196 AMERICAN GRAPE GROWING 



CHAPTER 



CULTIVATION OF THE YOUNG PLANTS. 



GRAFTING. 



Little pruning will be needed on the young vines the 

 following year, as we suppose they are all resistant 

 stocks it would be the hight of folly to plant any 

 other. Cultivation should be thorough by deep plowing 

 in early spring, and frequent stirring of the soil during 

 summer. The young plants need no staking or tying 

 until grafted, and no pruning unless they grow extra 

 strong ; in that case the growth of last year may be cut 

 back to three or four buds, and the stronger growth 

 used for cuttings. 



Opinions vary widely as to the proper season for graft- 

 ing. Some contend that grafting should be done early 

 in order to make a complete junction. The French 

 have carried this theory so far as to graft the cuttings in 

 the shop. After forty years' experience in grafting the 

 grape, I have reached the following conclusions : 



1. There is no time gained by grafting when the 

 stock is too small to hold the graft firmly. On the con- 

 trary, grafts, to succeed at all, must be firmly tied, as 

 otherwise there is danger of moving the cion. The 

 operation materially retards the growth of the stock, 

 and without a vigorous stock to start with, there can be 

 no complete success. A stock of an inch or an inch and 

 a half in diameter is preferable, and this is not often ob- 

 tained before the third year after planting. 



2. The cions should be prepared through the winter, 

 of medium sized, short jointed, well ripened wood, and 

 carefully stored away in a cool, shady place to retard 

 their growth. They should be at least fifteen inches in 

 length, and from an inch to an inch and a half of wood 



