VINEYARD AND SMALL FRUITS. 209 



should be rich enough to raise a good crop of corn. 

 Constant evaporation of water from the surface of the 

 soil keeps it cold. A warm soil is what makes a good 

 grape. <! rapes can be raised with but little water, but 

 the fruit will be small and the bunches imperfect. 



Planting. Nearly all the vines sold by nurserymen 

 are from cuttings. Some growers use but a single bud, 

 which requires but a short piece of the vine. Care 

 should be taken to have the soil in good condition, 

 well pulverized, and containing sufficient moisture. The 

 cutting should be placed near the surface with the bud 

 turned up. In order to retain the moisture in the soil 

 it is desirable to use mulching, for without moisture 

 there can be no rooting. The use of a single bud is bet- 

 ter adapted to the nursery than to field growth. In the 

 use of long cuttings some use only the growth of the last 

 season, and some use a single piece of the vine having a 

 portion of the older growth as well as the new. But the 

 first named is the more usual practice. The length of 

 cuttings is usually eighteen to twenty inches. Cuttings 

 can be taken from the vines any time after the fall of 

 the leaf, and before the spring flow of the sap begins, but 

 before January 1 is better than after. Keep them dor- 

 mant until the time comes to set them out in the vine- 

 yard, by placing them in a shallow trench, top down, on 

 the north side of a building. Cover the butts with loose 

 earth and place over that some straw and boards. Take 

 care that the trench is in moist but not wet earth, as too 

 much moisture causes the cuttings to decay. There is 

 as much need of deep and fine working of the soil, press- 

 ing it around the cuttings, and for careful culture dur- 

 ing the growing season, as there is for the treatment of 

 fruit tree seedlings or root grafts. In planting a vine- 

 yard the vines are placed eight feet apart each way, ex- 

 cept in the case of raisin grapes, when space must be 

 provided to spread trays on which the grapes are to 

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