Preparation of the Soil for Vineyards. 



31 



push down the cutting so that the 

 upper bud is even with the surface 

 of the soil. Then press the earth 

 firmly against the cuttings with your 

 foot. We plant them about an inch 

 apart in the row, and the rows three 

 to four feet, so as to admit of easy 

 cultivation with a plow and cultiva- 

 tor. If you have plenty of material 

 for mulching at hand, such as old saw 

 dust, spent tan or leaves, it will be 

 found of great advantage. 



Trellis may also be erected during 

 this month, but do not perform any 

 of those operations unless the ground 

 be dry enough. It is highly injurious 

 to the soil to work in the vineyard 

 when wet, as it will cause the soil lo 

 bake. 



Grafting the vine may also be done 

 during mild weather, and we think 

 the generality of our readers will have 

 better success with the old cleft graft- 



ing than with any other method. 

 Dig away the ground from the vine 

 you wish to graft, then pick a smooth 

 place, at least one inch below the sur- 

 face, cutting the stock there with 

 either a sharp knife or shears, and 

 then split the stock as in common 

 cleft grafting. Cut the wedge on your 

 scion rather long, or better still with a 

 shoulder on both sides. If the stock is 

 strong enough to hold the scion firm- 

 ly, no tying is necessary, but small 

 stocks may be tied with bass wood 

 bark or woolen thread, wound firmly 

 around the whole length of the cut- 

 No grafting wax is needed, but the 

 moist earth should be firmly pressed 

 around the cut, and the whole scion 

 covered with sawdust or tan bark. 

 The scion need not be longer than 

 one to two buds, and we prefer medium 

 sized wood for them. 



PREPARATION OF THE SOIL FOR VINEYARDS. 



When we commenced grape grow- 

 ing, about twenty years ago, it was 

 thought indispensable by vintners to 

 trench the soil with the spade, to the 

 depth of from tvventy inches to three 

 feet, inverting the soil, bringing the 

 subsoil on toj), and burying the surface 

 soil below. This was not alone a very 

 laborious and costly operation, but also 

 made laboring in the vineyard during 

 wets[)ells in summer entirely impracti- 

 cable, as the clay subsoil brought to the 

 surface would stick to the feet, and 

 clog. The rich surface soil would thus 

 be buried underneath, away from the 

 influence of sun and air, and the vine 



forced by deep planting — say fifteen 

 inches, at least — to root in it instead of 

 nearer the surface. 



This seemed to us perverting the 

 nature of the vine, the most sun-loving 

 of all our fruits, and set us to flunking ; 

 and after a good deal of thought, and 

 observation, we arrived at the conclu- 

 sion that the system was altogether 

 wrong, and injurious instead of bene- 

 cial to the health and longevity' of the 

 vine. When we observed the wild vines 

 of our forests, we found that the}^ in- 

 variably rooted near the surface ; j'et 

 we found among them veterans which 

 had climbed to the tops of the tallest 



