THE RAISIN VINEYARD. 



PLANTING. 



Distances for Muscat Vines.-^-An examination of the various vine- 

 yards in any or in all the different raisin districts will not help us 

 much in deciding upon how far apart the vines should be set, as most 



.vineyards have been planted by men of 110 previous experience in the 

 raisin business, and when that experience was at last acquired the 

 vineyards were already established and could not easily be changed. 

 In planting, we are too apt to do as other people do without first 

 inquiring from them if their experience has not taught them anything 

 else, and if they would not do otherwise if they had to commence over 

 again. For years the standard, distances between raisin-vines have 

 been eight by eightjeet. Of late years this distance was considered 

 too small, as our soil was supposed to be so rich, that all that was 

 required, in order to get large crops, was to give the vines plenty of 

 room. Many vineyards have been set nine by nine, nine by ten, ten 

 by ten, or even ten by twelve and twelve by sixteen feet. The effect 

 has, however, been different from that which was expected. Instead 

 of producing larger crops, those vines which were given more room 

 produced only more wood and more leaves. They followed that law 

 of nature, which causes any animal or vegetable to grow luxuriantly 

 when overfed, and which, on the contrary, causes seed and fruit to 

 form when the vegetable system is restricted to certain proportions, 

 which, of course, we can only determine by actual experience. By giving 

 the vines less space, some inconvenience will be experienced in working 

 the soil, and in drying the crop between the rows. On that account 

 some vineyards have been planted with the vines closer one way than 

 the other, thus giving plenty of room in which to work the soil, while 

 on the other hand sufficiently confining the vines in order to cause 

 them to bear well. I therefore now recommend that the vines be set 

 four and a half by eleven, five by ten and a half, or five by eleven feet. 

 The first would probably be my choice. I claim for this system many 

 advantages, and beg intending growers to carefully consider the follow- 

 ing points: 



It gives us more vines to the acre, which means more grapes to the 

 acre, as long as the land is of the best quality, and no raisin grapes 

 should ever be planted on inferior soil, or at least the soil should be 

 sufficiently rich to supply plant food to the greater number of vines. 



It makes the working of the soil cheaper, arid fully one-third more of 

 the work can be done by two-horse plows. The single-horse work can 

 be confined to plowing a furrow on each side of the vines, and to running 

 a cultivator crosswise. As the number of rows in this system is less, 

 it also follows that less single-team work is needed. 



The vines protect themselves from the hot sun and hot winds which 

 cause sunscald. The short distances should be in the direction of the 



