794 THE AMERICAN FARMER 



unless they have been transplanted. If a little pains is taken in removing a vine when it is 

 a year old, the whole system of roots cut off the length of two or three inches and re-set, 

 then we get a new system of roots from the whole center, and they do not grow so far; then 

 we are more likely to get a strong vine; hence, if a vine has been grown two years, it is not 

 so objectionable, although it is not, in my view, quite so good as a first-class one-year-old 

 vine. I buy young vines, because I can get the whole system of roots. I care nothing for 

 the top of a tree or vine; we can make the top if we have the roots; but we cannot make 

 roots in open air culture, having nothing but the top to aid in producing them.&quot; 



Transplanting. Grape vines may be transplanted either in the spring or fall, but 

 when done in the latter season, it should be sufficiently early to have them become well 

 established in the soil before it freezes, otherwise they will be liable to be winter killed in 

 the cold latitudes. The soil should always be in proper condition, mellow, and not too wet, 

 whether the transplanting be in the fall or spring; it should also be done as early in the 

 season as possible, so that the vines may have the advantage of the roots obtaining a good 

 vigorous start. If set in the spring, the risk of loss during the winter, if it should be 

 unfavorable, will be avoided. The soil should be in good condition, made mellow by the 

 plow or spade. Never permit strong manures to come in contact with the roots. Bones are 

 excellent fertilizers for grapes. In setting out grapes in gardens, it is a good plan to plant 

 underneath the roots, and cover with soil, a quantity of old bones as food stored up for the 

 roots of the growing vine, upon which they may feed as the bones gradually become 

 decomposed. The vines for vineyard culture are planted in rows at distances varying 

 according to the vigor of the growth of the vine; long jointed, vigorous growers for instance 

 requiring more room than short jointed, moderately growing vines; the Concords for instance, 

 which are vigorous growers, are frequently planted eight by eight feet, or eight by ten feet 

 apart, while the short jointed, less vigorous growers like the Delaware, may be planted four 

 by six feet, and varieties intermediate between these six by eight feet, and the rows eight 

 feet apart, which will give about nine hundred vines to the acre. Crowding should be 

 carefully avoided. The rows should run north and south in order to get the largest amount 

 of sunlight possible, each plant getting the morning s sun on the east side, thus every branch 

 and leaf is exposed to the sunlight during the day. Besides this, a greater advantage is 

 gained at the time of the ripening of the fruit, since the sun shines directly upon the ground 

 for three or four hours during the middle of the day, warming the soil, which retains the 

 heat during the night and radiates it, consequently the temperature of a vineyard thus 

 planted will be several degrees warmer than it would be otherwise, and the fruit ripens more 

 rapidly and perfectly. 



Stakes and Trellises. The vines are generally trained on stakes or trellises, the 

 latter being generally considered the most economical. 



Dr. Fisher, the authority previously quoted, gives his method of arranging a trellis as 

 follows: &quot;The posts are made of two-inch square chestnut. It is, perhaps, not quite as cheap 

 as unsawn timber, but it is very much handsomer, and if your vineyard is in sight, it will 

 look very much better. These posts are set six feet apart through the whole vineyard, one 

 post for one vine; they are set two feet and a half in the earth and five feet and a half out, 

 being eight feet long. My custom is, to set the end post right by the side of the first vine, 

 which makes it nine feet from the next one. The others are six feet apart. I put a brace 

 in at the end, bracing the outside post to the foot of the next one, which brace is set into a 

 little shoulder just sufficient to hold it. Then, upon these posts, wires at stretched. I have 

 Used various kinds, but the last was number nineteen galvanized wire, which I am inclined 

 to think will give me better satisfaction than anything else. The lower wire is placed twenty 

 inches above the ground, a little higher than I used to put it, for the purpose of keeping the 



