672 



GRAPE 



development of the Chautauqua Grape zone is that some 

 of the so-called poor land has given vineyards as pro- 

 ductive as any, — land that previously had been given 

 over to sheep pasture, briers and mulleins. This land 

 was poor in nitrogen, but no doubt had a fair supply 

 of available potash and phosphoric acid, which Grapes 

 most require. 



In preparing land for vineyard planting, it is necessary 

 to lay great stress on the importance of first removing 

 all trees, stumps and large rocks, for when the trellis is 

 put up all tillage of the soil will be in a straight line and 

 one way. A favorite way of disposing of boulders is to 



bury them about twenty inches deeper than one thinks 

 necessary, for they have a vexatious way of overcoming 

 the power of gravitation and creeping out of their 

 graves. The real reason for this apparent freak is the 

 compacting of the soil in later years. If any open ditches 

 should cross the line of the Grape rows, they should be 

 supplied with tile and the ditch filled so as to make long 

 "bouts" possible. Short rows and frequent turning 

 should be avoided as much as possible. Turning at the 

 end of a row is lost labor, and the time it occupies 

 would enable a team to cultivate over a hundred feet 

 straight ahead. 



The rows in nearly all the commercial vineyards are 

 9 feet apart, and the vines are planted 8 feet apart in 

 the row. This makes 605 plants per acre. If the land 

 is sod, plow into narrow lands, so that the center of the 

 dead-furrows are 9 feet apart, and plant in the bottom 



GRAPE 



of the dead-furrow When the plow is set to cut a fur- 

 row 8 to 9 inches deep, the dead-furrow will have about 

 the required depth for planting. If the ground is stubble, 

 plow the whole field, and then lay out rows l»y striking 

 a double-furrow. Much care should be exercised to have 

 the rows perfectly straight and to plant the vines straight 

 in the row. This has a practical use, besides appealing 

 to the professional pride of all good farmers. If the 

 plants are not straight in the row, the posts cannot be 

 set straight; and if the posts are not straight the wires 

 composing the trellis will bind on the posts which are 

 out of line, and they cannot be easily tightened in 

 spring. 



No. 1 vines, of one season's growth from cuttings, 

 are much to be preferred to No. 2 vines of the same 

 period of growth. A young plant, stunted in growth 

 either by constitutional reasons or accident, has a 

 handicap that usually follows it all through life. For 

 the same reason, avoid planting 2-year-old plants, as 

 often they are the second season's growth of what was 

 a cull the year before. Cull plants and cull men are sel- 

 dom worth the cost of reformation. Spring planting is 

 universally followed in the North. It should be com- 

 pleted by the last of May. Some vineyards planted 

 during the last half of June have develoj)ed into good 

 production, but it was due to the grace of favorable 

 weather and soil. Fig. 967 represents a fair No. 1 Grape 

 vine. The few roots nt d c should be trimmed, as well as 

 the main body of the roots shown by segment of circle e f. 

 The pruning facilitates planting, and the removed parts 

 would make no root growth of value if retained. The 

 stem of the vine can be cut back to two or three buds, as 

 shown by a b. Six quarts of well pulverized fertile soil, 

 well packed about the roots, will hold the plant in place 

 and keep it moist until the furrow can be filled by plow- 

 ing, if on stubble, or by frequent harrowing and culti- 

 vating if on sod. During the first season, all cultivation 

 necessary for conservation of moisture should be given. 

 If no tilled crop is planted, this tillage can be done by cul- 

 tivating or harrowing crosswise alternately. But little 

 hand-work in weeding will be required. Whether some 

 hoed crop be planted between the rows the first season 

 is a question of profit for each vineyardist to decide. It 

 adds something to the expense of cultivation. It is gen- 

 erally no detriment to the growth of the Grape vines. 

 After the first season, the ground should not be planted 

 to other crops. 



The general appearance of an infant vineyard at or 

 about the middle of the first season's growth is shown 

 in Fig. 968. Lay great stress upon the importance of a 

 vigorous and even growth during the first and second 

 years. If .such is not attained, many years will be 

 required for the vines to recover, and sometimes they 

 never reach the standard of a good vineyard. Even vines 

 planted after the second year to fill vacancies require 

 constant coddling to bi-ing them up to the average. In 

 the spring of the second year the shoots or canes of the 

 previous season's growth should be cut back to three or 

 four buds, and the canes should be thinned out accord- 

 ing to the vigor of the vine — one cane for a feeble 

 growth, and three or four for a decidedly vigorous 

 growth. In all other respects, the second year's man- 

 agement should be a repetition of the first. 



In the spring beginning the third year will come the 

 most considerable expense of the undertaking— that 

 of putting up the trellis. There are many forms of 

 training Grapes, and some of them so peculiar that 

 special trellises must be constructed. There are three 

 popular styles of Grape training in the commercial Grape 

 fields of the North: Kniffin system, as practiced in the 

 Hudson river valley; the High Renewal system, as 

 practiced along Lakes Keuka, Canandaigua and Seneca; 

 and the Chautauqua system, as practiced along the Lake 

 Erie valley. It is impossible to say which of the three 

 is preferable. A man's preference usually depends on 

 how he was brought up — like his politics and religion. 

 In horticultural meetings, advocates of the various sys- 

 tems argue the merits with much partisan fervor. It is 

 clear to me that the essential point to be attained in any 

 system is to hang up the vines so that fruit and foliage 

 can obtain the greatest amount of air and sunshine, ail 

 of which can be secured by several methods. The 

 common form of trellis may be illustrated by a high 



