AND WIl^E MAKIiq-G. 139 



according to taste and size of posts ; T/^ or 8 feet posts 

 are used, set "l^ / ^ feet in the ground. The oldest vine- 

 yards have mostly No. 9 wire, but latterly N"©. 11 is con- 

 sidered sufficient. Three wires, of the best annealed iron 

 wire only, are used, the lower wire is 2 or 2y, feet above 

 the ground, the other two equally divide the distance be- 

 tween the lowest wire and the top of the trellis. Good, 

 clean cultivation is required afterwards. I usually plow 

 two or three times, and take care to cultivate well 

 during the season. The first plowing is done in the 

 spring as early as the ground is fit, after trimming and 

 tying up the vines to the wires, with willow twigs, raised 

 for the purpose. They are then hoed with pronged.hoes, 

 and surface roots cut off to the depth of 4 to O inches 

 from the surface of the ground. 



The third year, or first bearing year, the vines are cut to 

 two branches and one spur of two buds, the bearing 

 branches have from six to nine buds each, according to 

 fancy and strength or size of cane. No summer-pruning 

 is allowed by any one now, I think, except to break off 

 any excess of suckers at the bottom, leaving one or two 

 only for next year's spur. Summer-pl'uning injures the 

 fruit both for wine and for the palate. 



There were raised here in 1879, between 1,350 and 

 1,400 tons, of which not more than 40 tons were shipped 

 for table use. The balance was made into wine; about 100 

 tons were sold or sent elsewhere for wine. The Kelley 

 Wine Company bought and made up about 9,000 tons ; 

 average price paid for : Catawbas, 3'/^ cents ; Concords, 

 2 cents ; Delaware and ISTortons, sy^ cents ; Oporto and 

 Clinton, 3 cents ; Ives, 2y^ cents ; Isabella, 1 cent. The 

 crop on the Bass Islands — South, Middle, and North 

 Bass, was as good as here. The acreage being more than 

 here, probably amounting to 800 or 900 acres, and some 

 larger, proportion shipped for table use. I have no sta- 

 tistics. 



