70 FRUIT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



SELECTING VINES FOR PLANTING. 



The speedy and permanent well-doing of vines de- 

 pends very much on the condition in which they are 

 when planted. There are two descriptions of vines 

 to which I have a decided objection. These are such 

 as are raised by layers from old vines, and those that 

 are more than one year old from the eye. The 

 former method is not much practised now the latter 

 is common enough. These, I have invariably ob- 

 served, never start into growth so satisfactorily, nor 

 do they ever make such vigorous and fruitful vines, 

 in a given time, as those that are only one year old, 

 provided that they have been properly grown and 

 ripened. The one-year-old vine is what I consider 

 the best and most desirable for general planting, 

 especially in the case of inexperienced cultivators. 

 At the same time, it is a matter somewhat difficult 

 to decide whether a plant raised from an eye in 

 spring, and planted when 2 or 3 feet high in May 

 or June, will not equal, if it do not actually outrun 

 in the race of success, the year-old plant. For my 

 own part, in the case of vineries such as have been 

 recommended admitting of the vines being planted 

 inside, I would have some difficulty in making a 

 choice between a well-ripened and well-rooted one- 

 year-old plant and one raised from an eye the same 

 spring. The results from both descriptions of plants 

 are so nearly alike that it is of little moment upon 

 which the choice should fall. But, as has been 

 already said, the one-year-old plant is safer in the 

 hands of the inexperienced ; and directions for rearing 

 and planting both these descriptions of plants will be 

 given. 



