170 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



end of November would be better, because the wood and the 

 buds would then be stronger. You may prune, however, all 

 winter, and at any time before the first of March, from hardy 

 vines. If you are going to cover the vines, you must prune 

 early, so as to let the vine heal up the wound before it is covered. 

 Vines that are to be covered should be pruned in October, as 

 soon as the leaf falls. 



In a single row, with abundance of space on each side, the 

 vines might be placed nearer than I have indicated. I think 

 they should not- be nearer than four feet. I planted grapes four 

 feet apart each way eleven years ago, and I have got to dig out 

 every other one of these each way to make room for them. 

 They are a perfect swamp, notwithstanding the nature of the 

 soil. But there, on that gravelly and heated soil, I get the best 

 quality of grapes I have grown. 



Mr. Stedman. — What shall be done if a vine has been 

 neglected till it has become a perfect mat ; which bears fruit 

 every year, but the fruit is shrivelled ? 



Mr. Bull. — The shortest way out of that difficulty would be 

 to remove it altogether and begin anew. If you want to save 

 that vine, begin and remove a little of the wood at a time, until 

 you restore it to shape. 



Mr. Smith, of Sunderland. — Is it any benefit to the Concord 

 vine to be covered in winter ? 



Mr. Bull. — Not the least. I have twenty thousand Concord 

 vines, and if anybody would cover them without charge, I 

 would not have it done. I used to entertain a different opinion ; 

 but from experiments that I have made I am satisfied it is better 

 not to be covered. But there is no alternative with the tender 

 kinds of grapes. You must cover them. And if you grow a 

 few of these excellent grapes, the best way to protect them is to 

 lay them on the ground and cover with one or two inches of 

 earth. Earth is the very best covering you can have. 



Mr. Flint. — It is well known that some grapes have had a 

 disease the last season, in some instances rotting the whole 

 berry. That is the case with the Isabella, I have noticed, in 

 Grafton and other towns. I would like to ask for the remedy. 



Mr. Bull. — The Isabella rarely rots. There is a " rust " 

 which sometimes touches grapes, and that goes from that 

 diseased basis down into the berry. I saw some grapes this 



