Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-11-15
OWEN LANGDON.
NO MALAGA GRAPES IMPORTED.
The Ones Called Ma,agas Are Almeria
 Grapes, 8 Dealer Says.

Grapes, Dealer Says.
 s'The grapes that are sold by the fruit dealers of this country as Malaga grapes" said a commission merchant.
 are not Malaga grapes at all. genu- inc Malaga grape is the rarest grape that ever came to our markets, and is nowadays really never seen here. It is grape so tender and delicate that it will not stand shipment we'll, and inn portations that have arrived here in good condition had to be disposed of al- most on the moment if the importer hoped to realize on his venture. The Malaga grape crop is nearly all utilized Tor raisins and in the making of that Malaga wine eonnoisseurs talk so knowingly and unctuously about and have never seen, much less tasted.
 ''The white and pinkish-white grapes you buy here as Malaga grapes grow in the almost inaccessible mountain re- gions of Spain, in the district of AL meria. Unlike the Malaga, the Almeria grape is the hardest grape that grows. It is like the region that is it's native soil. That region is wild and primi- tive, with lusty people inhabiting it. The vineyards are 50 miles back from the sea, without a road connecting them with outside communication. The intermediate country is infested by wild beasts and still more savage outlaws, and tourists have not yet ven- tured to include that part of Spain in their wanderings. Only one American has ever yet yentured into that isolated region, and that was Charles Goodsell, of this city.
 'aThe average grape crop of the AL meria district is nearly 500,o00 bar rels of 40 pounds each-the squatty, tub-lille reeeptaeles the grapes come to this market in. That makes about 10000 tons of grapes that are trans ported these 50 miles between the vine- yards and the wharf at Almeria on the backs of donlIeys through the noun tain wilderness. The vineyards are all small holdings of the mountain peas ants, and yield about five tons to the acre. The usual price received for the grapes, delivered on the wharf at AL neria, packed in barrels, the packing being done at the vineyards, is nine cents a pound. The cork dust in which the fruit is packed is taken to AImeria on the vessels that bring away the grapes, and is sold to the grape grow CTS, who carry it over the mountains on their donkeys on their return trips.
 ."Phe harvesting of this unique crop is done during August. The vessels which transport the grapes across the sea cannot reach the Almeria wharf because of shallow water. They lie at anchor half mile or so off The grapes are carried to the vessels in row boats of antique pattern and small capacity. The Almerian grape grow CTS and handlers savagely resent any effort to introduce improved methods of transfer.
 'sThe grapes begin to reach New York about October 1. This market handles about half the crop, or per haps 100000 barrels. The importers sell to dealers only by auction, which sales are held on stated days, at the produce exchange, from October to April They are catalogued and sold for what they are-Almeria grapes. They do not become Malaga grapes un- til they reach the hands of the retailers. These grapes are the nearest to be ing imperishable of all the fruits that grow. I have had them sound as the day they were picked from the vines in Spain more than a year after they