No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGlRICULTURE. 567 



I will take up now the qnestion of vineyards, suitable soils, air- 

 drainage, etc. These questions I shall discuss from the standpoint 

 of the commercial grower. If I can answer any questions later for 

 tihq amateur or home grower, I shall be glad to do so. 



In planting the grape we prefer a loam or sandy soil, well under 

 drained if any of it is inclined to be wet. Remember the grape, like 

 most fruits, while a modified Baptist, does not believe in total im- 

 mersion. Vineyards on extreme low lands are more subject to fung- 

 ous diseases than on uplands, because of poor air drainage, and 

 most of the lands are either clay or peat, which is not an ideal soil 

 for the grape. 



In planting the vineyards, land that has been used for some cul- 

 tivated crop the previous year is to be preferred, and is plowed all 

 the way from 6 to 12 inches in depth according to the whims of 

 the planter, some being advocates of shallow, some of deep plow- 

 ing; however, fit your ground thoroughly and mark in checks. Now 

 you will find Concord grapes set 8x8 ft., 8x9 ft., 9x9 ft. Of these 

 checks 8x9 ft. is the one now most generally used for the Concord 

 grape. This gives 605 plants to the acre. Delaware and light 

 wooded varieties are usually set closer, using 800 to 1,000 vines to 

 the acre, but many have the rows the same distance apart, i. e., 9 

 ft. The distance of 9 ft. is not an arbitrary one, but most of our 

 grape wagons, gang plows and cultivators can be used to better 

 advantage in that width of row. 



The checks are now furrowed one way with a double furrow, using 

 a large plow and a man on the beam on the return trip of the team. 

 We are now ready for planting, and for this a root known as a 1 

 year 1 root is used, and is prepared in this way. You see we have a 

 root left with 7 to 8 inches of root on each side and should re- 

 move the loose dirt from our furrow according before we commence 

 planting. A few planters use the whole root, but I do* not think 

 as good results are obtained. The tendency when the whole root is 

 used being to bunch the whole system along under the wire, some- 

 thing to be avoided. A cultivated crop is often grown between the 

 rows the first year, but it is a questionable practice, and I think it 

 is better to cut out the nurse crop and give good cultivation. 



The spring after setting, the vine is trimmed back to two buds, 

 and is given thorough cultivation the same as it should have the 

 first summer until last of August. 



We now come to the second spring after planting, when if the 

 vines have made a satisfactory growth, they should be again cut 

 back as they were the previous season, and not allowed to fruit, 

 but granting the growth to be good, we are ready for the "staking 

 and wiring" of the vineyard. For this, chestnut posts and stakes 

 are preferred, but any of the lasting woods can be used. Lengths 

 of 8 to 9 feet for posts and stakes are the rule. At the end of each 

 wire a post is used with a brace 10 feet long, and stakes are set 

 to every three or four vines of Concord grapes throughout the row. 

 On these two wires of No. 9 soft wire are strung, the first 30 to 35 

 inches from the ground, the second usually 24 inches above the first. 

 A few vineyardists have used a third wire, but the practice is now 

 an obsolete one, and I will not further consider it. In stapling, the 

 wires are stapled to the stakes, seldom to the posts, which would 



