THE VINEYARD AND ITS MANAGEMENT 81 



from a distance without fear of loss. The local nurseryman 

 is, however, a good adviser as to varieties if he is honest and 

 intelligent, and, other things equal, he should be patronized. 

 But if the grower's needs cannot be met at home, he should 

 not hesitate to seek a nurseryman at a distance. This is more 

 necessary with the grape than other fruits because young 

 grapes are well and cheaply grown in certain localities only. 

 With the grape, as with all fruit plants, it is much better to 

 buy from the grower than from tree peddlers. 



Selecting vines. 



Unless the buyer knows what he wants, selecting vines is 

 gambling pure and simple. Fortunately, there are several 

 marks of good vines very helpful to those who know them. 

 One should first make sure that the roots and tops are alive to 

 the remotest parts. The vines should have a good clean, 

 healthy look with trunk diameter large enough to indicate 

 vigorous growth, and an ample spread of roots. Large size 

 is not as desu-able as firm, well-matured wood and an abun- 

 dance of roots. Vines with internodes of medium length for 

 the variety are better than those with great length or very short 

 internodes. Such precautions as are possible should be taken 

 to insure varieties true to name, although here the reputation 

 of the nurseryman must be depended on except for the few 

 varieties which may be known at sight in the nursery. 



First-grade one-year-old vines are usually better than two- 

 year-olds. Stunted vines are not worth planting and two-year- 

 old vines are often stunted one-year-olds. A few weak-grow- 

 ing varieties gain in vigor if allowed to remain in the nursery 

 two years — three years, never. 



Handling and preparing the fines. 



The better vines are packed, transported and cared for in 

 the field, the quicker will the roots take hold and the vines 



