6 



The black rot sometimes attacks the leaves in the spring, but never 

 enough to affect the growth of the vines, or to cause any apparent 

 detriment to a vine that is given proper care. 



The blooms open during the first part of June, and the grapes 

 ripen during September. 



SOILS 



It is the tendency of the Scuppernong on heavy, or very fertile 

 soils, to run to vine at the expense of the fruit. It thrives on the 

 bare beach sand along the coast, and it is our experience that best 

 results, under vineyard conditions, can be secured on sandy soils 

 with sand or sand-clay subsoils. Here the drainage is good and 

 there is no danger of the soil baking in dry weather. The growth 

 of vine can be regulated by the proper use of fertilizers, as the roots 

 are very near the surface and respond quickly to fertilization. 



There are thousands of acres of this character of land in Eastern 

 North Carolina, very little of which is under cultivation, as it is 

 usually considered of little value for most crops. However, these 

 lands in grapes will produce several times the net profit per acre 

 that the best lands can possibly produce in cotton, corn, wheat, or 

 other staple crops. 



ARBORS VERSUS TRELLISES 



Within the last five to ten years some experiments have been made 

 in growing Scuppernongs and other varieties of the Rotundifolia 

 Species on upright trellises, pruning and training as other grapes 

 are pruned and trained. Aside from this, these grapes have always 

 been grown on overhead arbors, without special pruning or training. 

 There are a few who advocate the trial of the trellis system, but, 

 from what we have seen of its use, we are confident that the trellis 

 will never compete with the overhead arbor for a commercial Scup- 

 pernong vineyard, and we do not recommend its use by any one except 

 in an experimental way. Our reasons for making this statement are : 



1. The vine does not take kindly to the severe pruning that is 

 necessary to keep it within bounds on a trellis; its tendency is to 

 run to vine at the expense of the fruit. 



