INDIANA HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 223 



pulverized or by covering the soil for some distance around the vine 

 with coarse manure, straw, leaves of trees or some other suitable mulch. 

 I have found coal ashes an excellent mulch as well as a fertilizer. I 

 prefer the latter method for the reason that in digging to pulverize one 

 is apt to interfere with the roots. Frequent cultivation by stirring the 

 soil is very important, but care must be taken not to stir too deeply, 

 in order to avoid the interference with the roots. 



It is a great mistake that many make to try to grow grape vines in 

 a sod or to allow weeds or grass of any kind near them. It would 'be 

 just as senseless to do so as to ti-y to raise corn with such surroundings. 

 The first year allow but one vine to grow from the roots, and the second 

 year cut back to tAVO buds. After both have fairly started pinch off the 

 weaker one and allow the other to grow as you did the first year. If 

 the vine makes a growth this year of from ten to twelve feet cut back 

 to four feet and you will have some fruit next year, but if it gi-ows from 

 two to six feet cut back to two buds as you did at the beginning of the 

 second year. Make your trellis the fall of the second year. Plant your 

 posts three feet deep, leaving eight feet above ground. Use No. 10 wire, 

 place first wire three feet above ground and the other two wires two 

 and one-half and five feet above the first one. Posts may be twenty- 

 four to thirty feet apart. Adopt any method you please to make the 

 end posts immovable by the heavy weight they will have to bear. Now 

 your vines are supposed to be on the trellis, tied to the wire with some 

 kind of soft string. The only summer pruning needed is to pinch off 

 all the latterals. This is important. If not done the nutriment required 

 to make the latteral grow will be just that much loss to the bud at its 

 base, which is the conservatory for that which gives life and vigor to 

 cluster of fruit which comes from the bud next year. 



After the frost has caused the leaves to fall the pruning is to be done. 

 It is much better to do this in the fall than in the spring. One has more 

 time and better weather generally in October than in February or March. 

 When left to prune during the last month named we ai*e apt to be busy 

 preparing for spring work and allow the time to pass to the season that 

 bleeding of vines will follow pruning. But the most potent reason for 

 fall pruning is in laying down your vines for winter protection you have 

 much less work to do when pruned than if they are unpruned. 



On the subject of winter protection, I desire to impress upon this 

 audience its very great importance. If you desire a large crop of good 

 grapes you must protect all your vines. Of course there are many winters 

 that will not kill many varieties of grapes. But all gi-ape vines all win- 

 ters will givfe better satisfaction if well housed than if left on the trellis. 

 You farmers need not be told of the great difference there is between a 

 calf or a colt that has been wintered in a warm and comfortable barn 

 and those which have had to stand out in the mud, snow and cold winds, 

 and how much more vigorous and healthy are the former than the latter. 



