GRAPES 193 



ing hardpan, one that soaks up moisture in the 

 winter and spring rains and retains this mois- 

 ture through the dry summer months. Such a 

 soil can be looked to confidently to produce 

 vigorous vines and abundant crops of grapes. 

 Such a soil too, need not be overly rich but 

 rather one of those "good fruit soils" that I 

 have already described at some length in pre- 

 vious chapters. 



Like other fruits, grapes should be planted 

 on land higher than the surrounding country in 

 order to secure as great protection from frost 

 as possible. A hillside sloping to the south is 

 favored by many vineyardists as being the best 

 exposure for the grape. So planted, the vines 

 get the benefit of the full summer sun and it 

 is thought that the fruit is of better flavor and 

 quality than that grown on the more shaded 

 hillsides sloping to the north. 



The eastern commercial grape sections are 

 chiefly located in New York, northern Ohio, 

 Michigan and Missouri. In all of these states 

 grape-growing has become almost a fine art, 

 and the residents have acquired a skill in han- 

 dling the vines that is not possessed by the 

 average farmer or by the average general fruit- 

 grower. Even the transient labor in such sec- 

 tions is more or less skilled in vineyard opera- 

 tion so that the owner can more readily care for 

 his crop and for his vines. If one would start 



