WINTER MEETING, 1SS0. 33 



sure the soil is naturally dry or made so ; and if not as rich as good corn land, 

 make it so by applying well-rotted manure from the stables, and also some fine 

 bones and plenty of wood ashes. Set the plants an inch or two lower than they 

 grew in the nursery, on a deeply plowed or worked plat. Give good corn or 

 potato culture the first two or three years, keeping the ground entirely free 

 from weeds, so as to get a strong growth, suitable for full fruiting. After this, 

 and when the vines are in bearing, I should advise cultivating the soil well 

 until the middle of August each year. From that time out let the ground 

 alone, cutting any weeds that may grow with scythe or grass hook. This tends 

 to ripen the fruit earlier, and also prevents that late succulent growth of wood 

 that causes the vines to be so sensitive to the severe cold of winter. Late in 

 the fall when the leaves have mostly fallen, plow lightly towards the vines, to 

 cover and hold the leaves and to bury and kill any insect that may have taken 

 quarters among them. 



TRAINING. 



Here we come upon disputed ground, especially in your State, some advo- 

 cating stakes, some low trellises and close planting, some setting as much as 

 fifty feet apart, and some very high trellises. But while we know the grape 

 will adapt itself to almost any system of training and give very good results, I 

 should recommend for Concord, Hartford, Moore's Early, Niagara, or any 

 of the strong growers, setting in rows north and south ten feet apart, with 

 vines twelve feet apart in the rows, the second year erecting a trellis that can 

 be made six feet high, with the lower wire not far from two feet above the 

 ground. The first year, put a lath or other light support close by the vine, 

 and train to a single stem, pinching all laterals at one leaf from the vine. 

 Cut this back in fall, if of good growth, to eighteen inches, and by all means 

 lay it down, and cover with a mound of earth, as well to prevent too hard 

 freezing of the young and tender roots as of the wood. 



Eight here we must decide on some system of training. Although there are 

 as many almost as grape growers, I shall describe but one, and that the one 

 which will require the least time to learn and the least labor to carry out in 

 practice ; the one which the women of the household can easily execute, and 

 which will give the maximum of fruit with the minimum of labor. 



Second spring, put two wires on trellis ; let two eyes start from the top of 

 the cane ; train one each way, pinching laterals to a single leaf each. Some 

 now become impatient, and want a full crop of fruit the third year, which 

 would be very apt to permanently enfeeble the plant. The better way is to 

 have patience, and prune each cane to only three eyes. The object each time 

 in letting three eyes remain when we want only two canes to grow, is to insure 

 having the two canes. 



Third spring, let only two canes grow from each arm or spur. Train one to 

 the lower wire, and let the other take the second. Now you need not pinch 

 laterals, unless some one is disposed to run rampant, in which case head it off. 

 If the plant is a strong one, you may let each of the four canes growing the 

 third year bear one, two, or three clusters, which will be all the fruit prudent 

 to attempt this year. Your vine now should be strong enough to bear a fair 

 crop, and we must prune with reference to that. Cut back the cane growing 

 on upper wire to three eyes again ; but leave the lower cane four feet long for 

 fruiting. 



The spring of fourth year, fill the trellis with wires ; tie the long cane to 

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