RESISTANT VINES; THEIR SELECTION, ADAPTATION, ETC. 33 



nursery, they are more apt to get better results from grafting old Ripa- 

 rias. It is hoped that the day is not far distant when a cutting will 

 never be planted in place, but that there will be varieties which give 

 such large canes that the cutting can be grafted and planted in the 

 nursery; and when it has rooted, joint can be examined, imperfectly 

 grafted vines rejected, and only uniformly perfect vines planted. In 

 this way a paying crop will be gotten two years sooner than under 

 the present system. I know full well that there are very distinguished 

 men in the State who say that they have tried it and failed, and hence 

 conclude that everybody else will fail. The fact remains that there are 

 tens of thousands of vine-growers the world over who have tried it and 

 have made a success of it; so much so that they practice no other system. 

 Attention is called to the fact that in those countries where cutting- 

 grafting is now successful, when it was first suggested, there were many 

 who said that "they had tried it and failed," but others tried it and now 

 all of the vine-growers use this system and no other. 



The point intended to be emphasized is that nurseries for vines and 

 cutting-grafting are no longer unestablished theories, but solid facts. 

 It is perfectly true that, for a slipshod farmer, the old system of place 

 planting and grafting presents fewer difficulties, but for one who would 

 get the maximum from his capital, and that as soon as Nature allows, 

 the cutting-graft is the better. There are many things that have to be 

 taken into account. Cuttings must not be allowed to dry out, nor must 

 they be drowned with irrigation; nor must the scions be cut one day 

 and exposed to the wind and sun for twenty-four hours, as I have seen 

 it done. The cuttings as soon as cut, should be grafted and put care- 

 fully away in moist sand and not be exposed to the inclemencies of the 

 weather. Finally, the nursery must be properly cultivated and closely 

 watched, and not trusted to the tender mercies of a Chinaman who 

 knows nothing about what he is caring for. If one will give the proper 

 attention to these details he will find that cutting-grafting and nursery- 

 ing pays, but, if he cannot give all of these attentions to the cutting, he had 

 far better continue in the good old way, planting cuttings in place, leav- 

 ing them three or more years, and then grafting. 



The following letter is interesting in connection with Riparias; but 

 the same differences between selected and non-selected vines occur with 

 all the American species. The letter is self-explanatory: 



HILL GIRT VINEYARD, JOHN SWETT & SON, { 



MARTINEZ, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CAL., December 20, 1896. f 



A. P. HAYNE, ESQ., Berkeley, Gal.: 



DEAR SIR: The question of the adaptation to particular soils, of different varieties of 

 resistant vines, I consider to be a matter of the first importance. I have planted a large 

 number of various varieties of resistants, and intend to keep careful records of their 

 growth and adaptation to our soil and climate here in the Amambra Valley. I have 

 found such a great difference in the growth of the various varieties of Riparia, that I 

 want to call your attention to results. I have found, in talking with many grape- 

 growers, both in this county and elsewhere, that the impression seems to prevail that 

 there is only one variety of Riparia, and that it is all nonsense to talk about different 

 varieties of the species. I would like to have some of the so-called "practical people" 

 who talk this way examine the different Riparias we have growing here. 



For instance, "I have growing, side by side in nursery, several thousand each of 

 Riparias, imported last spring from Nebraska by the Viticultural Commission, and 

 others obtained from vineyards near Judge Stanley's place in Napa, and said to be of 

 the same stock as his vines. Both sorts were planted at the same time, in the same 

 manner, and by the same laborers. The soil is uniform throughout the patch a yellow, 

 sandy wash soil, fairly retentive of moisture. 



When the vines started out in the spring, the Nebraska Riparia seemed slightly 

 stockier and stronger growing. The leaves were slightly larger, and in the month of 

 3 RV 



