GRAPE 



GRAPE 



1379 



1727. Tying with 

 wire. The first move- 

 ment. 



m. 



run as they will. (Fig. 1725.) The posting is done the 

 second or third year. This consists of driving posts 

 sharpened at one end or digging holes and setting 

 them about 21 to 27 feet apart. One post is set for 

 each three vines. The end posts are either braced the 

 same as ordinary fence-posts or anchored. (Fig. 1726.) 

 Various anchors are used, 

 sueh as large stones buried 

 in the ground, cement used 

 the same as stones, or a 

 patent anchor which con- 

 sists of a V-shaped piece 

 of iron to which is attached 

 a wire. Tliis is driven in 

 the ground to a depth of 

 30 to 36 inches. The posts 

 are 8 feet in length, usually 

 cedar or chestnut, 

 and cost from 1.5 

 . to 25 cents each — 

 an average of 20 

 cents. The wiring 

 is done the second or third 

 year, preferably the second 

 year, and consists of 

 stretching two No. 9 gal- 

 vanized wires the entire 

 * length of the row. The 

 first is about 30 inches from the ground and the 

 second about 30 inches above this. Some use three 

 wires, but two are more popular. The w^ires slacken 

 easily and the posts heave some every winter. This 

 must be corrected regularly before tying the grapes. 

 Drive the posts to place with a ten- or twelve-pound 

 mallet and tighten the wire by turning the patent 

 stretcher on the anchored posts. When putting the 

 wire on the posts and tying the vines to the wire always 

 place them on the windward side, as they are less hkely 

 to be blown down and damaged. The vines may be 

 secm'ed with raffia or mth wire. (Figs. 1727-1730.) 



Pruning systems are many and varied, and the 

 advocates of each system claim for their ideal special 

 merits. Kniffin, Improved Kniffin, Fan, Arm and 

 High Renewal systems are all used to some extent, but 

 the Fan and Improved Kniffin are the most popular. 

 Many growers beUeve that it is impossible to prune 

 to a definite system, but by others this is not found 

 to be the case. Many leave the necessary nimiber of 

 strong healthy canes and tie them up as best they 

 can space them on the wires. From twenty-eight 

 to forty buds is the popular number to leave, and the 

 ideal of the grower is the only guide on which canes 

 to leave these buds. The preference is usually given 

 to the strong quality-looking canes on which the 

 buds are close together. 



The system of pruning to be 

 followed should be started one 

 year after planting. As at plant- 

 ing-time, cut back to three or 

 four buds and after growth 

 starts, break or rub off the 

 weaker shoots. This gives the 

 stronger ones an opportunity to 

 thrive. Tie to the 

 lower wire. The sec- 

 ond season it may 

 be advisable to cut 

 back similarly, espe- 

 cially if the growth 

 has been weak. From 

 this point train the vines accord- 

 ing to the system to bo followed. 

 The work of pruning is usu- 

 ally done in the spring, from 

 February to April, befor(^ any 

 growth starts. If growth has 



1729. The third movement. 



1728. 

 The second 

 movement. 



m 



started, the vines will bleed. The brush is gathered, in 

 most cases, with a pole about 11 or 12 feet long, 3}^ 

 inches in diameter at one end and tapering to about 

 13'2 to 2 inches. This must be of strong material 

 that will bend without breaking. A chain is attached 

 from 2-4 inches to 36 inches from the large end, and 

 as it is drawn by the team 

 the brush collects between 

 the chain and pole. Other 

 methods are used, but this 

 is by far the most common. 



Tillage and fertilizing. 



Cultivation is thorough 

 for best results. The vines 

 are sometimes intercropped 

 with cultivat-ed 

 crops the first 

 year after plant- 

 ing, but later 

 they require aU 

 the care. The vines are 

 plowed up in the fall and 

 disced and grape-hoed away 

 the following spring. Cover- 

 crops are sometimes used, 

 but the practice is not an 

 extensive one because of 

 damp conditions for har- 

 vesting in the fall. Cover- 

 crops are sometimes not plowed under till the follow- 

 ing spring. The tying is done by women and girls in 

 early spring before the buds are so swollen that they 

 are easily damaged. Many materials are used, but the 

 most common are wire and a soft wool twine made 

 for the jiurpose. The twine is most used, although the 

 wire is very handy. The canes are spaced when tying, 

 and thus held in place until the tendrils of the new 

 shoots secure them to the wire. 



Fertihzing is still done in a haphazard way. Some of 

 the best men make a regular practice of mulching the 

 roots with farmyard manure in the fall. Some apply 

 no farmyard manure at all. The use of commercial 

 fertilizer is still in the experimental stage. Its value is 

 admitted but its use is not fully understood. On hght 

 and gravel soils some potash compounds are being 

 used. On the deep alluvial soils some growers are using 

 it in the form of wood-ashes rather than the prepared 

 commercial product. Some bone-meal, at the rate of 

 300 to 600 pounds to the acre, is being used also. Some 

 state profitable results from their methods; others 

 think that with light apphcations of farmyard manure 

 and thorough cultivation the commercial fertihzers 

 axe not required. 



Harvesting and marketing. 



The cutting of the fruit is 

 done for the most part by 

 women and girls, who are usu- 

 ally paid according to the 

 amount of work they do. In 

 some cases they are paid from 

 81 to $1.25 a day, but 1 cent 

 for an eight- to ten-pound bas- 

 ket is more satisfac- 

 tory. Cutting starts 



as soon as the earUest 



grapes are ready for " ' ' 

 themarket. InCanada, 

 Champions have of late years 

 been the first variety to reach 

 the wholesaler. This variety 

 colors before it is really rijie 

 and, though having a fair ap- 

 pearance in the baskets, is not 

 really ripe. Sharp criticism is 



1730. The tie complete. 



