PROCEEDINGS OF KINDRED SOCIETIES. 259 



should not be less than ten feet, and in the case of strong growers, like 

 the Concord, Worden, Niagara, and others of that class, from ten to twelve 

 feet in the row. In preparing a heavy clay soil for the vine, a deep and 

 thorough subsoiling should be given, and in marking the ground for 

 planting, either in sand, loam, or clay (but more particularly in clay), I 

 know of no better or more economical way than to run a heavy two-horse 

 plow two or three times in the same furrow. This in most cases, with a little 

 additional hand labor, will be entirely sufficient for all practical purposes. 

 The furrows drawn with the inclination of the land will open up a partial 

 sub-drainage for the young vines and prevent them from becoming 

 water-logged, as when plants are set in holes, especially in a wet season, 

 many find their graves. For the last ten years or more I have adopted 

 this plan in setting both trees and vines, with unfailing success. 



In regard to the proper age of the vine for setting, I think strong, vig- 

 orous, stocky, two-year-old vines are usually preferred and are certainly 

 young enough. The age of the vine is by no means an essential condition, 

 as an old vine, transplanted under proper conditions, will soon renew its 

 youth and be as fruitful as ever. Sometimes it becomes necessary to 

 remove or transplant old bearing- vines from a certain location. If in 

 this case they prove to be valuable they may be transplanted with perfect 

 safety, even after having fruited ten or twelve years, and in two or three 

 years will bear full crops again, while young vines will require a much 

 longer time to come into full bearing. Trellising, or upright supports of 

 some kind, is an essential condition of grape-culture in our locality, and I 

 think all through the east as well. How best to do this, with the greatest 

 economy in the end, is a point not entirely settled. For posts the best we 

 can get is the white or yellow cedar, set twenty feet apart or thirty feet 

 with intermediate stakes. Whether we use the upright or horizontal 

 trellis, galvanized No. 10 wire will, I am satisfied by an experience of 

 twenty years' use of both, prove more satisfactory than the common black 

 wire. In an upright trellis, two wires, the lower thirty inches, the upper 

 four feet from the ground, give good satisfaction. In the horizontal, 

 three inches would be better, one in the center and one on each side, 

 twelve inches from the middle wire. In place of wire supports, stakes 

 may be used, but, from the necessity of frequent renewals, are objection- 

 able. In the place of timber braces at the end of the rows, a better way 

 in my opinion is to set the end-posts firmly in the ground, at an angle of 

 about twenty or twenty-five degrees from the row, the next post twelve 

 feet in the row. A wire run from the bottom of the end-post to the top of 

 the second post will, if properly adjusted, make both a good and cheap 

 brace. The main top wire should be loosened in the fall to allow shrink- 

 age in cold weather. 



The culture of the vineyard, both in its preparatory and fruiting period, 

 should be clean and thorough. The application of fertilizers must depend 

 mainly upon the nature of the soil and the variety of fruit in bearing. It 

 is almost self-evident that the tardy and slow grower, such as the Dela- 

 ware and others of that class, require higher culture and fertility than 

 the more vigorous growers, and no stimulating application is better 

 than, or equal to, wood ashes, or potash in some form. 



In treating upon this point, it is almost impossible to make a selection 

 of varieties without treading upon somebody's toes. But in this matter, as 

 in every other industry or employment, the experience of the past must, 

 in a large measure, be our criterion for the future. In commercial horti- 



