The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-05-07

1Ofnla some Time ago SAID: "At any inquire above
$1,000 per ton, grape culture is very profitable"
But here is a more sober estimate of the case
from the California Agriculturist: "Grape grow
ing in this State can be made very profitable
business Notwithstanding the fact that the wine
growers have not made money and many them
obliged to give up every thing to foreclosures of
mortgages on their property after years of hard
work. "
But there is one line of development for this in
dustry that is full of promise as well as profit
which is the production of table grapes No SEN
sible man expects that present prices of twenty
five to forty cents per pound will be maintained
under greatly increased production, but there is
wide margin between these prices and living
profit. AT forty cents per pound only the few
eat grapes, at ten cents the many and at five
cents everybody and the children.
Here comes in the law of compensation The
decrease in price increases the demand, which at
five cents per pound would be absolutely with
out limit But can grapes be proitably grown
at five cents per pound? In Southern California
producing raisin grapes is one OF their best in
dustries. To make pound of raisins, requires
three pounds of grapes. When dried ready for
packing the packers pay five to five and one-half
cents per pound, being less than two cents o
pound for the fresh grapes.
In the Dispatch of Dec. 5th, 1889, a northern
grape grower is reported as saying: " In 1866
| saw Concord grapes sold in Des Moines, Iowa,
at twenty cents per pound, and in ten years at
ten cents, and in 1880 at two cents, and the word
comes that they are still planting more vines. p"
In some of her products. Florida has to COM
pete with other regions, but in grapes she has
no rival. In the market for early grapes, she
stands alone.
In July 1857, 1 was in New York. BY the Goth
OF the month the few Florida grapes had disap-
peared. For Georgia grapes, it too early,
and the first CALIFORNIA; were few black Ham
burgs of which purchased some on the 22nd.
AS to the question of black or white grapes,
1 will not enter upon it further than to say that
quality rather than color will be the ultimate test.
If white grapes in the past have been generally
poor, there is plenty of time for d really good
white grape to make reputation for itself.
JAMES Ii. WHITE.
Island Home, Fla.
BY request, Mrs. NJ. M. Lindley read a
paper on grapes, prepared for the FLORIDA
AGRICULTURIsT which will be printed later.
Mr.. DUBOIs.-In regard to the quantity
of wine produced per acre, Mr.. White says
1000 gallons can bemade Itcannot be
made unless you put 500 gallons of Wa
ter in it. The average is 200 or 800 gal
Ions, sometimes 400; put it at $50 gal
Ions. AS to the price OF grapes, the diff
ference in the early Florida grape and the
Northern grown article will exist for a
long time yet. While California wine sells
at 40 cents, [ am able to sell all | can
make at 81, and could sell one hundred
times more than | make.
Mr. MoTT.-l would like to ask Mr.. Du-
bois il he has had any experience with the
Scuppernong as wine grape?
Mr. DUBoIs-No, sir; have never had
any experience with it, but / have tasted
Scuppernong wine and | like it, But it
has no sale, there is no demand for it; it
may be | could sell negallon of Scupper-
nong wine while I sell 100 gallons of the
other.
Mr. BREEsE.-There are q great many
OF us in Florida, [ among the rest, that
would like to raise the grape and other
fruits for our family use rather than for
selling, and it has occurred to me to ask
for information on this question in regard
to the use of the wild grape root as q
stock to graft the finer grapes upon.
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