182 



The Grape Culturist. 



fectlj' ripen their wood by any method 

 of training or cultivation, we believe 

 that they may as safely l)e left without 

 covering as most of the varieties w^e 

 cultivate. 



We think we can reach the desired 

 object by several means combined, 

 which we will name to our readers, and 

 hope that many of our readers will 

 profit from them, and the cultivation of 

 these excellent varieties will thus 

 become more general than it is at 

 present. 



1. Choose for your Herbemont the 

 poorest and dryest location you Lave, 

 if possible a southern exposure, with 

 limestone soil. Many years ago Mr.' 

 M. Poeschel prepared, with a great 

 deal of expense and labor, a stony 

 southern hill-side, so steep that he 

 terraced it with the stones taken out of 

 the ground. This was at first planted 

 with Catawba, but they invariabl}^ 

 burned and turned yellow during the 

 summer. The Catawbas were then 

 dug up and Herbemont and Norton's 

 planted in their place, which flourished 

 exceedingly well, produced splendidly, 

 and the Herbemonts on that spot always 

 ripened their wood. The^^ were seldom, 

 if ever, covered, and produced splen- 

 did crops nearly every year of as 

 fine Herbemont bunches as we ever 

 saw. 



2. Pinch the ends of the young canes 

 as soon as they have grown, or three 

 four feet, as advised in article on sum- 

 mer pruning. No. 2. This will divide 

 the growth of each cane into from three 

 to four laterals, which will generall}' 

 ripen their wood much more perfectly 

 than the main cane would had it been 

 left unchecked. After these have 



grown about three feet, thej' rasij again 

 be pinched or stopped, and if you 

 follow this course vigorously, we think 

 you will have well ripened wood for 

 fruiting. It is the same principle which 

 leads us to pinch dwarf pears, viz : 

 stopping the young growth to 

 ripen the wood, and promote fruit- 

 fulness. 



3. Give your vines enough to do, 

 that is, " Prune long and fruit heavil}'." 

 A well-developed Herbemont vine, 

 which has at least ten feet of room on 

 the trellis, is able to bear and ripen 

 perfectly from 20 to 25 lbs. of grapes. 

 They have often done it for us, and will 

 then ripen their wood much better, than 

 when the principal energ}' of the vine is 

 expended in producing wood. 



4. Cultivate your vineyard well early 

 in the season ; keep it clean and mellow, 

 but after middle of July cultivate but 

 little, especially in wet seasons like the 

 last. Should weeds appear, scrape but 

 shallow with the hoe until late in tlie 

 fall, when the leaves have fallen, when 

 you can give it a good, deep plowing. 

 Before 3'ou plow, however, prune your 

 vines and lay them down along the 

 trellis, throwing the ground on them 

 with spade and plow, leaving a furrow 

 in the middle of the row. This will 

 leave the covered vines on a ridge, and 

 there is no danger of injury by 

 wet. 



We can assure our friend Bash that 

 the method he proposes would be worse 

 than having the vines hanging loose, 

 for the}' are much more easily injured 

 b}' wet and cold when fastened on the 

 ground than when under it or left to 

 hang loosely on the trellis. We have 

 tried it to our cost, and " know of what 

 we affirm." — Editor.] 



