Editors Letter Box. 



21 



EDITOR'S LETTER BOX. 



[Were we to acknowledge the man^'^ 

 expressions of sympathy and appreci- 

 ation of the Grape Culturist, which 

 we daily receive, we are afraid our 

 " Letter Box " would occupy the greater 

 part of the journal. We take this 

 occasion to thank all our friends for the 

 kind interest manifested, and promise 

 them we shall try to the utmost to make 

 the Grape Culturist worthy of their 

 patronage. In the Letter Box, we con- 

 fine ourselves to answers of inquiries 

 having a practical bearing on grape 

 culture and wine making, and hope thus 

 to serve their interests best. — Ed.] 



Walla Walla City, Washtxgtox Teh., 1 

 November .5, 1^69. ^ 



Mr. Geo. Husmann : 



Dear Sir : I am much interested in 

 those articles on the trailing culture 

 of the vine published in the Grape 

 Culturist. This system, in such a 

 climate as ours, I believe will possess 

 some great advantages which I pro- 

 pose to discuss. 



I will say first, however, that in a 

 climate where rot or mildew is .prev- 

 alent, such, a system w'ould surel}' be 

 very disastrous. The first advantage 

 derived from the sj'stem here would 

 be the saving of the exj)ense of trel- 

 lises, as posts and wire are both very 

 expensive here. Posts are worth ten 

 cents each and wire twenty cents per 

 pound. My experience heie has led 

 me to the practice of allowing my 

 young shoots to grow out on the 

 ground during the summer, and fasten 

 the bearing canes up to a stake two 

 or three feet high — only sufficient to 

 keep the grapes from touching the 

 ground; and I often allow the ends 



of the vines to droop over on to the 

 ground and layer them in June or 

 early in July, thus making the vines 

 pay at both ends. And during the fall, 

 while digging the layered vines, I 

 find fine bunches of grapes partiallj^ 

 or entirely covered with earth, in 

 perfect condition, except that those 

 that are under the ground will not be 

 properly colored. I find that the 

 nearer the ground my grapes grow, 

 the larger they are and the earlier 

 they ripen ; and occasionally, when 

 the grapes are exposed to the open 

 sunshine, they get scalded or cooked; 

 and, at the same time, I find that 

 grapes too much shaded do not suc- 

 ceed well, but are very scattering on 

 the bunches. 



I practice almost entirely the re- 

 newal system, cutting my vines down 

 to the ground every fall, and taking 

 up a new" cane for bearing wood. 

 Thus, you wdll see, I treat my grape- 

 vines the same as raspberries or black- 

 berries ; and I find that all the long 

 dissertations on the arms, stump, 

 spurs, and other systems of pruning, 

 is lopped off and chopped down to a 

 very simple process with me : it only 

 being necessary to cut off the old 

 wood, and take ujj new instead, keep- 

 ing in mind the -while that as a vine 

 extends its roots it will, from 3"ear to 

 year, support more bearing wood, and 

 accordingly I have more canes, or 

 longer ones. This, to a novice, is not 

 ver}' definite instruction as to the 

 amount of bearing wood ; but he who 

 raises grapes will soon discover that 

 such a thing as telling exactly how 

 much wood to leave is not easily done, 



