Curiosities and Gleanings of Grape Literature. 



49 



ripened fruit to the vine. The remain- 

 ing rows were still diseased, and the 

 fruit slouched off. They did not carry- 

 five pounds to the vine. In his own 

 garden, Mr. P. had experienced similar 

 results. In view of such facts he 

 believed in wide planting to allow the 

 vine something like its normal growth, 

 and not to be obliged to check the 

 growth of the shoots. His own vine- 

 yard is planted twelve feet apart in 

 the row, and it never failed in bearing 

 a good crop but once (it is one of the 

 tirst planted at Naples), and that was 

 because it produced four tons per acre 

 the jDreceding year, when two tons 

 are all any vinej'ard should be allow- 

 ed to bear. 



Mr, Pottle prunes lightly in the 

 fall or winter, and when it is apparent 

 that the wood has withered well, 

 prunes again. If too much fruit sets, 

 that is thinned by removing the 



whole shoot on which it is. Some 

 fruit may be removed from the shoots 

 that are left, but the shoot is not short- 

 ened. Yineyards in Naples that were 

 pruned on the short spur system, and 

 pinched back in summer had the rot 

 and mildew, and the fruit sloughed. 

 Others, in their vicinity, treated on 

 the system he had described were 

 healthy and bore well. When the 

 system was changed on the diseased 

 vineyards they recovered and fruited 

 again, 



Mr. Pottle described an experiment 

 made by Mr. Byington to prove that 

 sunlight on the grape cluster was not 

 important. When the berries were 

 about the size of buckshot some clus- 

 ters were enclosed so as to be in com- 

 plete darkness, and they ripened and 

 colored equally Avell with others on 

 the vine fullj" exposed to the sun- 

 shine. 



CURIOSITIES AND GLEANINGS OF GRAPE LITERATURE. 



It seems we have touched Mr.^'Ozark" 

 in a tender spot, in our comments 

 upon "Covering Grapes in Winter," 

 if we are to judge from an article 

 called "The Grape Culturist and its 

 Editor," in Colmaiis Mural World. 

 Were the article in question written 

 in gentlemanly or decent language, 

 we should be pleased to copy it for 

 the benefit of our readers, but in its 

 present form w^e think it beneath 

 anything but a passing notice, and as 

 friend Colman claims to have the 

 most widely circulated agricultura 

 paper of the West, w^e trust most of 

 our readers can find it in its columns, 



if they have a curiosity to see it. As 

 we have since heard that ''Ozark" is 

 Mr. Rockwell Thompson, of M. Mam- 

 moth Blackberry, and " Thompson's 

 Red Seedling of Concord" notoriety, 

 we are not surprised that he is sore, 

 nor are we sorry that we hurt his feel- 

 ings, for while we desire the good 

 will and kind feelings o^ all true grape- 

 growers, we hope to make enemies of 

 the whole humbug gentry. We will 

 say to Mr. Thompson, that he is wel- 

 come to "rake up our record," as 

 he threatens, as we are entirely will- 

 ing to ''stand by it." 



Editor. 



