The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-22
NO MALAGA GRAPES IMPORTED.
The Ones Called Mulagas Are Almcrian
Grapes, Dealer Says

Grapes, Il Dealer Says.
1.-The grapes that are sold by the fruit
dealers of this country as Malaga
grapes said commission merchant, are
not Malaga grapes at all. ~ genuine
Malaga grape is the rarest grape that ever
came to our market, and is nowadays
really ever seen here. 1t is II grape so
tender and delicate that it will not stand
shipment we'll, and importations that
have arrived here in good condition had
TO be disposed of almost on the moment
if the importer hoped to realize on his
venture. The Malaga grape crop is
nearly MI utilized for raisins and in the
making of that Malaga wine connoisseurs
talk so knowingly and unctuously about
and have never seen, much less tasted.
1.-The white and pinkish- white grapes
you buy here as Malaga grapes grow in
the almost inaccessible mountain regions
of Spain, in the district of Almeria. I'm
like the Malaga, the Almeria grape is
the hardest grape that grows. 1t is like
the region that is it's native soil. That
region is wild and primitive, with u
lusty people inhabiting it. The vineyards
are fifty miles back from the sea, without
a road connecting them with outside
communication. The intermediate coun-
try is infested by wild beasts and still
not yet ventured to include that part of
Spain in their wanderings Only enc
American has yet ventured into that iso-
lated region, and that was Charles Good.
SELL of this city.
''The average grape crop of the Almeria
district is nearly half n million barrels
Of forty pounds each-the squatty, tub
like receptaces the grapes come to this
market in. That makes about 10000
tons of grapes that are transported these
fifty miles between the vineyards and the
wharf at Almeria on the backs of donkeys
through the mountain wilderness. The
vineyards are all small holdings of the
mountain peasants, and yield about five
tons to the acre. The usual price received
FOR the grapes, delivered on the wharf ut
Almeria, packed in barrels, the packing
being done ut the vineyards, is nine cents
IL pound. The cork dust in which the
fruit is packed is taken to Almeria on
the vessels that bring away the grapes,
and is sold to the grape growers, who
carry ii over the mountains on their don
keys on their return trips.
The harvesting of this unique crop is
done during August. The vessels which
transport the grapes acrcss the sea can
not reach the Almeria wharf because of
shallow water. They lie AT anchor half Il
iiiAS VI ~ bii' Ht SLtiDCS stIC ttlIIIttl W
the vessels in rowboats OF antique pat
tern and small capacity. The Almeria
grape growers and handlers savagcly re-
sent any effort to introduce improved
methods of transfer
1.-The grapes begin to reach New York
about October L. This market handles
about half the crop, or perhaps 100000
barrels. The importers sell to dealers
only by auction, which sales are held on
stated days, mt the Produce Exchange,
from October to April. They are cata-
logued and sold for what they are-Al-
meria grapes. They do not become NAL
aga grapes until they reach the hands of
the retailers. These grapes are the near
est to being imperishable of all the fruits
that grow. have had. them sound as
the day they were picked from the vines
in Spain more than IL year after they
were picked. New York Sun.