CHAPTER XXIX. 



THE GRAPE. 



From the earliest period the grape has been cultivated' 

 and esteemed. It is now one of the most popular and 

 profitable of American fruits, and ranks in importance 

 with the apple, the peach and the pear. The foreign grape 

 is unsuited to our climate, but from our native species 

 have sprung a large number of varieties that rival even 

 the finest grapes of Europe. It has been said by a wri- 

 ter on horticulture that raising grapes is as easy as 

 sliding down hill. This statement is about correct, 

 the long, intricate and useless instructions of amateurs 

 to the contrary notwithstanding. It is so easy to have 

 an abundant supply of delicious grapes annually that it 

 seems almost criminal for any family to be without 

 them. Even the person on the crowded city lot, with 

 only a few rods of spare ground, need not despair ; he, 

 too, has room for grapes.. Where space is limited, they 

 can be trained on fences, buildings, and in many places 

 where they will not be in the way of anything else. 

 The grape is propagated by grafting, and from seeds, 

 layers or cuttings. In this country grafting is not prac- 

 ticed to a great extent, and seeds are planted only to ob- 

 tain new varieties. See chapters on layers and cuttings,„ 

 the principal means of propagating the grape, in an- 

 other part of this work. 



Grapes will thrive in this country on almost any kind 



