GRAIN CROPS. 87 



same vineyard, except that about one-half of them are one year 

 be^iind in the time of planting the vines. A portion of it was 

 originally planted for other and different modes of training, all 

 of which I became convinced must fail in the end. I therefore 

 replanted with young vines, rather than attempt to retain the 

 old ones, and removed the latter last autumn to give way to the 

 former. In so doing, I sacrificed the prospect of a crop of some 

 tons of grapes this year, feeling that the end justified the 

 means, and that the longer I put off the sacrifice, the greater it 

 would be. 



I think it. is an erroneous idea that a grape-vine necessarily 

 requires a very rich soil for its successful culture. My vineyard 

 has had no manure other than the bones before mentioned, for 

 four or five years, and is now too rich for the Concord, which 

 comprises ninety-five per cent, of my vines. Some of the 

 slower-growing varieties require a considerably better soil. A 

 soil too rich in fertility forces an enormous growth of wood, 

 every shoot of which must be pinched back, thus vastly increas- 

 ing the labor without any compensating result. If this pinching 

 is neglected the succeeding crop will be more or less a failure. 

 A rather poor soil is preferable for this reason, and if too much 

 so to produce satisfactory growth, a top-dressing will be a 

 sufficient means of obviating that difficulty. In view of these 

 considerations, I would not trench or plough the land for a 

 vineyard of Concord grapes more than twelve inches deep. I 

 prefer that in this latitude, where the heat of the five growing 

 months, from May 1st, to September 30th, averages only 64.11 

 degrees, that the great majority of the roots should lie near the 

 surface. A dry bottom, however, either through natural or 

 artificial drainage, is essential to tlie seasonable maturity of 

 both wood and fruit. 



It may be proper to state that although the vineyard is now 

 of four summers' growth, yet it was planted with vines one year 

 younger than are ever purchased for that purpose. 



