THE 



GRAPE CULTURIST. 



Vol. I. 



APRIL, 1869. 



INo. 4. 



THE VIXEYAPJ). 



WORK FOR T 



In April, most of the operations dis- 

 cussed in the March number, and not 

 performed or finished in that month, 

 may be continued. Making trellis, ] 

 tying, planting, plowing ami hoeing, 

 layering, etc. The sooner these opera- 

 tions are performed, however, the bet- 

 ter it will be. Always trj^ to be ahead 

 with your work, especiall}- in Spring, j 

 for when the vines once begin to grow, 1 

 you will have enough to do with sum- I 

 mer pruning, tj'ing the young growth, j 

 destroying weed:*, and keeping your i 

 ground in order. With one hour's I 

 labor done in advance you may save the j 

 work of days, when you have once got 

 behind. The old adage, " A stitch in 

 time saves nine," could easily be re- 

 modeled and applied to vine3'ards. 

 Laggards had better never commence 

 grape growing ; it will certainly 7iot 

 pay for them. But, if the diligent 

 vintner should, from causes beyond his 

 control, get behind with his work, our 

 advice is to him, " Try and get addi- 

 tional help, until you have caught up 

 again, for it will be an immense saving 

 of labor, time, and money in the end. 



Grafting ma}- still be continued, even 

 into May, but you must take care to 

 keep the scions in a cool place, and in 

 a dormant position. Covering layers 

 ina\' be done as soon as the J'oung 



HE MONTH. 



growth has started about a foot, which, 

 in our latitude, will not be until the 

 middle of May. In the South, no doubt, 

 April is the time, and as we try to write 

 for the ^L1hole country^ we shall often 

 describe the necessary operations ahead 

 of time for northern localities, alwaj'^s 

 describing the stage of growth, how- 

 ever, so that they also can easily know 

 \then it should be done. Cover with 

 well pidverized earth, about two inches 

 deep over the old cane. If 3^ou can 

 mulch with spent tan or saw-dust, it 

 will be a great benefit to the plants 

 during the heat of summer, and assist 

 the formation of roots. 



For the i^owth^ summer pruning will 

 also commence during April. But, as 

 this is a very important operation, we 

 have tried to discuss it more at length 

 in a separa+e article, to which we refer 

 our readers. 



Surface drains should be carefullj' 

 cleared of all obstructions, and new 

 ones opened where necessary. As soon 

 as weeds show themselves, the plow and 

 hoe should be resorted to again, and the 

 ground kept in a mellow and friable 

 condition. But do not woi'k the ground 

 when loet ; it will act like poison on the 

 vines, and you can not again get the 

 ground into the same condition during 

 the whole summer. 



