RESISTANT VINEYARDS GRAFTING, PLANTING, CULTIVATION. 97 



There are no better resistant stocks than Riparia gloire and Riparia 

 grande glabre, wherever they are put in soils that suit them. They 

 do well, however, only in deep, rich, alluvial soils which are neither 

 too wet nor too dry. Their grafts are the most productive of all, and 

 ripen their grapes from one to two weeks earlier than the grafts on 

 St. George. Their principal defect is that they are very particular 

 as to the soil, and they never grow quite as large as the scion. The 

 gloire is the most vigorous, and the difference of diameter is less with 

 this variety than with any other Riparia. 



The Mourvedre X Rupestris 1202 is extremely vigorous, roots and 

 grafts easily, and is well adapted to rich, sandy and moist soils. In 

 drier and poorer soils its resistance is perhaps not sufficient. 



The most promising varieties for general use at present seem to be 

 the two hybrids of Riparia and Rupestris, 3306 and 3309. They have 

 great resistance to the phylloxera, root and graft almost as easily as St. 

 George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety of 

 vinifera. The former is more suited to the moister soils and wherever 

 there is danger of root-rot, and the latter to the drier soils. In general, 

 they are suited to a larger variety of soils and conditions than perhaps 

 any other varieties. 



Riparia gloire should be planted only on rich, deep alluvial soil 

 containing an abundance of plant food and humus, what would be 

 called good garden land, such as river bank soil not liable to overflow. 



In most other soils Riparia X Rupestris 3306 is to be recommended, 

 except those which are rather dry, where 3309 is to be preferred, or 

 those which are very wet, where Solonis X Riparia 1616 is surer to 

 give good results. 



The methods of pruning and training mother vines of resistant 

 varieties will differ in several important respects from the methods 

 suitable for varieties grown for their fruit. In the latter case we 

 should be careful to leave as many fruitful buds as the vine can 

 utilize; in the former the fruit is of no value, and if any is produced 

 it will be at the expense of the wood. Our object is to produce as much 

 wood as possible. 



In accordance with this idea the mother vines are often pruned in 

 such a way as to force out each year a growth of watersprouts from 

 the old wood. All the canes on the vine are cut off as close to the 

 stump as possible. 



It is doubtful if this is the best way. So many watersprouts are 

 forced out that the labor and care of thinning them are expensive. 

 If they are not thinned there is a large growth of wood, but the canes 

 produced are short and thin, and, therefore, unsuitable for grafting 

 stock. If this method is adopted from the beginning the vine is 



