STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 75 



GRAPE GROWING. 

 By N. J. Stubbs, Long Lake. 



I do not consider there is any great secret or mystery about grow- 

 ing grapes, and it seeuis to me it is fully time that everyone who owns 

 a portion of '*' God's acre " should realize this, and not longer neglect 

 the planting and rearing of this luscious fruit. 



Grapes have ever been the constant companion of man from the 

 earliest dawn of civilization to the present time. 



The vine is likewise the emblem of peace and prosperity, always 

 adding much to the comforts of home life. 



Stamped on the memory of childhood are recollections of pleasures 

 that in our declining years we love to recall with ioy and delight. 



If you have concluded to plant one vine, or a thousand, in either 

 case select the warmest spot you can find, for heat is pre-eminently 

 essential to make success of this fruit. This is generally to be found 

 in this country on somewhat elevated land, near a body of water, the 

 land inclining to the south or southeast, with a goodly share of sand 

 mixed with top soil to attract and hold the heat of the sun. Such a 

 location, with a clay subsoil mixed with limestone, will prove very 

 satisfactory for growing grapes. 



Select good, strong, two-year-old vines, grown from cuttings, six or 

 eight inches long, so you can be able to plant at least one foot deep, to 

 avoid winter freezing and summer drouth, for undoubtedly many fail- 

 ures here in the Northwest can be traced to roots grown from single 

 eyes and shallow planting. 



Clean your ground thoroughly of all impediments that would in any 

 way retard the cultivation of the soil among the vines. Work the ground 

 well to the depth of one foot or eighteen inches, Harrow and mark 

 off the rows eight feet apart each way. Some varieties of grapes that 

 are slow growers would do closer than this, but this distance is best 

 for most varieties. The best plan is to use a trellis and cultivate 

 crosswise of the hill, or rolling ground, to prevent washing of the soil 

 by rains. The first year after planting keep the ground well culti- 

 vated, leaving the vines to grow unchecked in the fall; cut back to 

 two buds. The second summer we select the strongest and best buds 

 and train to a stake, set well in the ground, unchecked as before, 

 except to pinch all latterals off above the first leaf. If our work has 

 been well done thus far, we have laid the foundation of our vineyard. 

 In relation to the manner or system of training and pruning the vine, 

 it would be folly, perhaps, for us to designate any particular one as 



