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54° ANNUAL REPORT. J BS 
grape, but its good size, and fair flavor, earliness, fruitfulness and health of 
vine entitle it to the first or second place on the list for Minnesota. 
The Delaware, a much smaller grape is equalto the very best in flavor, an 
abundant bearer; fruit begins to ripen before Concord; healthy vine and 
hardy. This variety bids fair to outstrip the Concord in popular favor. 
Starting Plants from Cuttings. 
Most varieties of grapes will grow from cuttings without the aid of bot- 
tom heat or extra labor. Among the most difficult to start is the Delaware. 
By following these directions it may be successfully accomplished. Take 
well ripened wood of one years growth and cut into lengths of 8 to 10 inehes 
so that there will be two buds at least six inches apart on every cutting 
leaving half an inch at least of wood outside of the buds at the ends of the 
cuttings, tie them in bundles and cover them with earth or leaves or any 
other material that will keep them from hard freezing and wetting; take 
them out in the spring by the 20th or 25th of April and cut the lower ends 
off in the lower edge of the enlargement or joint at the lower bud; tie in 
bundles, have the butts even, dig a hole in the ground in some warm corner 
where the sun will shine (when it shines at all) and stand them in bottom 
up; pack the earth firmly around them and then cover with about two inches 
of loose soil or sand. Keep this covering wet by sprinkling on it warm 
water as often as every other day or oftener. In about ten days or two 
weeks they ought to be ready to be taken out, if they are, a white line will 
be seen around or part way round the ends of the cuttings at the junction 
of the wood and bark; when this stage is reached they had better be taken 
out and planted in deeply worked, rich, mellow soil. They may be planted 
with a dibble, the lower ends should be six or seven inches below the sur- 
face standing upright or on a slant, they will grow as well one way as the 
other, one bud at least should be above ground; the soil should be stirred 
frequently, especially if the weather should be dry. 
Setting in Vineyard. 
Vines in the vineyard should be at least eight feet apart each way. A 
stake should be set near each plant to tie to. But one shoot should be 
allowed to grow the first and second year. The side shoots should be pinched 
off after they have formed one leaf, and in the fall of the second year two or 
three feet of the cane may be left at pruning time for fruiting the next year, 
when a trellis should be made. 
Pruning. 
The ends of the shoots on bearing vines should be pinched off as soon as 
the grapes are formed, and this pinching should be followed up persistently 
in the early and growing part of the season. 
A dense mass of foliage is a nuisance on a grape trellis, but to remedy 
this the leaves should not be removed from bearing canes opposite clusters 
of grapes or below them. 
