Al^B WINE MAKIJS^G. 189 



first shortened for the uppermost knot, and winding 

 around it, all along the graft-cut, a suitable twine. 

 I have not used any wax, which, perhaps, might do 

 well as a coating. For the manner of grafting, every 

 one may choose the cut he likes best, and thinks suited 

 to answer the purpose. Good care should be taken to 

 prevent the cuttings from getting dry, by keeping them 

 covered with moist soil ; sand would be preferable. In 

 this wise one can finish about 175 grafts in a day, sit- 

 ting snugly at home ; some years later, grafting on the 

 stem may cost three times as much work. 1 leave it 

 to the judgment of my fellow vine-growers, whether 

 they would not rather plant the Missouri vines first in 

 the nursery, there to take root, and graft afterward, 

 before transferring to the vineyard. If orders are given 

 during October, the vines will probably be sent in 

 January, and the planting should be done in March at 

 the latest. Do not expect to get as vigorous and 

 many-eyed cuttings as we are wont to get here ; most 

 of the slips are thin and long-linked, but they grow all 

 the same. About the stems which these Missouri vines 

 Avill make, I cannot speak from experience, but I have 

 not heard any complaints from France ; besides, I am 

 inclined to assume that our genial climate will improve 

 their strength, as it did for the Gutedel, and others. 



