12 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Mr. Pierce: I am about a half mile from the lake, and the 
wind has a good sweep. Those grapes with no wind protection 
are always the best. I might carry this thing further and say 
that the wind promotes growth on everything that grows. 
Without wind I do not think we could grow anything. 
VINE GROWING FOR PROFIT. 
H. L. CRANE, EXCELSIOR. 
I make grape growing fairly profitable the way I manage it, but 
try to make and do everything in the quickest, most economical and 
best way possible, even if I have to break away from established 
customs, but admit that I make mistakes and waste time. I began 
raising grapes in a small way nine years ago, and now have four 
thousand vines, besides having several acres of currants, berries, 
apple and plum trees. 
When I began growing grapes it was the custom to dig with hoe 
or shovel the trench to lay the vines in for burying in the fall. That 
seemed time thrown away, and after the first year's experience I fur_ 
rowed the trench for laying them in, but soon found it was necessary 
to have the trellis wires strung on the upper hill sideof the posts, for 
you have to lay the vines down on the same side of the posts as the 
wires, and on the upper hill side there is more dirt above the roots, 
so in this way you can make a good furrow to lay vinesin. The last 
time I plow my grapes in the summer,I throw the furrow toward 
the vines, making the dirt near them higher than between the rows. 
Before I begin to lay the vines down I plow one or two furrows 
toward and close to them, making a quantity of loose dirt to pull 
over the vines; then I put the vines in the trench, hold them down 
with both feet and pull the dirt over them with a broad hoe, similar 
to those used by masons to mix mortar. 
In the spring, when the ground is the softest, remove rotten posts 
and put in new ones, it being a small matter to drive posts when the © 
ground is watersoaked. I take my vines up the first of May—think 
they should be taken up that soon so the fruit will ripen early, and 
there is but little danger of frost on high land after that date. A 
number of us have made mistakes in planting some of our vineyards 
on low ground, which is work, time and money thrown away,I think; 
the fruit is not sweet, and it is liable to frost, also, on low ground. 
Standard varieties of grapes, such as Delaware and Concord, are 
the best to set out to any great extent, as people prefer to buy only 
the ones that have a reputation. I have Brighton, Iona and several 
other kinds of a better quality than Concord, and can sell them to 
but few customers, while Concord and Delaware are the ones that 
every dealer wants. : 
One thing I would like to mention right here, which I think in- 
jures the reputation and profits on grapes in our locality, and that 
is the selfish and short-sighted custom of some our growers in pick- 
ing their grapes early and sending them to market before they are 
ripe. People buy them and don’t like them,— Minnetonka grapes 
- ’ v. 
