GRAPE. 243 



Grape, continued 



following season. These canes are then layered the suc- 

 ceeding fall or spring. Only a part of the canes are lay- 

 ered from any stool, a part being allowed to grow for 

 cutting back the next fall in order to get another crop of 

 canes. In some varieties which do not strike readily from 

 cuttings, layering is considerably practiced by nursery- 

 men. The Delaware is often grown in this way. Extra 

 strong layers can be secured by layering in pots. A large 

 pot, filled with rich soil, is plunged beneath the layer. In 

 this manner a layer may be rooted and separated even 

 while carrying fruit. Layering in pots is employed only in 

 special cases. In vineyards, layering is often employed 

 for the purpose of filling vacancies. A strong cane is left, 

 without pruning, on a neighboring vine in the same row, 

 and in the spring the end of it is laid down in the vacant 

 place. The vine is covered about a half foot deep, and 

 the free end of it is turned up perpendicularly out of the 

 soil and tied to a stake. By fall or the following spring 

 the layer should be sufficiently rooted to allow the parent 

 cane to be cut away. 



Green-layering is sometimes practiced upon new and 

 scarce varieties, but strong plants are not obtained unless 

 they are well handled by forceful culture after they are 

 separated. The growing cane is layered in midsummer, 

 usually by serpentine layering. 



Cuttings are usually employed by nurserymen to propa- 

 gate the grape. These are made in many fashions. In 

 all ordinary cases hard-wood cuttings are made from the 

 ripened canes in autumn or winter when the vines are 

 pruned. It is advisable to take the cuttings before the 

 canes have been exposed to great cold. Select only those 

 canes which are well matured, solid and rather short- 

 jointed. In common practice, the cuttings are cut into 

 two-bud lengths, the lower cut being made close to the 

 bud. The cuttings will range from 6 to 10 inches in 

 length. Some prefer three-bud cuttings (Fig. 59), but 

 unless the cane is very short-jointed, such cuttings are too 

 long to be planted and handled economically. Three- 

 bud cuttings usually give stronger plants the first season, 

 because roots start from both joints as a rule. Very 

 strong plants are obtained from mallet cuttings (Fig. 61), 

 but as only one such cutting can be made from a cane, 

 unless the cane bears very strong branches, they are not 

 much used. Various methods of peeling, slitting and 

 slicing cuttings are recommended, in order to extend the 



