202 FRUIT-GROWING 



shoots which spring from canes of last year's 

 growth. If yon remember that one fact you 

 are not likely to go very far wrong in any man's 

 vineyard. 



Intensive cultivation of orchards is a com- 

 paratively new thing, but we have ample evi- 

 dence in the Bible that vineyards were culti- 

 vated in those days. Several references are 

 made to "digging" the vineyards which show 

 that even then the value of stirring the soil 

 about the roots of the vines was recognized as 

 a beneficial practice. It is valuable to-day no 

 less than it was two or three thousand years 

 ago and the modern viticulturist recognizes the 

 fact. 



There are a number of insects which at- 

 tack grapes, and in some sections and some 

 seasons they are very injurious. The first to 

 make its appearance is the grape-vine flea 

 beetle, a steely blue insect about a quarter of an 

 inch in length, which feeds on the opening buds 

 of the vine. I have seen them so numerous and 

 so vigorous in their attack that the vines ap- 

 peared to have been killed. Later, other buds, 

 weaker ones of course, were put forth and the 

 life of the vine was continued. The injury can 

 be prevented by spraying with arsenate of lead 

 at the rate of two pounds to fifty gallons of 

 water. The larval form of the beetle feeds on 

 the leaves. It is automatically poisoned in 



