MY VINEYARD. 63 



might still be tried. Hence no uneasiness was felt about 

 disposing of my grapes at remunerative prices. 



Some difficulty was encountered in getting the grapes 

 to market, for want of suitable boxes in which to ship 

 them. The ordinary grape boxes, now so common, could 

 not then be procured in my locality. This trouble was 

 overcome by making crates out of lath and boards. Two 

 boards, twelve by eight inches, were taken for the ends ; 

 lath were nailed on, one half inch apart, to make the bot- 

 tom, top, and sides. The crates were two feet long, and 

 were lined with stout brown paper. In them the grapes 

 reached the market, about twenty-five miles by rail, in 

 good condition. As I have stated, only one bunch of 

 grapes was allowed on each cane. Probably double this 

 amount might have been grown without any injury; but 

 being desirous of obtaining strong vines, I determined 

 not to defeat the object by over-cropping. In November 

 the canes were all cut down to two buds each. 



MAKING PROGRESS. 



The second year of my vineyard had now drawn to a 

 close. The labor of tending had been much less than J 

 had anticipated. My wife frequently went out of her own 

 choice and assisted at the pruning, but I was glad to see 

 that her flowers were by no means neglected. The 

 brown-haired boy was also on hand, freely offering his as- 



