GRAPE. 245 



Grape, continued. 



These may be taken in summer from the growing canes, 

 but the plants are usually forced during winter for the pur- 

 pose of giving the extra wood. Cuttings are taken off as 

 fast as buds form during the winter, and they are forced in 

 close frames with a good bottom heat. The cuttings may 

 comprise two buds, with the leaf at the upper one allowed 

 to remain, or they may bear but a single eye, in which 

 case the leaf, or the most of it, is left on. This rapid 

 multiplication from small, soft wood usually gives poor 

 plants ; but strong plants may be obtained by allowing the 

 wood to become well hardened before it is used. Soft cut- 

 tings will root in two or three weeks under good treatment. 



In order to secure extra strong plants from single buds, 

 the eyes may be saddle-grafted or whip-grafted upon a 

 root 2 or 3 inches long. The root grafts are then treated 

 in the same way as eye cuttings, only that they are usually 

 grown in pots from the start. 



The vine may be grafted with ease by any method. 

 Cleft-grafting is commonly employed upon old plants. 

 The cions are inserted on the crown of the plant, three or 

 four inches below the surface of the ground. The cleft is 

 bound with string, and then covered with earth, no wax 

 being necessary. The best time to perform the operation 

 is very early in spring, before the sap starts. Vines may 

 be grafted late in spring also, after danger of bleeding is 

 past, if the cions are kept perfectly dormant. Vines are 

 sometimes grafted in the fall, but this practice cannot be 

 recommended in the north. Young plants are usually 

 whip-grafted at the crown, either indoors or outdoors. 

 Grafting the vine is mostly confined to Europe, Califor- 

 nia, and other countries where the European grape ( Vitis 

 vinifera] is grown, as that species must be grafted upon 

 some other stock in order to resist the phylloxera. The 

 common wild frost-grape ( Vitis riparia] is the most pop- 

 ular stock. The union in these cases must be two or 

 three inches above the ground, to prevent the cion from 

 taking root. The union is wound with waxed muslin, 

 and the earth is heaped about it until it has healed. 

 Grapes can be grafted by the cleft-graft below ground as 

 readily as pears or apples can be worked. For pictures 

 of various methods of grafting the grape, see Figs. 107, 

 113, 114, 116, 124, 125. The last (125) is the best type 

 for general use on old vines. 



The vine is frequently inarched, and early in spring it 

 can be budded by ordinary methods. 



Q 



