THE CANADIAN HORTICUmURIST. 



13 



besides many ants joined them in the 

 feast. This is my experience with the 

 Elvira so far ; they may do better as 

 the vines get older. Any of the white 

 kinds that I have proved so far has not 

 come up to the standard of what I 

 desire. In quality the Rebecca pleases 

 me best. My Delawares, planted 

 with the others in 1879, have not 

 borne fruit yet, and seem slow growers, 

 although I alloted them, as was neces- 

 sary, the richest part of the soil ; the 

 six lonas I planted in the spring of 

 1880 have given me as yet no proof of 

 what they will do in the way of ripen- 

 ing ; my Prentiss, Duchess and Lady 

 Washington were only planted last 

 spring, so that I am unable to speak 

 for them, and am now patiently waiting 

 for a few vines of the Niagara, which 

 is generally expected to eclipse all com- 

 petitoi'S. I hope it may. All Rogers' 

 Hybrids I have planted give promise 

 of good results. My first planted vines 

 are eight feet apart in the row, and the 

 rows nine feet apart, and my trellises 

 are constructed with four horizontal 

 No. 12 galvanized iron wires, placed 

 about eighteen inches asunder and fas- 

 tened with wire staples to the sides of 

 cedar posts, which were cut eight and 

 a-half feet long and about four inches 

 and upwards in diameter, sharpened as 

 a stake at the thick end, and one placed 

 midway between each vine; a hole 

 being first prepared with a crow-bar, 

 and the post driven down two and a- 

 half feet with a heavy maul, the driver 

 standing on a raised platform ; these 

 were put down in 1879, and so far have 

 shown no signs of heaving by frost, but, 

 should they ever do so, a little pounding 

 occasionally will put them right. The 

 posts at the end of each row are braced, 

 and small holes bored through for the 

 wires lo pass through where they are 

 fastened to the posts, but at one end 

 of each row only, by bringing the end 

 of the wire half round the post and, 



meeting the wire on the other side, 

 twisting them together ; at the other 

 end of the row the wires also pass 

 through similar holes in the post, and 

 here I use a strip one inch and a-half 

 square, ripped out of one and a-half 

 inch dry oak plank, thirteen feet long, 

 each length cut into three equal parts 

 of four feet three inches each ; through 

 this strip is bored four small holes cor- 

 responding in spaces with the four 

 holes in the post ; these strips are placed 

 vertically on the outside of the post, 

 first placing three small wedges, four 

 or five inches in length, and from an 

 inch to an inch and a-half thick at the 

 large end, between the strip and the 

 post at convenient distances ; the end 

 of each of the four wires is then 

 brought through the holes in the stiips 

 and tightened with the stretcher or the 

 claws of a good hammer, a turn taken 

 half round the strip to meet the wire on 

 the opposite side and twisted together. 

 This method I have adopted to provide 

 against contraction and expansion of 

 the wires ; possibly there are simpler 

 and better plans for this object, but I 

 have had no opportunity of making 

 their acquaintance. In the fall I slacken 

 or remove the wedges altogether. When 

 the wires again require tightening, ail 

 that is required is to give a few taps 

 of the wedges. T intend in future 

 to set my posts twelve to sixteen feet 

 apart. 



1 am desirous to plant eight or t<^n 

 acres more, in addition to my present 

 three acres, but find myself too f:ir 

 advanced in years (now bordering on 

 four-score, for nearly sixty-five of whieli 

 I have made Canada my home) to under- 

 take such an extension. However, 

 between now and next spring I intend 

 looking out for a practical vine-dresser 

 and experienced culturist, or one dis- 

 posed to invest some capital, to join me 

 in carrying out the project to the de- 

 sired extent. 



