H.—s

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bottles, so as to retain and hold the carbonic-acid gas), a manipulation too complicated to be here described, or to be of any practical use to most wine-growers. We shall now endeavour to proceed to the modus operandi of the grape-grower as a producer of still wines. 11. Gatheeing the Geapes—Mashing and Peessing. Some are impatient to gather their grapes for wine-making as soon as they colour; others delay until they are over-ripe. Both are wrong. Not until the grapes have reached their full sweetness, the berries separate easily from the stem, the stems have lost their freshness, and have become harder, dryer, brown, or woody, are they ripe ; but when they have reached that state of maturity gathering should not be delayed. It is impossible to describe or determine with exactness the point of full maturity. Some varieties, especially those deficient in acidity, will reach it sooner than others ; and in bad seasons grapes will not reach a perfect degree of maturity. In such seasons it would be even more useless than in favourable years to wait for an ■ improvement by " after-ripen-ing," as, aside from the danger of their entirely spoiling by late rains and frost, the loss in quantity would be far greater than the gain in quality. Grape-growers cannot afford to risk a large portion of their crop for a little better quality, especially as long as the latter is not sufficiently appreciated and paid for in this country. The dangers of loss are, of course, greater in the northern than in the more southern States, and in some localities the fall-season is so constantly dry and warm that the above rule is thereby modified. Moreover, some varieties improve more than others by getting over-ripe, and are far better adapted for late gathering. As such, we would especially name the Norton's Virginia. To obtain a wine of superior quality it is necessary to select the best and most perfectly ripened grapes, of varieties best adapted for wine, and to press them separate from those which are poor in quality or imperfectly ripe. But, instead of sorting the gathered grapes, it is generally considered more advisable, especially in seasons when the grapes do not ripen evenly, to sort them while gathering, that is to say, to pick first the best and ripest grapes, and let the others hang on the vines several days to ripen more fully, thus making two gatherings from the same vines. We here desire also to caution wine-growers not to plant too many varieties. A few kinds, suited to their locality, will pay best, and make better wine. By this we do not wish to discourage the testing of different and new varieties in small quantities, with a view to progress and improvement; but the planting of a great many varieties, each insufficient in itself, would necessitate the gathering of their grapes while some are not sufficiently ripened, others over-ripe, and these, mixed together, cannot produce good wine. It seems almost unnecessary to say that white-wine grapes and red-wine grapes should be each gathered and pressed separately. Grapes should be gathered with knives or scissors adapted to the purpose, and not torn from the vines merely by the hand. Some gather in baskets, others in hods, made for the purpose; but, whatever kind of vessels may be used, it is important that these, as well as all vessels used in wine-making, should be perfectly clean. Plenty of fresh water for washing them is therefore an essential requirement. Some first use hot water, to which some lime and salt have been added, in order to remove every trace of fungus which may have formed, and, after leaving such water in the vessels about twenty-four hours, rinse the same with plenty of pure cold water. The grapes being gathered, we now come to — The Mashing or Crushing, which is generally done in a press-house. For this purpose we use a wine-mill consisting of two roughly-notched rollers, so arranged as to be moved by a crank and cog-wheels in opposite directions, and having a hopper over them. Its construction is so simplethat no explanation is required. The mashers should be so adjusted as to avoid the laceration of the stems and combs of the grapes, yet close enough to break each berry without crushing the kernels. Some wine-makers believe that the stems should be removed from the berries before mashing, which is done by the aid of sieves or rasps; others contend that the wines are not materially improved thereby, and that for red wines especially it is better not to remove the stems; owing, probably, to the tannin which these contain. But when the grapes have ripened poorly, and had to be gathered in that condition, it is necessary to remove the comb, which, being green, would still more increase the acidity and roughness. The press-house or press-room need not be in or near the vineyard, but should always be close to, and, best, immediately above the wine-cellar. It might be divided into two parts—one for mashing and pressing, the other for the fermenting-room. The press and mill should be placed in the centre of the press-room, leaving space enough to go all around the press in turning the screw with the press-beam. The Pressing, whereby the must is separated from the mashed grapes, called the marc or pommace, can be done with any kind of a cider-press; for large quantities, however, good screwpresses, specially made for wine, are generally used; and the principal qualities of a good press are —to require but little force, and to afford abundant means of outflow to the juice. The mode and method of using the press, before and after fermentation, differs widely, according to the kinds of wine we intend to make. Before speaking of these, it is necessary to remark that the temperature of the room, while fermentation is going on, should be kept uniform without interruption : here in Southern Missouri at about 70° Fahrenheit (about 17° Eeaumur) ;* in the South, where wine-making commences in August, it should be so arranged that it can be kept as cool as possible, and farther North so as to keep it warm —by the aid of fire, if necessary. A fireplace and kettle may also otherwise prove very useful in the press-house. To the necessary furniture of the press-house fermenting-vats also belong, and may be ordered of any suitable size (not less than 100 gallons) from any experienced cooper : these are best made of poplar-wood; then good pine or cedar tubs and pails, not forgetting the must-scale, heretofore

* In northern wine-regions a lower temperature (about 60° F. = 12° R.) will favour a slower fermentation.