296 MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING 



ground. Bending is facilitated by removing a spade full of 

 earth from the side of the vine in the direction in which the 

 vine is to be bent. The trunk is then laid on the earth and 

 sufficient soil placed on it to keep it in place on the ground. If 

 the danger of winter-killing is great because of the tenderness 

 of the variety or the austerity of the climate, it often becomes 

 necessary to cover the whole plant lightly with earth. Small 

 growers often make use of coarse manure, straw, corn-stalks or 

 similar covering, in which case the vines are held on the ground 

 by fence-rails or other timbers; but protecting with material 

 that must be brought into the vineyard is expensive and not 

 more satisfactory than earth. 



The vines can be put down at any time after the leaves drop 

 and before the earth begins to freeze. It is more important that 

 the vines be taken up at the proper time in the spring. If un- 

 covered too early and cold weather follows, injury may result 

 and more harm be done than if the vines had not been covered. 

 On the other hand, if the earth is permitted to remain too long, 

 foliage and vine are tender both to sunshine and frost. A grape- 

 grower in New York who has had much experience in laying 

 down vines in a vineyard of some thirty or forty acres says 

 that the work may be done at a cost of S6 an acre at the 

 average wage paid for farm-labor. It must be expected in a 

 large plantation, no matter how well the work of covering is 

 done, that occasionally a trunk will be broken, making it neces- 

 sary to graft the vine if a shoot does not spring up from below 

 the break. 



Ripening Dates and Length of Season for Grapes 



Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may 

 be expected to ripen and the length of season that they will 

 keep. The commercial fruit-grower by all means should have 

 this information. It is not sufficient that he know only roughly 



