The Vineyard. 



35 



generally abandoned. And with good 

 reason. It is unreasonable to suppose, 

 that the grapevine, one.of the most 

 sun loving of all plants, should be eon- 

 tent to bury its roots deep in the cold 

 earth, far removed from air and light. 

 Stir the soil deeply and thoroughly, 

 mellow it as well as you can, bnt leave 

 it in its natural position as near as 

 possible. 



For steep hillsides, we have found 

 the hill side plow, with reversible 

 mould boards, very useful, it will save 

 a great deal of unnecessary travelling, 

 as the mould board can be turned at 

 the end of the furrow, and you can re- 

 turn the same way. 



For newly cleared ground, you will 

 need a large breaking plow, with a 

 coulter to cut the roots, and of course 

 more power. Stir every inch of your 

 soil thoroughly. The old practice of 

 planting in ditches, or worse yet, in 

 square holes, whereby sink holes were 

 formed, has, we trust and believe, 

 been entirely abandoned. 



Cuttings may also be planted the 

 latter part of the month. For these, 

 choose a rich and deep piece of soil, 

 plow and pulverize it thoroughly, 

 plant in roAvs, about 2 to 2 ^ feet apart. 

 Stretch a line over the length of the 

 bed, and if j^our cuttings are nine in- 

 ches long, take a spade and make a 

 horizontal cut along the line, opening 

 the upper part by moving the spade 

 backwards and forwards. Now let 

 one push dowxi the cutting, so that 

 the upper bud is even, or rather a 

 little below the surface of the soil. 



the cuttings to be placed about an inch 

 apart in the row. Then press the 

 ground firmly- against the cuttings 

 with your foot. 



If you can mulch the ground with 

 old saw-dust, spent tan, or leaves, you 

 Avill find it a great advantage, especial- 

 ly in dry summers, as it will keep the 

 soil moist and loose. 



Although it is of great advantage 

 to get your ground prepared early, 

 either for planting vines or cuttings, 

 as they will have made a good start 

 before dry weather sets in, and become 

 established ; yet we would warn you 

 against working your soil when it is 

 too wet to pulverize well, as it will 

 then harden and bake. Eather wait 

 days, nay weeks, than to work your 

 soil when wet. Years of diligent labor 

 will not bring it back to its normal 

 condition, and if your vines are plant- 

 ed in the mud, it will bake around 

 them, and you can not expect them to 

 thrive. For this reason, we would 

 strongly advocate Fall planting, as the 

 ground is generally in excellent con- 

 dition to work, and your vines will be 

 ready to start in Spring. 



The warm days of the latter part of 

 February are also a good time for 

 grafting vines, as the stock and scion 

 can callus and form a union, and you 

 can secure a full season's growth for 

 the graft. Grafting the vine is a very 

 simple process, and although we would 

 not advise it on a large scale, as some 

 authors have done, yet it is a great 

 help in testing new varieties. For 

 particulars, see the article of grafting. 



