Editors' Letter JBox. 



ISl 



more skill or work than an apple tree ! 

 If the people would read more on this 

 subject they would see their mistake- 

 And such journals as yovirs will open 

 the eyes of many a man before five years 

 roll around, and thousands who now 

 think grapes belonging only to the 

 wealthj^ or the skillful horticulturist will 

 see that it is the fruit for the million 

 — the poor man's fruit. 



To plant and cultivate on a large 

 scale, we should be well versed in all 

 that appertains to the more improved 

 modes of culture, and the tedious de- 

 tails of planting, pruning and train- 

 ing usually described in works on the 

 subject, have a tendency to deterring 

 from planting even a few vines, as 

 they get the idea that there is so much 

 skill required, that a man of only ordi- 

 nary intelligence is not competent to 

 undertake to raise a grape vine. 



Let me say to my friends, plant a few 

 vines, cultivate the ground well, cut 

 away about half the growth of previous 

 summer when the leaves drop in the 

 fall, and see if you do not soon have 

 grapes for your table ; and be sure and 

 send for the Grape Culturist. Thus in 

 a very short time you will be prepared 

 to enter into grape growing for a busi- 

 ness. Success to all. 



A. B. Egberts. 



P. S. Send me another copy of the 

 Grape Culturist, as I want one to 

 lend. I want you to send me all the 

 back numbers of both copies. 



[Thanks for this friendly greeting 

 across the mountains! AVe hope your 

 advice will be followed; that all will 

 plant vines, and all send for the Grape 

 Culturist. So may it be!] — Ed. 



Baltimore, Md., May S, 1869. 



Messrs. Editors: Perhaps your readers 



may not be familiar with the njethod of 



grafting the vine in Burgundy, which 



Mr. Bronner describes in his book, "The 



making of Red wine," page 57 ; I there- 

 fore give a description here: 



" A trench is dug about a foot deep, 

 commencing at the vine which you 

 wish to graft, and the vine bent into it 

 after carefully cutting off its up[)er roots. 

 About two feet from the parent vine, 

 you select a smooth place on one of the 

 arms, at least two years old, and cut it 

 so that you have at least two inches of 

 smooth wood to insert the scion. This 

 is split Avith the knife about li inch 

 deep. The scion should be an unpruned 

 branch of the former season's growth, 

 with a few inches of 2 year old wood 

 attached to it. This is cut to a long 

 wedge, and inserted in the split, so that 

 the bark of the stock and scion tit closely 

 together. It is then firmly wrapped 

 with thread, bent into the trench, and 

 covered with earth, so that at least a 

 foot of the scion is in the ground, and 

 two eyes above it." This method, ac- 

 cording to Bronner's statement, is sure 

 of success, and the vines thus grafted 

 will be very durable. 



I have grafted in the usual manner 

 something like 1,000 Clinton, Isabella and 

 Catawba, with very poor success, and 

 had abandoned almost entirely, until I 

 lately saw Bronner's book. The great- 

 est difficulty of it is, that it takes a large 

 amount of wood for scions. 



Your Grape Culturist seems to fill, 

 in the proper manner, a long felt vacancy 

 in our periodical literature, and I hope 

 it will meet with all the success it merits. 

 I commenced to plant a vineyard here 

 about two vears ago, and have now about 

 15 acres in vines. I think I shall have a 

 considerable crop this season ot Concord, 

 Ives, Hartford and Nortons. 



Of the Nortons, my larger vines are 

 showing from 20 to 30 bunches at an 

 average. Are you not somewhat unjust 

 towards the Ives? It bears here the 

 third season, and the plants, when re- 



