GRAPES: the fruit of vines of many species, both American and European. They are largely consumed as a fresh fruit, expressed for grape juice, dried as "raisins" and made into wines, brandy, vinegar, etc. The fermented juice also gives CREAM or TARTAR ( which see).
The vines live to a great age under favorable circumstances, attaining, if per mitted, enormous size—a single vine often giving an annual crop of several tons. The general rule is, though, to confine them to close and moderate growth of "bush" size.
The juice and flesh of the fruit con tain from to 25% grape sugar, 1% to 3% of nitrogenous substances, some potassium and other salts and some tar taric, malic and citric acids ; the seeds contain tannin, starchy matters, fat and oil; and the skins, tannin, cream of tar tar and coloring matter. It is the com bination in fermentation of the volatile substances in the grape which produces the bouquet of wines.
The quantity of grapes now consumed annually for food is enormous, yet one need not be very old to remember when a bunch of grapes was a rarity in the city save upon the tables of the rich. How much has been done for American health, and thus indirectly for American civilization, by the cheapening and popularizing of the small fruits during the past thirty years, can hardly be estimated. Best of them all is the grape. It appeals to the aesthetic taste as well as to the palate ; it is grateful to the eye as well as the stomach, and at four or five cents a pound is within the reach of the leanest purse.
In California alone more than 250,000 acres are under grape cultivation. About 125,000 acres are devoted exclusively to wine making. The product of another 100,000 acres is dried as raisins or made into brandy. The remaining 25,000 are devoted to table grapes, shipped principally to Eastern markets. The total investment in the industry in California is estimated at considerably more than $100,000,000.
Thousands of acres are also under grape cultivation in many other states, especially New Jersey, Western New York, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Grapes are the only fruit which is plentiful and cheap during times of extraordi nary drouth. A wet season is what the grower fears. In dry weather, the vines bear
abundantly and the fruit is large and well-flavored. In this country it reaches its highest perfection in parts of Califor nia, where not a cloud is seen in the sky from May till October, and many kinds unknown to Eastern vineyards are culti vated there from stocks brought from There is not much variety in the East. The growers believe it most profitable to make no experiments, and confine their efforts to the standard types with which the public is familiar.
The four best known Eastern varieties are the Concord (black), Niagara (green), Delaware (reddish) and Catawba (reddish), illustrated in the Color Pages facing 270 and 274. Of these, the Concord is the most important from the standpoint of quantity consumed—its various types and offshoots constitute 70% or more of all the table grapes consumed in the East and are found to a greater or less extent in every part •of the country. They are largely employed also in the manufacture of grape juice and wine of claret style.
The popularity of the Concord is due to its long season and all-round reliability. It is the first to appear on the fruit stands and it stays the longest. It seldom fails to give a good crop and the fruit is nearly always of good size and color and attrac tive bloom. The low price made possible by its abundance compensates in the general market for any inferiority in flavor and composition to choicer varieties. It should though be "turned over" as quickly as possible, as it does not keep well after ripening.
The Niagara is the best known American green grape. It is a showy berry of fair -quality and low price, ripening soon after, or together with, the Concord.
The Delaware, reddish in color and the smallest of the four varieties, is a grape of 'especially fine quality—both for table purposes and high class wines. It comes into the market a little later than the first Concords. Its fine sweet aromatic flavor makes it a prime favorite in spite of its small size, but it is not a prolifc bearer and its market price is generally double that of the Concord.