be  thinking  of  the  sorts  of  Vines  to  grow — 
whether  Hamburgh,  Alicante,  Colman,  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  and, 
if  he  is  of  a  speculative  turn,  Canon  Hall.  These  varieties  are 
nearly  the  only  ones  that  a  commercial  grower  ought  to  go  in  for. 
The  other  varieties  that  are  grown  in  less  quantities  are  Madre*- 
field  Court  and  Gros  Maroc.  Appley  Towers  and  other  new  sorts 
remain  to  be  proved  ;  but  the  beginner  must  not  experiment  too 
much,  but  grow  tested  sorts.  In  my  opinion  the  Alicante,  taken 
as  a  whole,  has  been  the  most  profitable  variety  to  grow,  not 
even  excepting  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and  Canon  Hall. 
It  is  a  Grape  of  a  very  uncertain  and  risky  nature,  both  on 
account  of  its  constitution  and  the  great  difficulty  of  fertilising  it 
with  any  certainty.  My  own  experience  is  that  taking  houses  of 
equal  size,  one  planted  with  Alicante,  one  with  Colman,  and  one 
with  Canon  Hall,  and  taking  say  five  years’  result  of  sales,  the 
Alicante  would  come  out  best,  the  Colman  next,  then  the  Muscat 
of  Alexandria,  and  Canon  Hall.  This  is  against  the  general 
belief  but  is  true  in  my  experience,  for  Muscats  hardly  make  up 
for  the  lesser  weight  obtained  from  them,  together  with  the 
extra  waste  in  marketing  and  their  special  liability  to  spider  and 
shanking.  The  grower  of  Vines  for  profit  must  erect  his  glass 
houses  with  the  greatest  economy,  and  with  no  further  idea  than 
covering  in  the  greatest  area  with  glass  upon  the  simplest 
system,  consistent  with  strength  and  practical  usefulness,  not 
