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TIIE GENESEE FARMER. 



CTJITrVATION or THE GRAPE.-No. 2. 

 LA.riNG OUT TIIE VINEYARD. 



The pruutul having been properly prepared (by 

 liarrotving, cultivating, or raking, as circumstances 

 iiiav pngger^t,) in the spring, as soon as the frost is 

 out", and the gi-ound in good working order, tliat it 

 may be made as smooth and even as possible, the 

 next thing to be considered will be the marking out 

 the proper places where the vines are to be planted. 

 Some dillerencc of opinion exists among planters as 

 to the proper distances the vines should be planted. 

 The prevailing opinion is that four by four feet is 

 the proper distance, where tied to polos. Some 

 plant throe by four, three and a half by four, three 

 by five, and four by six, and all other distances, as 

 fanc}' may dictate. But four feet each way is the 

 commonly adopted distance in this country for the 

 Catawpa and Isabella^ and is believed to be the 

 bes.t, where trained to stakes or poles. In France, 

 I have seen some excellent vineyards planted two 

 liy fo;ir, three by four, four by four, and six by 

 twelve; and all seemed to do remarkably well. 

 Those planted two by four were allowed to grow 

 where tliey listed; they had no stakes, and re- 

 ceived very little pruning, but spread all over the 

 ground, and completely smothered the weeds. They 

 bore a great crop of excellent grapes, and, after the 

 fruit was gathered, were pruned back to a mere 

 stump, and the prunings left on the land and buried 

 in the soil with an instrument something like a two- 

 pronged hoe, called a crotchet. It is a very sloven- 

 ly way ; and how long the vines would continue to 

 be fruitful, I can not say. Those planted three by 

 four and four by four were carefully tied to stakes 

 a'.iout throe feet high out of the ground, and care- 

 fully pruned and trained. Those planted six by 

 twelve, were trained to espaliers about eight feet 

 high, running east and west. Those grown on the 

 espaliers were of the Chasselas Fontainebleau vari- 

 ety, and produced some of as fine fruit as I have 

 ever seen, of the same variety, grown under glass 

 in this country. The Muscat of AUxmidria ripened 

 exceedingly well on the south side of a house; but 

 ISiT was a first-rate fruit year in France. The 

 soil was a deep, gravelly loam, with a great deal of 

 lime rock, and gypsum was seen in almost every 

 broken stone. 



Having decided on the distance the vines are to 

 be planted apart, the next thing is to lay the ground 

 out as nearly square as possilde. Then prepare a 

 number of little stakes, sharpened at one end ; and 

 if four feet apart each way be the distance, it will 

 take about two thousand seven hundred to the 

 acre. These are best jirepared by taking a straight- 

 grained pine board, one inch thick, and sawing it 

 into lengtlis of about eighteen inches, split it into 

 strips half an inch thick. These being white, will 

 be better than any others in sigliting the rows 

 through, and can be prepared in the winter or on 

 wet days. Now take a good line, long enough to 

 reach across the entire vineyard, and insert into it 

 little pieces of red tap*, at exactly four feet apart, 

 the whole lengtli. This is called the marking cord. 

 Now, the cord and the sticks being ready and the 

 ground squared, fasten the cord at the south-east 

 corner, and draw it to the south-west corner; strain 

 it tight and fastt\n it. Then have one or more hands 

 to placQ ia the sticks (oaetly at these little bits of 



tape in the cord; set them uprijht, and, Avhen 

 placed, sight them through, to see if they are 

 straiglit. Now take up the cord at the south-east 

 corner, and carry it to the north-west corner; 

 strain it tight, and place in tho stakes, as before. 

 Then proceed from the north-west comer to the 

 north-east corner, and place the stakes as before ; 

 and thence to tho soutli-cast corner, or place of 

 beginning. When the outside lines of stakes are 

 set perfectly sti-aight, and exactly four feet apart, 

 and the whole piece perfectly stpiare, then take up 

 the cord at the south-east corner and place, it at 

 the second \stake from that corner, and stretcli it 

 across to the second stake from the south-west cor- 

 ner. Now place the stakes again at the pieces of 

 tape in the marking-cord. Now have one man at 

 each end of the cord, to take it up and move it to 

 the next stake, and place in the stakes, as before ; 

 and so on until all are placed. When all the .stakes 

 are set, sight them through, to see that they are in 

 straight rows every way. It is necessary that the 

 stakes stand in perfectly straight lines; for nothing 

 gives more pleasure to the nice vine-dresser than 

 to see the vines standing in their exact places; and 

 nothing looks more unsightly than to see them 

 planted all over the place, as though they had 

 grown there by accident. Fig. 2 will fully illustrate 



-0 — — — — — — — — — o- 



this mode of marking. The direction of the row8' 

 should be north and south and east and west, as 

 nearly as possible, so Jis to give the vine the full 

 benefit of the sun's rays in every possible direction. 



PKOrAGATION OF THE VINES. 



Having thus described some of the best modes 

 of preparing the soil and marking otf tlie vineyard, 

 I will now endeavor to explain how tlie vines may 

 bo ])ropagated and multii)lied. 



Grape vines are propagated from seed, by buds 

 or single eyes, cuttings, layers, grafting, inarching, 

 and budding. 



It is to be presumed that no one will attempt to 

 plant out a vineyard from seed — the chances of 

 getting a good one are too few. The grape vine if' 

 so liable to degenerate when raised from seedf- 

 sav' 1 promiscuously, that to get one really gooc 

 one to every ninety-nine poor ones, is a very good 

 proportion. More may be expected from half a 

 dozen carefully hybridized seeds, than from a hun- 

 dred accidentally saved. 



If any one is desirous of raising new varieties 

 from seed, he had better spend a little time inl 

 hybridization. As the young seedlings asa mosK 



