GRAPE 



GRAPE 



1389 



should be built in foundation walls, and large ones at 

 the upper part of house. A special ventilator coveied 

 with wire gauze is desirable for the lower opening. Ven- 

 tilation should always be free from draft or sudden 

 change of temperature. A draft is as unpleasant 

 to a sensitive vine in a house as to a human being, 

 and if subjected to it disease is sure to follow, mildew 

 being the first evidence; and yet a generous supply of 

 air is a prime requisite in growing 

 grapes under glass, especially during 

 the ripening period. Previous to that 

 time the lower ventilators should be 

 very carefully used, some growers 

 never opening them until the 

 grapes begin to color, and the 

 new growth and foliage are 

 somewhat hardened. More 

 or less air is always admitted 

 around the glass in a very 

 equable manner and 

 thence to the upper ven- 

 tilators. 



The modern heating 

 apparatus, consist- 

 ing of a boiler in an 

 adjacent pit for 

 heating water 

 with circulating 

 pipes through- 

 out the house, 

 as shown in illus- 

 trations, is a 

 very perfect and 



1739. Lean-to grapery glazed with sash. 



economical supplier of heat, and it should be erected 

 by a practical builder. A little heat at a critical time 

 will often save a house full of grapes, and, while it can 

 be dispensed with, its advantages are very material. 



It is possible to fruit grapes in benches in pots, 

 removing the pots when the fruit is past, and using the 

 house for other purposes (Fig. 1740). 



The border. 



A good border is of great importance, as no perma- 

 nent success can be obtained without it; probably 

 the difference between success and failure more often 

 lies here than in any other feature. 



It is a good plan to construct vineries so that their 

 borders can be somewhat elevated above the surround- 

 ing ground, as better drainage is thus secured, and good 

 drainage is imperative (Fig. 1738). The border should 

 fill the house inside and extend outside adjacent to where 

 the vines are planted at least 6 feet when first made, 

 and to this outside border additions should be made 

 every two or three years of 2 to 4 feet until a width 

 of 20 feet is secured. The border can hardly be made 

 too rich, provided the material is well decomposed. 

 A mixture of six parts good loamy turf from an old 

 pasture or piece of new ground, and one part of well- 

 prepared manure, one part old plaster or mortar, and 

 one part of ground bone, all to be well composted 

 together, will meet all the requirements. If the subsoil 

 is clay, a foundation of old brick and mortar is very 

 desirable to insure drainage. The border above this 

 should be from 2 to 3 feet in depth. No trees or shrubs 

 should be permitted to extend their roots into it, a very 

 common cause of trouble, and nothing whatever should 

 be grown on it, although the temptation to try a few 

 melons or some lettuce is often too great to be overcome, 

 and these probably do a minimum of damage. In such 

 a border, if properly supplied with water, the vine roots 

 will remain at home, and not go wandering off into 

 trouble. When extra -early work is not desired, no 

 attempt should be made to keep the fnJst entirely out of 

 the border during the winter, as this is apt to result in 

 a heavy, sodden surface in spring. It is better to spade 

 it up roughly just before winter and cover with a good 



coat of manure, permitting the frost to enter the ground 

 some inches. In the spring, it is dug over again and, 

 when raked off, presents a rich, lively surface. The 

 inside border is to be covered with a coat of well-rotted 

 manure, and spaded up and well watered at the time of 

 starting the vines. For midseason work from February 

 15 to March 1 is the proper time to do this in New 

 York state, the inside border carrying the vines nicely 

 until the outside border is in shape a month or more 

 later. Then without hard forcing early grapes can be 

 brought in by the last of June or July, and the later ones 

 through the following two or three months. It is better 

 to store late grapes in modern grape-rooms, where they 

 can be kept fresh and plump for several months through 

 the winter, than to attempt extra-early work by starting 

 vines in heated borders in November afld December. 



The vines. 



The amateur should purchase plants from some 

 nurseryman of established reputation. Vines one or 

 two years old are better than older ones. For support- 

 ing the vines light cast-iron brackets are secured to the 

 rafters, and these support wires running lengthwise of 

 the house about 15 inches from the glass, and to these 

 wires the vines are tied as fast as they grow. The 

 vines are to be planted inside the house about a foot 

 from the front wall and about 4 feet apart, placing one 

 opposite each opening in the foundation as before 

 described. It is not desirable to plant them along the 

 back wall of a lean-to house. They should be cut back 

 to two or three buds near the ground, and when these 

 start the strongest shoot only is selected for training 

 and the others rubbed off. As this shoot advances it is 

 tied to the wires and it may reach the limit of the house 

 by July 1, or perhaps not until September 1, depending 

 on the care, the vigor of the vine, and the border. Once 

 there, the end is pinched and the cane continues to 

 strengthen and increase in size and store up material 

 in the lateral buds until the end of the season, when it is 

 taken down and pruned to one-third its length, laid on 

 the ground and covered from the sun for the winter. 

 Care should be taken that mice do not eat out the buds, 

 as once out they can never be restored. In the spring 

 of the second year, or as soon as it is desired to start the 

 vines, they are tied up again, and the terminal shoot 

 again trained to the top of the house, where it is stopped 

 as before. Any fruit appearing on this shoot should be 

 removed. The lateral shoots that start out each way 



1740. Even-span house with the vines plunged in pots. 



below the terminal should be thinned to about 12 or 15 

 inches apart on each side. This is an important fea- 

 ture, especially if one adopts the spur system of pru- 

 ning, which will be first considered, for the vine is being 

 established for a long term of years, and it is desirable 

 to have it symmetrical, with the side shoots and fruit 

 evenly distributed over its entire length. An example 

 of a well-balanced vine is the illustration of the Muscat 

 of Alexandria (Fig. 1743). A few clusters of fruit may be 

 taken from this part of the vine this second year, and the 



