210 



The Grape Cnltnrist. 



a few berries as might have been ex- 

 pected, but at least five pounds. They 

 were Isabellas and Catawbas, per- 

 fectly plump, sweet and fresh, al- 

 though most of the berries had 

 dropped from their stems. With the 

 exception of a very slight earthy 

 taste, the}' v\^ere certainly excellent. 

 The question, of course, was asked, 

 how do you keep them thus? The 

 reply was, that in the fall as late as the 

 cold will admit, they were gathered in 

 a clear da}- when perfectly dry; a 

 box about eight inches deep was 

 taken ; a layer of green leaves was 

 taken from the vines and laid on the 

 bottom ; on these a layer of grapes, 

 then a layer of leaves again, until the 

 box was full, finishing Avith a layer of 

 leaves. Put the lid on tight and bury 



deep enough to escape the frosts of 

 winter. Of course it must be where 

 water cannot settle into the box. 



The stems of those grapes were 

 quite fresh when given to me. The 

 man told me his father-in-law had 

 kept them thus for years. Wh}^ I 

 never tried it is now a mA-stery to 

 me; but if spared until fall, will do 

 so, I think. 



Yours truly, 



S. Miller. 



Blukfton, Mo., June 1st, 1870. 



[We have often dug up bunches of 

 grapes on layers, late in the fall, when 

 all the grapes on the vines had been 

 frozen long ago, and found them 

 plump, sweet and fresh. We do not 

 doubt the method is a good one, and 

 worth a trial. — Editor.] 



For the Ghate Cultuhtst. 



TRAINING VINES. 



Mr. Editor: I have always thought, 

 and was b}' this 3'ear's experience 

 greatly confirmed in the opinion that 

 we ought to give our vines a sort of 

 foot-stool, that is, one stem or several 

 arms stretching 1 or li feet upwards 

 from the ground, so that no leaves or 

 young sprouts may touch it. Bend- 

 ing down our heads we ought to be 

 able to get a look from under the vines 

 from one end of the row to the other 

 all the year through. 



This will enable us to keep the 

 ground clean and pulvei'ized, bj" the 

 plow and hoc, right near the stems, 

 and a free circulation of the air and, 

 by it, the warming of the ground just 

 around the stems will be insured. 



In fact, sometimes we want, for the 



sake of renewal, a sprout to come out 

 from or near the roots; but there is 

 no difficulty about that. By properl}' 

 trimming the upper canes, we ma}* at 

 an}' time, when needed, have sprouts 

 from the roots. Generally we have 

 too many of them, and though they be 

 removed in the early part of the sum- 

 mer, many of them will grow after- 

 ward unobserved, because we can not 

 get a look to the ground near the 

 stems, being nothing but a nuisance. 

 If a new twig from near the roots is 

 wanted, we ought to let it grow the 

 first summer and tie it up ; the next 

 year we should rub off the three or 

 four first buds and leave the fourtli or 

 fifth to sprout to make a good spur for 

 the comino; year. 



