MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 85 
‘not off our own premises—no time to.spend, nor anything fitting to 
wear. ; 1 
To save money to send to Bangor, Maine, for seeds and cions, I 
patched two old vests, tacked them together, then cut the legs off of 
an old pair of pantaloons, patched the holes and sewed them to the 
old vests as sleeves, and the balance of the garb to fit was my rig 
for six months; and the result, the Duchess apple soon had a re- 
nown in Minnesota; for all my successes were quickly and faithful- 
ly given to the papers, and often the same article went to a half doz- 
en papers. And from the seeds then and there got we grew the 
Wealthy apple, and from their seeds in turn, we have now a host of . 
young trees that are sure to enlarge and extend the blessing. 
Therefore, having given the facts in brief, I leave others to sum 
up the costs to us, and the worth of that old suit of rags to the north- 
west, 
THE PLOW IN GRAPE CULTURE. 
BY REV. C. B. SHELDON, EXCELSIOR, MINNESOTA. 
The question is sometimes asked, shall the plow be used in tilling 
grapes? 
My reply is, emphatically, yes; provided the management from 
the first has been right. The only objection to the plow is, that by 
its depth of culture, it may injure surface roots. My plan is, from 
the first to discourage surface roots, and promote a deep growth. 
The reasons for this will appear in the sequel. 
I begin with the preparation of the soil. Owing to the high price 
of labor, we cannot trench our land from two to three or more feet 
deep, as is done in the vine countries of Europe. But the least that 
should be done is to subsoil plow the land. If this is done twice, 
so much the better ; the second time crossing the furrows first made. 
The expense is slight compared with the benefit derived. This will 
stir the soil some 18 or 20 inches deep. 
In the fall, after the first summer’s growth of the vines, before 
covering for winter, dig away the soil from the crown of the plants, 
and prune off entirely all roots within six inches of the surface. 
One object of this is to retard the starting of the vines in the spring 
and so enable them to escape one of their chief dangers, that of 
being killed by the late spring frosts, The surface roots are the 
first to feel the warmth of the spring sun and are liable, by genera- 
ting sap, to stimulate the buds prematurely into action. These 
being removed, the other roots lying deeper, are slower in their 
action, and the sap does not begin to circulate freely and force the 
buds until all danger of freezing is over. 
The other reason for this pruning of the surface roots of the young 
vines, is to stimulate the growth of the lower roots, and form the 
