62 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



the side of each ; and so soon as the shoots are from six to 

 ten inches high, they should be tied up. And at this time 

 a little soil should be drawn into the trench, enough to 

 cover the vine an inch deep will be sufficient. In a week 

 or ten days an inch or two more may be put on, and so on 

 at intervals of a few days, or at each hoeing, until the 

 whole trench is filled up. If it is filled while the shoots 

 are very young, it will cause the part below ground to rot. 

 Each of the young canes should be kept tied to the stakes, 

 and if a particular one takes the lead and appropriates too 

 much of the sap to itself^ it should be checked by pinching 

 off the top. 



The canes nearest the parent vine, and the one at the 

 extreme end of the layer, will usually grow much more 

 rapidly than those between ; if so, they should be checked 

 before they have gone so far as to weaken the other plants. 



Hoe the ground often during the summer, or cover it 

 with a mulch to keep down the weeds. The cane that was 

 cut down to three or four buds should be allowed to pro- 

 duce two or three shoots ; these are to be tied to the stakes 

 shown in the engraving. Next season the same operation 

 may be repeated, and if the vine has grown very strong, 

 two canes may be layered instead of one. After layers 

 have been taken from the vines two or three seasons in 

 succession, it is best to let them pass over one season with- 

 out taking any layers from them, for if layered every 

 season, they will soon become exhausted. Any vine that 

 has a young shoot which can be made to reach the ground 

 may be layered, but it is not advisable to take layers from 

 vines that are planted for fruiting. 



When only one vine is wanted from a plant, then a 

 branch may be bent down into a short trench in the spring 

 or fall, and covered up at the time, leaving only the end 

 above ground. In this way a very strong vine will be pro- 

 duced the first season. 



The layers may be separated from the parent vine at the 



