380 Grapes. 



soil for retaining moisture, and still more on the humidity of the air, 

 which varies in different localities and with seasons. A rich, mode- 

 rately compact, deep, and mellow soil, is required. It is especially 

 important that it possess fertility in order to give the young plants a 

 strong impetus the moment new roots are emitted. Shoots of one 

 season's growth are selected, of full medium size, omitting small or 

 unripe portions. Where the winters are severe, this wood 

 should be cut off late in autumn, shortened to convenient 

 Jf I lengths, and packed in slightly moist earth, or what is bet- 

 ter, in damp moss, in boxes placed in a cellar. Sometimes 

 the cuttings are placed in a bed in autumn, which answers 

 well in mild climates, or where they are well protected dur- 

 ing winter, with a thick layer of straw, manure, or leaves. 



The cuttings are usu- 

 ally made about seven 

 or eight inches long, and 

 each one should have 

 two or more buds. It 

 should be pared away by 

 a sharp knife imme- 

 diately below the lower 

 Fig. 418. bud and about an inch 



Cutting; above the Upper One, as Fig. w.Mode of planting Cuttings. 



shown in Fig. 418. A 



trench (Fig. 419) is made with the spade next to a line, nearly per- 

 pendicular on one side and sloping on the other. The cuttings are 

 placed upright against the steep side, about three inches apart, so 

 that the upper bud shall be about an inch below the level surface. 

 Fill the trench to the upper bud by adding successive portions, press- 

 ing each firmly with the foot, but leaving the soil more loose and 

 mellow above. After the shoots have grown a few inches the sur- 

 face may be levelled by burying the upper bud an inch beneath it. 

 Some cultivators are more successful by covering the surface with 

 an inch or two of fine manure for the retention of moisture in the 

 soil. Roots will be emitted from both buds, and handsomer plants 

 will be formed by cutting off the lower part, leaving the roots of the 

 upper bud only to remain. 



PROPAGATION FROM SINGLE BUDS. The various modes of pro- 

 pagating the vine from single buds, admit the rapid multiplying of 

 numbers required for work on a large scale ; but artificial heat is 

 always necessary, either on a small scale in hot-beds, or more exten- 

 sively in propagating houses. 



