74 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



vine, but keep life and growth enough to hold it firm. The bud below 

 takes the lead, and when to top of stake, is there tied to it, and pinched 

 back. We had a fine crop of grapes last season, over ten tons shipped 

 from these twelve thousand two-year-old vines. In February and 

 March of this year we again pruned quite severely, leaving the vine at 

 top of stake 6 feet and leaving spurs of one and two buds, again 

 Htapeling them to top of stake. They are now loaded with large, well- 

 formed bunches. I am giving them thorough cultivation, using the 

 double shovel plow, and a very systematic thinning and pinching back^ 

 I have a force at the present time of fifteen women and girls, none 

 under fifteen, at work, one man having general supervision. We find 

 women and girls do the work quicker and better than the average man. 



Now, as to varieties. We have some twenty-five varieties of the 

 table grapes, many sent us to test. Our principal varieties are Moore's 

 Earle, Worden, Concord, Pocklington, Delaware and Niagara. Some 

 of the other varieties are Early Ohio, Goethe, Brilliant, Hasford, Green 

 Mountain Vergennes, Moore's Diamond, Martha, Lindley, Lady Wash- 

 ington, Jeiferson, Francis B. Hayes, Elvira, Eaton, Cottage, Clinton, 

 Brighton. These are all classed as table or market grapes, yet many 

 of them will make a delicious wine. Were I to set another commer- 

 cial vineyard, and judging from my observation and experience of last 

 year, I would put out ninety-nine per cent of Moore's Early, and if un- 

 decided what other variety for the one per cent, think would put out 

 Moore's Early. Not that they are better than many other varieties, 

 but because they are the earliest and consequently we get better prices. 

 We shipped our first grapes July 15 last year, fully two weeks ahead 

 of the Concord. 



For a small vineyard I would select the following: Moore's Early, 

 Warden, Pocklington, Niagara, Brilliant and Goethe. For wine grapes 

 we have Norton's Virginia and Cyuthiana for red wine, Herbemont 

 and Cunningham for white wine. From the 8,000 of these four varie- 

 ties we sold last season over II tons of grapes. Our handling of these 

 vines are about the same as the table grapes; they are very vigorous 

 growers and require more pinching back and thinning. If we had less 

 rock think would put all our grapes on three wires, adopting the Knif- 

 fen system as near as possible, but the expense of cultivation where 

 you cannot plow both ways would be very tedious and heavy. When 

 these stakes are gone I may put them on a high trellis, as we prefer 

 that method. You can spread your vines, getting more sunlight and 

 circulation, besides plow both ways. So far we have been troubled 

 but little by black-rot. The only variety effected to any extent was 

 the Herbemont. We tried spraying with the regular Bordeaux mix- 



