Kdltor's Letter JBox. 



88 



maiu' acres were in bearing in your 

 neighborhood, what they produced, etc. ? 

 We want all such facts. — Editor.] 



Cxi^TOx, IlEKiiY Co., JNIo., January iii, It^TO. 



Mr. Geo. Husmaxn : 



Dear Sir : I have two acres of Nor- 

 ton and Concord, and as promising 

 a young vineyard as I ever saw. My 

 Concords bore a few bunches last year, 

 and all ni}^ vines made an immense 

 growth of wood. I have about 100 

 Taylor's ; they have run over all crea- 

 tion, and although only two years old, 

 (some of them) have canes near the 

 ground as big as a child's wrist. I am 

 at a loss how to prune them, having 

 neglected it till now. You say in your 

 work " it requires long pruning on 

 spurs to bring out its fruitfulness." 

 Not being a vine dresser of very long 

 experience, I am not quite sure that I 

 understand your meaning, but suppose 

 it to be to prune the main cane long, 

 leaving two or three buds on a number 

 of spurs. If it would not be trespass- 

 ing too much on your valuable time, 

 will 5'ou write me just a few words on 

 this subject. Your attention to this 

 will greatly oblige your friend and obe- 

 dient servant. Wm. A. Dukcan. 



P. S. Seriously is the Norton and the 

 Cynthiana identical ? D. 



[You are correct in the treatment of 

 the Taylor you propose. Leave the 

 main canes long^ and cut back the side 

 branches, or laterals, to from two to five 

 buds each, according to their size and 

 strength. Leave these old arms, if they 

 have produced healthy, vigorous 3'oung 

 shoots ; the next \'ear cutout the weak, 

 imperfect wood, and then cut hack the 

 strongest of the young shoots, to two 

 to three eyes. They will not produce 

 their best fruits until the fourth and 

 fifth seasons after planting. 



The C3'nthiana and Norton are not 

 alike, although verj'- similar in growths 

 and foliage. The Cj-nthiana berr}^ is 



somewhat larger, bunch more compact 

 and shouldered, sweeter, and makes a 

 much more delicate wine, of different 

 flavor from the Norton, decidedly ; to 

 our taste, the best red wine yet pro- 

 duced in America. — Editor] 



Macon City, February in, J 870. 



Mr. Geo. Husmann, Bluffton : 



Sir : My object in writing is to ask 

 your opinion in regard to grafting the 

 grape. I have read 3'our work on 

 grape and wine, but there is still room 

 for improvement. This differs in in- 

 serting the graft on the side instead 

 of splitting the stock as shown in your 

 work on grajDe. You will see the en- 

 closed is inserted a sufficient distance 

 below the rim or crown so as not to 

 break the rim of the same, allowing 

 also a greater number of grafts to be 

 inserted on the same stock. 

 Please answer by retuim mail. 

 Yours respectfully, 



J". E. McLaughlin. 

 [We are well aware that there is 

 much '^ room for improvement "' over 

 our little work published in 1866. We 

 are progi'essing so fast in grape culture 

 that any book, however timely when 

 published, will soon fall behind the 

 new discoveries. Besides, it gives 

 only the author's views, and is there- 

 fore necessarily somewhat one-sided. 

 It w^as to obviate this that we started 

 the Grape Culturist, in which all can 

 give and exchange their ideas, and 

 which can keep its readers " posted " 

 on all new improvements. The pro- 

 cess of grafting you describe, is a 

 good one, as the sajD vessels are cut 

 through obliquely on the stock, as 

 they are in the scion, and thus gives a 

 better chance for uniting and an un- 

 interrupted flow of sap. It is better 

 adapted to small stocks, however, than 

 old vines. You will find it described 

 in February No., page 41, of Vol. I, 

 G. 0. which we send 3'ou. — Editor.] 



