34 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1880. 



south, to get the sun's rays on both sides of the trellis and on the 

 soil near tlie roots, so that it will be wanned up and kept warm 

 through the night, and because it is less liable to wash. The plants 

 can be let alone the iirst year, as training to a single stem produces 

 asingle root, while allowing it to spread produces spreading surfa(;e 

 roots, which are preferable. In the fall prune otf everything that 

 is grown, leaving only two or three buds -to start from. The 

 second season train to a single stem, and at the close cut oft' all 

 that has grown as l)efore. The third year build a light trellis, 

 coating the posts, which have been well seasoned, with gas tar 

 boiled with dry slaked lime to preserve them from decay. Well 

 seasoned posts thus treated will last 15 to 20 years, but a green 

 post thus treated will decay sooner than if not coated. He would 

 use No. 15 galvanized wire, with four strands to a trellis. The 

 third year train with a single stem to the iirst wire, then horizon- 

 tally six feet, pinch oft" and allow to grow at random, pinching the 

 laterals to one leaf . The next vine can*}' to the tliird wire, and 

 then train along as before, treating the vines in this manner al- 

 ternately, as it makes cultivation much easier. At the close of 

 the third season your vines have a strong cane, and six feet of hori- 

 zontal wood. They are not allowed to bear, as they are not able 

 to do it, and cannot recover in less than three seasons, if they 

 ever do, if overloaded then. Then cut the horizontal cane back 

 one-half, leaving only three feet for the next year, when about 

 ten upright shoots will start to grow, and out of them you should 

 select say the best six. Rub oft' the smaller ones, and from each 

 shoot you will get from one to four clusters. If four, cut oft' the 

 two upper ones at once, leaving only two to a shoot. Wait till 

 they blossom and set their fruit. Then cut off one of them and 

 the six clusters will bring you as good a return as a greater num- 

 ber, and more than twenty-four will. The ftftli year al^out the 

 same programme, l)ut if the vines have done well yon ma}' leave all 

 the horizontal wood and get twelve clusters. If the clusters 

 threaten to weigh twelve pounds some of them should be taken 

 off, as a vine can carry but six or eight pounds in a season and 

 repeat it. The care during the fourth and fifth years, and after- 

 wards is to pinch out the shoots after tying them to the wires, 

 and all the clusters but one ; continue pinching out all the lat- 

 erals, leaving one leaf each time, as good fruit and much wood 

 can not be made at the same time, and the little new leaves must 

 not be allowed to cover up the older larger leaves which are the 

 lungs of the vine. He has had leaves from fourteen to seventeen 

 inches in diameter, and those twelve inches are common. With 

 such foliage there is no difticulty in growing grapes. While 

 doing this, preparation has to be made for the next j'ear's crop, as 



