FRUIT CULTURE— VII. 



THE GRAPE. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that 

 i^l^H there are some four millions of g'rape 

 vines in Ontario, many farmers 

 even yet do not grow a single pound 

 of this fine fruit, especially in the northern 

 and eastern parts of the Province, where the 

 difficulties of grape culture are supposed to 

 be greater than they really are. The pro- 

 fessional vineyardist of Southern Ontario 

 who counts his vines by the thousand has 

 possibly not a great deal to learn. The diffi- 

 culty now is not so much the production of 

 the fruit as the finding of a good market. 

 But scattered through all parts of the coun- 

 try are people who own small vineyards 

 which are by no means producing a high 

 quality of fruit, and still others who, buying 

 few or no grapes, yet have no vineyard of 

 their own. It is to these classes more than 

 to the commercial grower that the following 

 remarks on grape culture are directed. 



Soil and Exposure. — The best site for a 

 vineyard is a gentle slope facing to the south 

 or southeast. In the low levels there is more 

 danger from frosts, and on a northern ex- 

 posure there will be some difficulty in ripen- 



ing the later varieties. The grape loves a 

 rich, warm and dry soil. The preparation 

 of the land should include underdraining if 

 the subsoil is at all wet or non-porous. It 

 will thrive on sandy or gravelly soils, but on 

 the very light soils there is a greater tendency 

 to disease, especially to mildew. A rich, 

 well-drained clay loam is the most satisfac- 

 tory. The general opinion is that the quality 

 of the fruit is higher on the heavier ground, 

 though Fuller asserts the contrary. 



Planting and Cultivation. — Vines of 

 the strong-growing varieties, like Niagara 

 and Rogers^ may be planted as one-year-olds. 

 As a general rule strong two-year-old vines 

 are the best to plant. Varieties like Dela- 

 ware, Catawba and Moore's Early may be 

 planted eight feet apart, but as most vine- 

 yards contain many of the strong-growing 

 kinds which require more room, a good dis- 

 tance would be ten or eleven feet each way. 

 This would allow convenient cross-cultiva- 

 tion before the trellis is put up, and give 

 ample room for harrow, wagons, etc., between 

 the rows later on. The vine should be 

 planted fairly deep and the earth well packed 



