AGRICULTURE. 249 



tance, giving one thousand vines to the acre, is customary at 

 Los Angeles ; the latter, giving six hundred and eighty vines 

 to the acre, is preferred in Sonoma and Napa. There is, how- 

 ever, no regularity in the vineyards planted of late years ; in 

 some places the rows are five feet apart, and the vines three 

 feet apart in the row. The plough is always used in cultiva- 

 tion, and it requires six feet for convenience of handling. The 

 cuttings are set a foot or two feet deep, perpendicularly, leaving 

 three or four inches with two buds above the surface. The holes 

 are usually made with a crowbar, and after the vine is thrust 

 down into it, a little loose sand or pulverized dirt is poured in 

 to fill up the hole. Sometimes holes are dug with the spade. 

 Unless the ground is moist, the newly-planted vineyard is irri- 

 gated, if water can be obtained readily ; for the vine, when 

 taking root, likes water. During the first year after planting, 

 the vine-grower has nothing to do save to plough several times, 

 and to hoe down such weeds as cannot be reached with the 

 plough ; and to irrigate twice if he has water. The cuttings, if 

 properly set, will all grow in a favorable season without irri- 

 gation ; but a supply of water about a month after the last 

 good rain, and another supply a month later, will double the 

 growth of their roots. 



There is very little growth of wood the first year, but it fre- 

 quently happens that cuttings bear grapes one bunch, it may 

 be, to a dozen vines. Rooted vines do not bear the first year. 

 The next year the ground should be kept loose and clean by 

 ploughing and hoeing twice or thrice. Any suckers springing 

 out from buds beneath the surface must be broken off, and a 

 little pruning is done. In pruning, regard is had to the form 

 which the stalk is to have. 



The vine bears fruit on new wood ; that is, on twigs pro- 

 duced in the same season with the grape. All the twigs are 

 cut off every year, leaving a bare stalk. In the old vineyards 

 of California the stalks are from three to five feet high. Of 

 late, the more general custom is to make the stalks about fif- 



