56t; ^o^Y to make the farm pay. 



answer that tliere can be no doubt but that it will pay mist 

 abundantly. After the preparation of tlie soil and planting of 

 the vine, the expense of culture is small, while the crops con- 

 tinue and increase. 



Propagation' from Seeds and Layers, but principally 

 KiJOM Cuttings. The seeds are cleaned and sown exactly as 

 described for the pear. This process is not common, but is 

 both interesting and profitable. Grape Vines are usually 

 bought of the nurseryman, but for several reasons we recon-i- 

 mend the raising each man of his own. Of course, the first 

 vines must be procured from some other source. Select two or 

 three varieties which you wish to cultivate, and order two or 

 tliree vines of each kind. Prepare a border three feet deep 

 will! leaf mould, etc. Set the vines as described elsewhere. 

 {See Fig. 123.) Only one shoot should be allowed to grow the 

 first season ; all others must be rubbed off. Train this cane to 

 an upright stake six or eight feet high. It is not best to let 

 it grow higher than this ; pinch off the top if it does. In the 

 autumn cut it down to four buds, and in the extreme north 

 protect the vine with straw thiough the winter. Two of the 

 buds only should be allowed to grow in the spring. If any 

 fruit clusters appear, pinch them off; also all laterals above the 

 first leaf and all tendrils: the object is strong wood. Pinch 

 the tops as before, if they grow above the stake. In the au- 

 tumn one of these canes should be again cut down to two buds, 

 and the other about one-third its length ; if the cane is six feet 

 this will leave four feet. If it is desirable to protect the vine, 

 it can be bent down and covered with straw or earth. These 

 four feet canes wc intend for layering, and the wood cut off for 

 cuUirigs. The length of wood cut from these ten vines, sup- 

 posing the canes to have been only six feet long, will be forty 

 feet, whicfi will make from one hundred to one hundred and 



