THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



drainage; clay loams give the best quality of fruit, while gravelly soils 

 produce greater yields. 



The young vines are obtained from cuttings, or short sections of the 

 one-year old stems; these cuttings, consisting of three joints, are placed 

 in the soil in the early spring, and after one season's growth are plowed 

 out in the autumn and stored in root cellars free from freezing; the fol- 

 lowing spring they are set out for the permanent vineyard. The field 

 which is to be planted to a vineyard is usually plowed in strips eight feet 

 wide, thus making a furrow every eight feet, in which the young vine is 

 set, about ten inches deep and seven feet apart; when the young vine is 

 set it is trimmed back to two buds. During the first summer some culti- 

 vated crop, such as corn or potatoes, is usually planted between the rows, 

 and clean cultivation employed so as to produce a good growth of vine. 

 The following spring the vines are trimmed back to two buds again, insur- 

 ing a better root system; no tilled crop is planted between the rows after 

 the first season, as the vines will need all the available plant food. For 

 all vineyards, both young and old, thorough cultivation is demanded dur- 

 ing the growing season or until midsummer, at which time a cover-crop 

 of clover or vetch may be sown and plowed under the following spring. 



The second year after setting, posts are set one to every three vines and 

 two wires strung, the lower attached two feet from the ground, the upper 

 one two feet above it. The young vines, which should have made a 

 growth of from three to six feet, are trimmed so as to have two canes 

 or stalks extending from the ground to the first or second wire, depend- 

 ing on the strength of the vine. These canes are tied to the wires by 

 means of tying twine or a small no. 18 wire about four inches long. The 

 crop obtained the first year is usually sufficient to pay for the posts and 

 wire used in starting the vineyard. 



In subsequent years the vines are trimmed so as to leave one main 

 stem from the ground to the first wire with a side stem or arm extend- 

 ing in each direction on the lower wire; from these two side arms four 

 or five canes of one-year-old w^ood, each with eight or ten buds, are 

 extended to the top wire and tied early in the spring. These canes are 

 renewed each year, more wood being cut off than is permitted to remain 

 on the vine; this rather severe trimming insures a good crop of good 

 fruit. Vineyards, if well attended, will continue to bear good crops for 

 forty or fifty years. 



Harvesting begins about September 15 in the Chautauqua Belt, when 

 the grapes have assumed the proper color ; the best flavor is usually al)out 

 ten days later when more sugar is to be found in the fruit. Each cluster 

 is picked off by means of small picking shears and placed either in crates 

 and repacked in the packing house, or else packed directly into baskets 

 usually holding seven pounds of fruit. The fruit is then marketed as soon 

 as possible. 



At least 85 per cent, of the grapes grown east of the Rocky Mountains 

 are used fresh for the table; about 10 per cent, are made into unfermented 



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