Addresses — How to Raise Grapes. 175 



Hofer has mentioned here, and that is in the renewal of the cane. 

 The renewal system is correct, but the difficulty under the old 

 practice is, that we cannot carry it out to suit us. Mr. Hofer's plan 

 carries it out perfectly, and I must confess that, although I have 

 read Mr. Hofer's book very carefully, [ never understood anything 

 about his system until 1 heard him explain it here. There is 

 another point in connection with Hofer's system, and that is this: 

 it is very certain that under the pole system of cultivation, by hav- 

 ing your vineyard so you can go through it both ways, you can 

 keep it clean for about one-third of the cost you can with the trellis 

 system; it is also easier to manage. It has been the plm I have 

 followed all my life, with this modification, that I use but a single 

 cane, and twist or twine it around the pole, and instead of renew- 

 ing, I keep raising my crops on short spurs as long as I can, and 

 then at last I have been obliged to pursue the same plan that Mr. 

 Hofer here speaks of, laying down the vine and covering it up, and 

 starting again. But my general plan has been, if I can get three 

 crops of grapes and then get a crop killed by the frost, I am per- 

 fectly satisfied to lose that one for ths sake of renewing my vines. 

 I think Mr. Hofer is in error though, and I presume I will be borne 

 out by the experience of grape growers, of whom there are plenty 

 in the room. There is no doubt in my mind that cutting in the 

 spring, before the n3w wood starts, is injurious to the grapes very 

 often, especially the Concord. It was particularly so with the old 

 Isabella of thirty years ago, which has been now superseded by 

 better sorts. My plan is to cover the vine in the fall, and then 

 take the cover off in the spring as early as possible, and trim them 

 off, and leave only just as much wood as is wanted. I then leave 

 them on the ground until they show signs of sprouting. I see a 

 great deal in this system that Mr. Hofer has so carefully elaborated, 

 and for my part, I shall pursue it, because it recommends itself to 

 me as being not only better, but much cheaper than the way that 

 we have hitherto practised. If we can do away with our trellises, 

 that saves a great deal in grape culture; and if we can raise grapes 

 by any simple system, every farmer in the country will sooner or 

 later come to have a good sized vineyard; and I never saw a farmer 

 yet who began to plant a vineyard and took care of it well, and 

 had success one or two years in raising grapes, but had vineyard 

 •enough about him to satisfy a good big family of children. They 

 12 — Hort. So. 



