J 76 THE GRAPE. 



RETARDING HOUSE. 



Attend to last month's directions. 



MARCH. 



OUT-DOOR CULTURE, 



In all localities, excepting the extreme north, the coil 

 will now be in a fit state for working, and no time should 

 be lost in getting ready for planting. If the land for vin- 

 yard culture has an open, sandy, or gravelly subsoil, 

 where the water passes freely away, there will be no 

 further preparation required than deep trenching, or sur- 

 face ploughing, followed with a subsoil plough that will, 

 at least, penetrate twenty inches deep, — if deeper, so much 

 the better ; indeed, it ought to go down to the natural 

 drainage. If the subsoil is heavy and stiff, the situation 

 is inferior for the purpose, and artificial drains will more 

 than repay the cost of making. 



Many persons think the older a vine is before planting, 

 the sooner they will have a full crop of fruit. I have fre- 

 quently talked with those who needed to be convinced 

 that a three or four year old vine would not set and ripen 

 plenty of bunches the same season it is planted. For the 

 vineyard, either cuttings or one year old plants are best. 

 The latter, all things considered, have the preference. It 

 is far better to have an abundance of healthy roots, with 

 a small well-ripened stem, than the reverse. The plants 

 may be arranged at the distance of five feet each way. 

 (See page 168.) When cuttings are used, or if the plants 

 have been raised from cuttings, there will be roots emit- 

 ted along the buried part of the stem, and the planting 

 should be, in either case, deep, for the sake of retaining 

 the whole of them, and also enabling the vine to have a 

 resorvoir to feed from in dry weather. 



