GRAPE 



669 



955. Qrein Golden. 956. Eaton. 



A good Grape cluster. 



each has merit. It is probable that the upright system 

 is better for the slender or shorter varieties, as Dela- 

 ware, and also for those whose shoots stand erect, as 

 Catawba. The Kniffin has distinct merit for strong-grow- 

 ing varieties, as Concord; it is also cheaper, since it 

 requires no summer tying. Grape-training is a very 

 special subject; it is discussed at length, with many 

 illustrations, in "The Pruning-Book." 



One- or 2-year-old vines are planted either in the fall 

 or early spring. At planting, the vine is cut back to 3 or 

 4 buds and the roots are well shortened. If all the buds 

 start, the strongest one or two may be allowed to grow. 

 The canes arising from this bud should be staked and 

 allowed to grow through the season; or in large planta- 

 tions the first-year canes may be allowed to lie on the 

 ground. The second year this cane should be cut back 

 to the same number of eyes as the first year. After 

 growth begins in the second spring, one of the strongest 

 shoots should be allowed to remain. This cane may be 

 grown to a single stake through the second summer. At 

 the end of the second year the cane may be cut back to 

 the bottom wire of the trellis, if upright training is to 

 be employed. The cane may be strong enough at this 

 time to be made the permanent trunk of the Kniflin 

 training, but in most cases the trunk is not carried to 

 the top wire tintil the third year. 



The main pruning is performed when the vine is dor- 

 mant. The ideal time is January and February in the 

 North, although the work is often begun in November 

 if the area is large. Pruning in spring causes the vine 

 to bleed, but bleeding is not injurious. But late pruning 

 interferes with tillage, and the buds are likely to be in- 

 jured after they are swollen. Summer pruning is now 

 practiced only to the extent of pulling out suckers and 

 weak shoots, and even this is not always done. Head- 

 ing-in the vine in summer is likely to start side growths, 

 which are useless and troublesome. 



Propagation. — The Grape grows readily from seeds- 



be greater. Seeds produce new varieties, and they are 

 used only in an experimental way. 



The commercial propagation of Grapes is done by 

 means of hardwood cuttings. These cuttings are taken 

 in the winter from the trimmings of vineyards. In all 

 ordinary cases they are made of two or three buds' 

 length, preferably three (Fig. 963). They are cut as 

 soon as the canes are trimmed, tied in small bundles, 

 and these bundles are then buried half their depth in 

 damp sand in a cool cellar. By spring the cuttings will 

 be more or less callused. The cuttings are planted in 

 the open on the approach of warm weather. A loose, 

 loamy soil is selected, and it is well and deeplj' pre- 

 pared. The cuttings are inserted until only the upper 

 bud stands at the surface of the ground. These cut- 

 tings are placed 6 to 8 inches apart in rows, and the 

 rows are far enough apart to allow of horse cultivation. 

 These cuttings may give plants large enough for sale 

 the following fall ; but it is usually preferred to let the 

 plants grow two years before they are put upon the 

 market. In such cases it is customary, in many of the 

 best nurseries, to transplant at the end of the first sea- 

 son. When wood is scarce, the canes are sometimes cut 



958. Massasoit. 



957. Moore Early, 

 which may be kept over winter and germinated in the 

 house early in the spring. They may be even planted 

 in beds in the open, but the proportion of failures will 



959. Fruit-bearing of the Grape. 



to single eyes. In this case about an inch of wood is 

 left on either side of the bud. Single-eye cuttings are 

 nearly always started under glass, preferably on the 

 greenhouse bench. If they are started in February, they 

 will be large enough for transplanting in a well-prepared 

 seed-bed very early in the spring. Green wood cuttings 

 are sometimes used in the summer time with new and 

 rare varieties, but they are not in general favor. In 

 California, rooted vines of one year are preferred ; and 

 in soil in which cuttings root readily, they are some- 

 times planted directly in the vineyard. 



The Grape is easily grafted. Because of the flexible 

 nature of the vine, however, it is customary to make the 

 graft below the surface of the ground. An ordinary 

 cleft-graft is the one which is usually employed. The 

 whole vine is cut off 4 or 5 inches below the sur- 

 face, and the graft is inserted in the same fashion as in 

 apple or pear trees. The surface may then be waxed or 

 covered with clay or other material, to keep the water 

 out of the cleft, although if the earth is firmly packed 

 around the graft and no water stands, the union may be 

 perfectly satisfactory without any cover (Figs. 9(i4-5). 

 Vines of any age may be grafted. It is important that 



