52 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 



vine-grower to plant only perfectly grafted vines than many seem to sup- 

 pose, if we may judge from the specimens we have seen in this State. 

 It is not the cost of the poorly-grafted and rejected vine that should 

 be considered. This is insignificant when compared with the great 

 amount of time and actual cash lost in planting and cultivating the 

 land around the doubtful vine for from one to six years before it is dis- 

 covered that the graft is so defective that the whole vine must be dug 

 out or regrafted. It will be noted in the grafted vineyards in this State 

 that very frequently a badly-joined vine may be able to support the 

 first few years of growth so well that one would never suppose that 

 there was a defect in the graft, especially if the roots be neglected on 

 the scion, as is frequently the case. About the time the phylloxera 

 begins to attack the neglected roots on the non-resistant scion, and the 

 vine comes into full bearing and requires more support than ever, is the 

 time when the vine-grower begins to neglect cultivation a little, on the 

 plea that the vines are well started, and are able to " stand it better "; 

 this is also the time when sudden seemingly inexplicable failures of 

 resistant vineyards are recorded. The vineyardist could prevent more 

 actual cash-loss than he is aware of, if he would but test each joint and 

 mercilessly reject everything that is not perfect. This point is dwelt on 

 somewhat at length because it is one that is of vital importance, and 

 one that is most frequently ignored. 



In planting young rooted vines great care should be given to the 

 operation, or loss will result. As has been said, the American vine 

 insists on greater care in planting and in the preparation of the soil than 

 the European vines. Unless the vine-planter is prepared to give it 

 this extra care and attention, he is strongly advised not to plant vines 

 at all, for he will surely lose the money invested. 



The soil should have been plowed at least once, with a four-horse 

 sulky plow, as deep as the plow can be 'driven even if a couple of 

 extra horses have to be called in to pull it. It is of course an expen- 

 sive operation, but it pays, and pays well, to incur it. As before 

 remarked, land thus prepared will yield paying crops two years sooner 

 than if the ordinary method of plowing be pursued, besides avoiding 

 the risk of the loss of the entire vineyard. The poorer the land the 

 deeper it should be plowed, and the more compact the land the deeper 

 it should be plowed. As has been remarked, this is no theory of the 

 writer, but a fact established beyond the possibility of rational doubt. 



The vines are planted at the usual distance, except that in the case of 

 planting a resistant vineyard on the same soil that has for years nour- 

 ished another one, care should be taken not to plant in the same holes 

 from which vines were dug, but in the middle of the space between the 

 rows. And it is also as well to previously fertilize the land, for it must 

 be remembered that the roots of the young vine are too short and as yet 

 too feeble to search for all the food the plant requires; so that in start- 

 ing it should be aided. 



The holes should be dug with a shovel or spade. The custom of using 

 a " post-hole digger " or a crowbar, or merely opening a slight space 

 with a shovel and jamming the roots down behind the shovel, are 

 common customs in certain places. These customs cannot be too 

 severely condemned. They are responsible for the loss of enormous 

 sums of money to the State. Holes should be as carefully dug as for 

 fruit trees or any kind of valuable plant. There should be plenty of 



