862 Popular Editions of Statiox Bulletins of the 



Hope that this might be tnie inspired an 

 Vineyard experiment along this line by the station, 



experiment Work was begun upon this vineyard in 1902 



located. and since 1908 many of the vines have ffiven 



crops so that it seems time to report prog- 

 ress. In its development as an experiment, however, the vine- 

 yard has been practically a failure ; since the vines have had many 

 more than their fair share of mishaps and calamities. But in 

 spite of imtoward happenings that make the actual data 

 secured scanty and irregular, the general behavior of the vines has 

 been such that growing American grapes on roots other than their 

 own must be considered a promising method of vineyard improve- 

 ment, at least for the growth of choice varieties and possibly for 

 the commercial vineyard. 



This experimental vineyard was located in the Chautauqua 

 Grape Belt on the farm of ]\Ir. I. A. Wilcox of Portland, Chau- 

 tauqua county. The experimental plats were located on two 

 soils; one plat on Dunkirk gravel contains about an acre on 

 which Were set six hundred vines, and the other plat on Dunkirk 

 clay contains about two-fifths of an acre, on which were set two 

 hundred and twenty-five vines. In the smaller vineyard, only 

 three groups of root stocks were used and in the larger vineyard, 

 four groups. In successive rows were set stocks on their own 

 roots, on roots of St. George (Rupestris du Lot), on Biparia 

 Gloire de Montpellier and on Clevener. 



The St. George was selected as a variety 

 Characteristics pre-eminently well adapted to sandy, 

 of gravelly, rocky soils. It has strong roots 



root-stocks. which force themselves deeply into even 



very compact soils and enable it to with- 

 stand droughts. It is very vigorous in growth and communicates 

 its strength to its grafts. It roots rapidly in the nursery and 

 unites well when grafted with either "Vinifera varieties or Ameri- 

 can species. In ISTew York it was found to sucker very freely, the 

 principal defect of the stock. The Riparia Gloire, as it is called 

 for short, has small, hard, numerous, much-branched roots, which 



