WALLS AND TRELLISES. 173 



lis and lay down trellis and all. But this would be 

 very ijijudicious. 



Stakes are frequently used in vineyards, and also 

 in gardens, but do not present any feature which is 

 not more immediately connected with the subject of 

 training, than with that of the j^resent chapter. 



The materials of which trellises, etc., should be 

 made, will as often be governed by local circum- 

 stances as by any other consideration. As before stated, 

 cedar, chestnut, locust and oak, are to be preferred 

 for posts, and any tough, light and straight-grained 

 wood for slats. The posts may be charred, where 

 they enter the earth, though we should prefer to soak 

 them for an hour or so in boiling coal tar. This may 

 be readily done in a large pot, or caldron, set np in 

 the field over a temporary furnace. It will of course 

 be wise to give the whole structure a couple of good 

 coats of paint, especially the wire. 



The height to which trellises may be carried, 

 depends upon two circumstances — the extent of their 

 shadow and the influence of high training upon tlie 

 vines. The latter point has been sufficiently dis- 

 cussed, under the head of pruning and training, and 

 we find that at a distance of six feet no ordinary trellis 

 will, in latitudes suited to the culture of the grape, 

 shade its neighbor during the growing season. At 

 other times, shade is not at all injurious. We had 



