FORCING 



FORCING 



1261 







-'^■..* ! 



Appley Towers and a few others which have been 

 tested and have found favor with many growers. 

 Another account of raising grapes under glass will be 

 found in the article Grape. 



Forcing of grapes. 



The vine is of easy propagation. Different methods 

 may be apphed for reproducing young vines, such as 

 cuttings or by eyes of ripened wood. Inarching and 

 grafting may also be resorted to. However, the general 

 method of raising young vines is from single ey(!S. It is 

 advisable to choose wood of the previous season's 

 growth or, when pruning back the vines, to take 

 thoroughly ripened wood with plump eyes. If not 

 ready for propagating, the wood may be heeled in a 

 cool house until needed. The month of .January is 

 best for this purpose, for then there is usually a steady 

 bottom heat, which is necessary. A bottom heat of 

 70°, with a temperature in the house of 65°, is most 

 satisfactory. Fui'thermore, January-propagated plants 

 allow for a long season to 

 grow on the canes. In pre- 

 paring the eyes for propaga- 

 tion, about >2 inch of wood 

 on each side of the eye is 

 sufficient. Make a cut on the 

 opposite side from the eye a 

 trifle deeper than the bark, 

 which will callous in a short 

 time after it is placed in heat 

 and roots will emit in two or 

 three weeks. These eyes may 

 be placed in pans, flats or 

 singly in 3-inch pots; when 

 time is no serious object, the 

 pots are decidedly to be pre- 

 ferred, as the young vine roots 

 are very brittle. In prepar- 

 ing the pots to receive the 

 eyes, half fill them with 

 fibrous soil and fiU the top 

 with a fairl}' sharp sand, 

 enough to cover the woocl 

 with the eye just level with 

 the sand. The advantage of 

 having the soil in the bottom 

 is that the roots will strike 

 down and the plants may be 

 repotted, when ready, with- 

 out a check. They must be 

 kept growing through the 

 summer in a warm moist house and repotted when 

 necessary. 



Inarching may be found valuable at times, partic- 

 ularly if there is a variety in the house that is not 

 desirable. The operation is fairly simple. There are 

 diiTerent methods of inarching, although the most 

 successful is with the young growing wood. For 

 example, to inarch a variety with a permanent vine, 

 preparations should be made the year previous. Grow 

 the variety desired in a pot, then ripen off as for plant- 

 ing. Whenever the vines are started into growth, 

 bring in the pot vine intended for inarching, about ten 

 da.vs after the heat has been placed in the grapery. 

 Otherwise the pot vine will start into growth before 

 the permanent vine. It is advisable to select shoots 

 of about the same strength, if possible. The shoot that 

 is operated on should be as near the base as possible. 

 To inarch them is just a matter of bringing the two 

 shoots together and tying with raffia. When the cion 

 has united %vith the green growing shoots, which will be 

 in a short time, gradually cut it away from its own 

 root; also pinch the stock back by degrees to increase 

 the strength of the cion. Usually the cion will grow 

 away rapidly and produce a strong cane by fall so that 

 when pruning time comes the following winter the 



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1S50. 



Pot-grown apple tree 

 in bearing. 



old cane may be cut away and the new variety will 

 take its place. 



Hybridizing. 



In hybridizing with the aim to produce new varie- 

 ties, it is best to select a fairly strong-growing variety 

 for the female parent, choosing the rich Muscat pollen 

 for the male parent. No estimate can be formed as to 

 results from a true cross, as many different varieties 

 will appear. Grapes will produce an abundance of 

 pollen and great care must be taken to avoid self- 

 fertilization. Nature protects the pollen of the grape- 

 vine by a cap that surrounds the pistils and stamens, 

 and when the pollen is ripe for distribution the caps 

 are pushed off by the expansion of pistils and stamens, 

 insuring poUination. To cross-pollinate one variety 

 with another, measures should be taken in advance of 

 natural development to prevent self-pollination. Select 

 the bunch to be operated upon a few days before it 

 would begin to flower. Cut away the larger part of the 

 flowers, leaving a dozen or fifteen to be crossed with 

 other pollen. Then secure this bunch in a fine muslin bag, 

 which will prevent any insects from distributing unde- 

 sirable pollen upon it. The muslin will allow sufficient 

 air for the berries to set, after which it may be removed. 

 The bag is placed around the bunch a day or so before 

 the cap is ready to be dislodged, and careful watch must 

 be kept when the cap begins to loosen. Have a pair of 

 very fine plyers or pincers ready and remove the 

 cap by force, then immediately cut away the stamens 

 before the pollen has time to ripen. This must be 

 executed with great care as the flowers are very deU- 

 cate. Sometimes the flowers cannot all be operated 

 upon at the same time. If so, place the bunch again 

 in the bag and repeat the above process. When the 

 stamens have been removed, apply the pollen chosen 

 for the cross. This is best applied to the stigma with 

 a camel's-hair pencil. Repeat until the whole have 

 been gone over carefuUy. By using these precautions, 

 the bunch cannot become contaminated with undesir- 

 able poUen. Grape seed will germinate very readily, 

 although it should be sown soon after ripening as 

 its germinating power is weakened if kept any great 

 length of time. 



Vine borders. 



Good drainage is absolutely necessary for the suc- 

 cessful cultivation of grape-vines. They will not resent 

 an abundance of water while in active growth, in fact 

 they demand it, but a border which the water cannot 

 pass through freely will be found a serious difficulty. It 

 is weU in finding a location to choose, if possible, a 

 site on elevated ground, as the drainage from the border 

 can be carried off with less expense than in a low place, 

 without the trouble of the drain-pipes becoming stopped 

 up. A vine border will last for years and the advantage 

 of a weU-made border, even though expensive in build- 

 ing up, will be manifest in the better fruit produced. 



A grapery may be supphed with both outside and 

 inside borders, although it is not necessary. Neither 

 would it be advisable for early forcing, for the reason 

 that many of the roots would be out in the cold soil 

 at quite a contrast from the ones inside. But for mid- 

 season or late, there is no objection to this method. 

 In fact, vines that have access to an outside border 

 will keep healthy and vigorous several years longer 

 than when confined whoUy inside. However, an inside 

 border will last for at least ten or fifteen years. This 

 must be decided before the house is built as, for an 

 outside border, the walls must be erected on arches to 

 allow the roots access outside. One advantage of this 

 method is that the vines do not require such close 

 attention as when depending entirely upon the inside 

 border. However, at present the larger number of 

 graperies are built with inside borders only. The first 

 thing to be done is to excavate at least 'Shi to 4 feet for 



