FRUITS. 153 



and transplanted, when one or two years old. If grown from 

 cuttings in the vineyard, the roots are never disturbed, and, in 

 dry soil, or stony hill-sides, they strike down deeper, and make 

 stronger plants. The earth should be mulched with cheap 

 litter of some kind, and the soil kept loose around the young 

 vines. Train them to a pole till they are strong enough to be 

 pruned according to a system. Layers can be obtained by 

 bending down shoots that grow near the ground, and covering 

 them with three or four inches of earth. Put them down in 

 July or August, and cut the cane half through near the parent 

 vine. By November, they will be well rooted, and can be 

 transplanted. The most rapid way of supplying the loss of an 

 old vine is to take a long and strong shoot from the nearest 

 vine, and layer il;, in the place of the old one. It will bear the 

 first year, and may be cut clear of its parent, in one or two 

 years, according to its strength. The vines that produce the 

 famous Burgundy wine of France, are renewed by layering 

 every ten years. There are other modes of propagation, more 

 expensive and difficult to manage. For those who desire to 

 learn them, and, also, the principles of grape culture, I would 

 recommend the " Grape Culturist," by Andrew S. Fuller, 

 Brooklyn, New York, 1864, and " Grape Culture and Wine 

 Making," by John Phin, New York, 1862. Either of these 

 books can be ordered of any bookseller, at a moderate price. 



Grafting. — Grafting is done in the fall, to the best advantage. 

 Cut off the old stock squarely, six inches under ground ; split 

 it, for an inch or two, with a sharp knife ; cut a scion long, 

 wedge-shaped, with two buds, and fit the inner bark of the scion 

 and stock together ; tie with bass and fill the earth up to the 

 level of the upper bud. Then invert a flower-pot over it, and 

 bank up the earth, on the outside, to the level of the bottom of 

 the pot ; then cover that with six inches of straw, and bank 

 earth over the whole. In this way the scion is protected from 

 frost, and can be uncovered in spring, without disturbing its 

 union with the stock. This is Fuller's method. The scion 

 starts early in spring and makes a strong growth ; frequently 

 setting some fruit the first year. Grafts set in the spring often 

 fail. 



Varieties. — While there are some twenty or thirty varieties 

 before the public, there are only three or four that have proved 

 20 



