One recipe for dipped raisins is as follows:
One quart olive oil; 3/4-pound Greenbank soda and
3 quarts water are made into an emulsion, and then
reduced with 10 gallons water in the dipping tank,
adding more soda to get lye-strength enough to cut
the skins, and more soda has to be added from time
to time to keep up the strength. The grapes are
dipped in this solution and sulphured to the proper
color. This is the general outline of the process.
The ability to use it well can only be attained by
experience and close observation.
The Zante Currant.
Is the currant that grows in the United States in
any way related to the currant that grows in Greece?
If so, could it be cured like the currant that comes
from Greece?
The dried currants of commerce are made in Greece
and in California (to a slight extent) from the grape
known as the grape of Corinth. They are not made
from the bush currant which is generally grown in the
United States, and the two plants are not in any way
related.
Grape Vines for an Arbor.
How shall I prune grape vines, viz: Tokay, Black
Cornichon, Muscat,
Thompson Seedless, Rose of Peru, planted for a grape
arbor?
You can grow all the vines you mention with high stumps
reaching part way or to the top of the arbor as you
desire side or top shade or both. You can also
grow them with permanent side branches on the side
slats of the arbor if you desire. Each winter
pruning would consist in cutting back all the previous
summer’s growth to a few buds from which new
canes will grow for shade or fruiting, or you can
work on the renewal system, keeping some of these
canes long for quick foliage and more fruit perhaps
and cutting some of them short to grow new wood for
the following year’s service, as they often
do in growing Eastern grapes.
Pruning Old Vines.
I have some Muscat grape vines 30 years old.
Can I chop off most of the old wood with a hatchet
and thereby bring them back to proper bearing?
Not with a hatchet. If the vines are worth keeping
at all, they are worth careful cutting with a saw
and a painting of all cuts in large old wood.
If the vines have been neglected, you can saw away
surplus prongs or spurs, reserving four or five of
the best placed and most vigorous, and cut back the
canes of last summer’s growth to one, two or
three buds, according to the strength of the canes
— the thicker the canes, the more buds to be
kept. It is not desirable to cut away an old vine
to get a new start from the ground, unless you wish
to graft. Shape the top of the vine as well as
you can by saving the best of the old growth.
Topping Grape Vines.
Is topping grape vines desirable?
Topping of vines is in all cases more or less weakening.
The more foliage that is removed, the more weakening
it is. Vines, therefore, which are making a weak
growth from any cause whatever can only be injured
by topping. If the vines are exceptionally vigorous,
the weakening due to topping may be an advantage by
making them more fruitful. The topping, however,
must be done with discretion. Early topping in
May is much more effective and less weakening than
later topping in June. Very early topping before
blossoming helps the setting of the blossoms.
Topping in general increases the size of the berries.
