a little mound in center of bottom of hole on which to set the plant, letting the roots slant down- 

 ward all round, thus: 



TO P 



^/7^/T- 



v/v.'A-y// 



/ /v f '/' ' s ' 



'tfy/W// 



'/,''/////,' 



'/ftttV 



'////>'//; 



fa$LA&W/&aA'W////, 



y///M////;m 



and then fill in with fine mellow earth until the roots are covered, then press down firmly all 

 round with the feet, and on top leave a loose layer level with surface of the ground. 



When the vine begins to grow in spring train up one or two shoots on a stake or twine to 

 the wall, or fence, or arbor, or trellis on which it is to remain permanently. 



The proper time to plant is any open weather in the South from time of leaf fall in November 

 to March 10th, and in the North, October, April and May. 



If there be some stiff-looking, ungraceful trees about the yard, such as old oaks, they can, in 

 a few years, be made graceful and charming by training up their bodies among the branches, 

 grapevines planted near their roots, of such varieties as Herbemont, Lenoir, Scuppernong, 

 Thomas, or the hybrids of the native post-oak grape, such as Carman, Fern, Blondin, Marguerite, 

 Albania, and the hybrids of the Scuppernong, LaSalle, San Jacinto, Sanalba, and Sanrubra 

 for the Southern States, and for the Northern States, such as Beacon, Berckmans, Brilliant, 

 Clinton, Colerian, Concord, Diamond, Dracut Amber, Green Mountain, Headlight, King, Lucile, 

 Manito, Moore Early, Niagara, Vergennes, Wyoming, and Janesville and Monitor for the extreme 

 North. For descriptions of these varieties, see Chapter III., and also various catalogs of 

 nurserymen. 



All of these produce abundantly of fine or good, early, medium and late in ripening; some 

 with small berries in large clusters and some with big berries in fair clusters; some black, some 

 red, some white. All the varieties named for the South have such climbing powers that they can 

 ascend to the tops of tall trees, and then throw out pendant arms that, swaying gracefully in the 

 air, give a charm of which the Babylonian willow may well be jealous. Add to this a tree-top 

 full of luscious clusters of fruit, such as the vine-canopied trees in the woods, that made our hearts 

 leap with joy at finding when a youth, and you have an object in the home that every boy and 

 girl thereof will remember with affection through life. Every farm having such objects about it 

 will marry the boys and girls perpetually to farm life, resolved to some day have such charming 

 features in their own homes when they nestle with their mates "under their own vine and fig tree." 



Grapes in trees are little bothered by rot and mildew. It is when the vines are held down 

 on trellis near the ground in dense mass that these diseases attack worst. 



But if there should be no suitable trees about the home, on which to train vines, there may 

 be a broad expanse of naked brick or stone wall on rear side of house or barn on which vines may 

 be trained, by looping up in leather bands or wires arranged in open network fashion, or in 

 horizontal strands, so that the vines may clamber to the eaves close to the wall and escape the 

 drip that would spoil them if falling directly on them. The same varieties as named above are 

 good for this, and tender kinds can do well on walls that would fail in open vineyard. Some of 

 the fine Vinifera varieties can thus be grown even as far north as Southern Oklahoma and Ten- 

 nessee, requiring a little care in spraying to prevent mildew and rot. A wall covered with vines 

 well grown, shingled with rich foliage through which peep many luscious clusters of black, red 

 and white grapes, will be an attraction to the boys, as they pass out to and back from their work, 



242 



