Xew York Agricultural ExPERniExx Station. 505 



cover. The bundles of grafts are placed in the bed, cions upper- 

 most, and the bed is then filled with the material in the interstices 

 in and about the bundles, to a depth of a few inches above the cions. 

 Air there must always be. Heat and moisture can be supplied as 

 is necessary to force or retard vital action in the grafts. At least 

 one month is required for the formation of a proper union, such 

 f.s is shown in Plato LXVIII. Finally the grafts are planted in 

 nursery rows where care may be given them and in a soil and 

 under conditions to make them grow vigorously. 



It must not be inferred that the methods of grafting used for 

 this experiment are necessarily the best. Any one contemplating 

 growing a grafted vineyard would do well to study other methods. 

 The Californians have developed vineyard graftage to a high de- 

 gree and the experiment station at Berkeley, California, would 

 probably furnish literature to the limited number that are likely 

 to wish information on grafting grapes in Xew York. In that 

 State, bench-grafting cuttings, a method not used in this experi- 

 ment though now in use at this Station, is found more satisfactory 

 than bench-grafting roots or grafting in the field. The method, 

 so far as uniting stock and cion are concerned, is the same as that 

 employed in bench-grafting cions on rooted cuttings. 



ANNUAL REPORTS O'N THE EXPERIMENT. 



The progress of the experiment is best told by giving an annual 

 report of the vineyard. The account shows that the vines have 

 had nearly all the ills that grape flesh is heir to — some of the 

 plants seemingly have the proverbial nine lives of a cat. The 

 vicissitudes of the experiment are set forth in full, for unless one 

 is conversant with them, the experimental value of the work cannot 

 be gauged. 



1902. — The vines of St. George and Riparia Gloire were set 

 during the last few days of May. Mr. Wilcox, in charge of plant- 

 ing, reported, " the plants are a poor lot and not more than 50 per 

 ct. will grow." In November the St. George vines were found 

 to be in fair condition with but 49 dead or weak plants out of 



