330 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



To the Garden Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society : — 



Gentlemen, — The vineyard of Moore's Early grape vines 

 offered by me for your inspection and the Society's prize was 

 planted in the spring of 1881, the vines being then two years 

 old and set in rows nine feet apart, and eight feet apart in the 

 row. The location of the vineyard is on high warm land, 

 naturally well drained ; the soil is a gravelly loam, with numerous 

 large stones both above and below the surf ace ; — which inclines 

 slightly to the eastward. For the past three years no other crop 

 has been raised on the ground ; and no manure has been applied, 

 except about five barrels of ground bone and muriate of potash, — 

 two parts of the former to one of the latter mixed, and applied 

 broadcast each year. The first two years the vines were tied to 

 stakes and two buds allowed to grow. In the spring of 1883 

 trellises were built by setting locust posts at each end of each row, 

 and also along the rows, leaving two vines in each space between 

 the posts. Four strands of No. 14 wire were stretched and 

 fastened by means of staples to each row of posts, the upper 

 wire being about five feet from the ground. The end posts were 

 bi-aced to keep the wires straight. To these wires the arms of 

 the vines, from four to six in number, each from three to four feet 

 long, are tied, care being taken to distribute the arms as evenly 

 as possible over the wires. I very seldom tie to the upper wu-e, 

 as I prefer to have the foliage on it shade the fruit on the other 

 wires. I find it unnecessary to do any summer tying, and do very 

 little summer pruning, but usually cut off the ends of branches 

 inclined to grow between rows, so that the rows will look tidy, 

 and leave the spaces clear for cultivation, — which is kept up with 

 the cultivator and hoe until August, or as long as the weeds con- 

 tinue to grow. The vines have fruited threfe years : in 1883 they 

 produced about one thousand pounds of fruit; in 1884 about 

 five thousand five hundred pounds, and in 1885 about nine 

 thousand pounds. I have always commenced to pick for market 

 from the 5th to the 10th of September; at the latter date the 

 fruit is ripe enough to pick clean. I prune the vines in November 

 and December, leaving from four to six arms of strong, new wood 

 three or four feet long, as near the roots as convenient. I tie 

 these arms to the wu-es in mild days in winter, or in early spring. 



