THE SMALL FRUIT GARDEN. 



475 



Advice for a Beginner in Grape 

 Growing 



A party who has purchased 60 acres of land in the 

 Niagara district with the intention of raising fruit 

 on an extensive scale, including 10 acres of grapes, 

 wrote recently to Prof. H. L. Hutt, of the Agricul- 

 tural College, Guelph, asking for information in 

 regard to the growing of grapes. The questions 

 asked included the cost of posts and wires, number 

 of vines per acre, the years required before the vines 

 bear, the price of good vines, average price of grapes 

 jjer ton, etc. The following answers were given by 

 Prof. Hutt : 



There are a number of your questions 

 which could be answered far more satisfac- 

 torily if you would consult some of the lead- 

 ing fruit growers in your section. 



Grape vines are usually planted in rows 

 ten feet apart and the vines ten to twelve 

 feet apart in the row. From this you 

 can easily figure out the number of vines re- 

 quired per acre, according to the distance 

 decided on. 



Whether two or three wires are used 

 for the trellis will depend upon what method 

 or training you intend to adopt. The 

 Kniffen System requires but two wires, 

 while the Fuller or renewal system usually 

 has three wires. I believe most of the 

 growers in your neighborhood are growing 

 on the latter system, although the former is 

 an excellent one, and one which I rather 

 prefer. These two systems you will find 

 fully described in some of the recent num- 

 bers of The Canadian* Horticulturist. This 

 is a journal you should take if you are not 

 already doing so. 



Vines often begin bearing the first or sec- 

 ond season after planting, and if well man- 

 aged should be able to bear a fair crop the 

 third and probably a full crop by the fourth 

 year. The average yield per acre varies 

 considerably, not only with the varieties, but 

 with the attention given them. Three or 

 four tons per acre is not an unusual yield 

 for Niagara and Concord, and it often goes 

 far more than this. 



I cannot speak definitely with reference 

 to price of vines. Usually we can get first- 

 class vines in quality for $4.00 per 



hundred. The price which can be realized 

 per ton varies so much, not only with the 

 season, but with the variety and the grower, 

 that it is not safe to give figures. I think 

 you would learn far more along this line 

 from growers in your neighborhood than 

 from any other source. 



The cost of maintaining trellis is not 

 usually a heavy one. If trellis is properly 

 put up at first but little labor and expense 

 should be required to keep it in repair from 

 year to year. The market for grapes is 

 wide, as they can be shipped long distances 

 if properly packed. I have no doubt that 

 the Northwest will soon afford an excellent 

 market for all of the grapes that we can sup- 

 ply, but the most serious drawback so far 

 has been the excessive cost of transporta- 

 tion. This has been considerably lowered 

 recently, which will materially add to the 

 profits of the fruit grower. Prices for 

 grapes have been low for some years past on 

 account of the heavy crops, but this year 

 they are likely to be much higher than usual 

 on account of the lateness of the season, 

 slow ripening of the fruit, and also the loss 

 of a large portion of the crop from grape rot. 



Ever-bearing Strawberries 



PROF. H. L. HUTT, ONT. AGRI. COLLEGE, 

 GUELPH. 



DURING the past ten years nearly 400 

 varieties of strawberries have been 

 tested at the Ontario Agricultural College, 

 among which were a number that have 

 more or less of the ever-bearing habit. 

 None, however, have ever been found which 

 were considered worthy of recommending 

 on account of this peculiarity. 



In favorable seasons many of the varie- 

 ties in general cultivation will bear a second 

 crop, but there is seldom enough of these 

 berries to be of value. As the fruit comes 

 in at a time when strawberries are out of 

 season, and the market full of other fruits, 

 it is not usually a profitable crop. 



