318 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and a straight line carefully maintained. I would also recommend using No. 

 10 galvanized wire, which I consider the best, and in the end the cheapest, 

 and if well stretched when put up will not sag with the heaviest crop of fruits. 

 Galvanized wire will not corrode, and will therefore last many years longer 

 than the common annealed wire. 



When the posts are all set then stretch the wire, and draw it as tight as it 

 can be strained, and fasten to the posts with staples, the lower wire thirty 

 inches from the ground, and the upper one on top of the posts, which should 

 be just four feet high. It may be readily observed that I favor but two wires 

 for a trellis. When the trellis is completed the vines should then be raised and 

 tied loosely to the wires to allow room for growth. A strong tarred string 

 makes the best tie. Each alternate vine should be tied to the lower wire, and 

 the intervening one to the upper wire. The vines intended for the lower wire 

 should be tied together, rather loosely, a few inches below the line of the wire ; 

 then spread the arms to the right and left along the wire, and tie securely every 

 twelve or fifteen inches, allowing each arm to gradually reach out to its next 

 neighbor, ten feet away ; thus the vine in its bearing form would have two 

 bearing arms ten feet long. Those intended for the upper wire should be 

 twisted one arm around the other (not tightly) and made fast to the lower wire, 

 then another twist and a tie, a little below the upper wire, and the arms then 

 stretched along the upper wire to the right and left, and tied same as the 

 lower. 



In this way each vine is made to occupy the room of the other without in- 

 terfering with it, with abundance of room underneath for cultivation and free 

 circulation of air. 



When the trellising is finished, and the proper season has arrived, the plow- 

 ing and cultivation can then be proceeded with, same as in other years, only 

 that the plow and cultivator should now be run very shallow, three or four 

 inches being deep enough, as the roots will by this time have filled the soil for 

 the whole space between the rows, and often within six to ten inches of the 

 surface. 



After the vine has been thoroughly trellised, and has come into full bearing, 

 it only requires the annual pruning, and frequent and careful cultivation to 

 make it soon repay the large indebtedness it owes, and thereafter make large 

 deposits to its credit for many succeeding years. I know of no other fruit 

 grown in this section of country that will pay for cultivation half as well as 

 the grape. 



In my experience with summer pruning, I have found it to agree only with a 

 few varieties, such as the Hartford and Diana, while the Concord and Catawba 

 appear to be positively injured by it. How it will agree with the newer vari- 

 eties I am now testing, I can tell better a year hence. 



I will now say a word or two about some of the newer varieties I have been 

 testing, and will name them in the order as I consider them the most desirable, 

 naming what I esteem as the best, first : 



Brighton. — This is a new, dark-red grape of excellent quality, and I am in- 

 clined to think the best of the new red grapes, being tender and sweet, with 

 a rich sprightly flavor ; is a strong, healty grower, and a great bearer ; ripens 

 about with the Hartford. 



Worden. — This I consider the best black grape extant. It is a strong grower, 

 a good bearer; ripens early, and will carry its fruit without shriveling or drop- 

 ping for a month after ripe, and retains its foliage to the end of the season ; it 

 is sweet, tender and delicious in every respect. 



