GRAPE CULTURE. 27 



but few who know that the grape vine bears only on the young 

 wood, and but once on the same wood, and not, like a pear tree, on 

 the same branch or spur for an indefinite number of years. It is 

 information on such points as this that we want. As grapes are 

 commonly planted there is no need of the bed, but with Mr. Bar- 

 nett's system there is. At Thomery, near Paris, bunches of the 

 Golden Chasselas weighing about half a pound each are raised by 

 the ton and sent to the Paris and London markets, where they 

 have gained a high reputation. 



The Thomery system is to plant the vine ten or more feet from 

 the wall or trellis, and to lay the vine under the soil until it reaches 

 the one or the other, thus supplying rooting surface, just as Mr. 

 Barnett does by his system. It is nothing new. In cultivating 

 the vine much depends on whether the object is grapes or wine. 

 A depth of thirty inches is not extravagant when the vine roots are 

 laid across the border as Mr. Barnett advises. We must guard 

 against the extremes of heat and aridity. At Rochester last fall, 

 he saw Catawbas in the grounds of Mr. Ericsson, where, under 

 good common culture, he raised them in perfection, and he had a 

 vineyard where he had raised fifty-two tons of Catawbas on thirteen 

 acres of and ; but perhaps the proximity to the lake made the 

 climate more favorable. In every system we can avoid what is 

 unprofitable and accept that which is suited to our needs. If we 

 understand the principles of cultivation we shall succeed ; if not we 

 shall fail. We require all the sun heat we can get, and should 

 prune so as to have as little two year old wood as possible, for 

 that is useless except as an extension of the vine. 



Josiah W. Talbot, being called on bj' the Chair, said that the 

 question before us was of the profit we are to get from our vines. 

 Mr. Moore's remarks corresponded exactly with the views of Dr. 

 Fisher, of Fitchburg, who had been very successful in growing 

 native grapes. Horace Eaton, who had taken the prizes at our 

 exhibitions for Allen's Hybrid and grapes of similar character, 

 raisedf them on a heavy clay soil, thoroughly underdraiued. All 

 the merit he claims is in the simplicity of his culture. He lets no 

 vine grow above four feet high, and the same arms fruit for ten 

 years. Mr. Blanchard, of East Stoughton, prunes on precisely the 

 same system as Mr. Eaton, and raises bunches of a pound weight 

 each. His method of pruning and training is the same as Mr. 

 Eaton's ; he raises two arms twenty inches from the ground and 



