house grape is the consummation of the gardener's
skill. Certainly the forcing of no other fruit yields such generous
rewards. Grapes grown under glass are handsomer in appearance and
better in quality than those grown out-of-doors. The clusters often
attain enormous size, a weight of twenty to thirty pounds being not
uncommon. The impression prevails that to grow grapes under glass, one
must have expensive houses; this is not necessary, and "hot-house
grapes" is a misnomer, the fruit really being grown in cold or
relatively cool houses which need not be expensive. Grapes are grown
under glass with greater ease and certainty than is imagined by those
who form the opinion from buying the fruit at high prices in
delicatessen stores. A grapery need not be an expensive luxury, and
the culture of grapes under glass can be recommended to persons of
moderate means who are looking for a horticultural hobby.

THE GRAPERY

Almost any of the various modifications of greenhouses can be adapted
to growing grapes. Firms constructing greenhouses usually have had
experience in building graperies, and, as a rule, it will pay to have
these professional builders put up the house. If the actual work is
not done by a builder, it is possible to purchase plans and estimates,
from which, if sufficiently detailed, local builders can work. On
small places there is no doubt that the lean-to houses are most
suitable, being inexpensive and furnishing protection from prevailing
winds. These lean-tos should face the south and may be built against
the stable, garage or other building; or better, a brick or stone wall
to the north may be erected. It is possible to build a small grapery
as a lean-to out of hot-house sash.

In commercial establishments and for large estates, where the grapery
must be more or less ornamental, a span-roof house is rather better
adapted to the grapery than a lean-to, especially if the house is not
to be used for the production of grapes early in the season. On
account of the exposure of the span-roof house on all sides, however,
rather more skill must be exercised in growing grapes in them than in
the better protected lean-to grapery. Whatever the house, it must be
so constructed as to furnish an abundance of light, a requisite in
which much is gained by having large-size glasses for the glazing. The
glass must be of the best quality, otherwise the foliage and fruit
may be blistered by the sun's rays being focused thro