32 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



the Delaware, and other light grapes may 

 have sufficient room when planted 6 feet 

 apart. The dwarfing treatment practiced 

 with European varieties, especially by Ger- 

 man vintners, will not do for American vines, 

 which must have ample room to spread and a 

 free circulation of air. The number of vines 

 required to set an acre (containing 43,560 

 -square feet) will be — . 



Distance, feet. Metres. Number. 



C ft. by 6 ft 1 "^ 85 by 1 '" 85 1,210 



€ ft. by 7 ft I " 85 by 2 "> 15 1 ,037 



6 ft. by 8 ft. I ™ 85 by 2 "' 46 907 



6 ft. l)y 9 ft 1 ■" 85 by 2 "' 75 807 



6 ft. by 10 ft I '" 85 by 3 " 725 



7 ft. by 7 ft 2 '" 18 by 2 °^ 15 889 



7 ft. by 8 ft 2 •" 15 by 2 "> 46 777 



7 ft. by 9 ft 2 "' 15 by 2 " 75 690 



7 ft. by 10 ft 2 '" 15 by 3 ™ ... 622 



S ft. by 8 ft 2 '" 46 by 2 " 46 680 



S ft. by 9 ft 2 '" 46 by 2 '" 75 605 



8 ft. by 10 ft 2 •" 46 by 3 •" 545 



9 ft. by 9 ft 2 ■" 75 by 2 ■" 75 537 



9 ft. by 10 ft 2 ■" 75 by 3 •" 484 



10 ft. by 10 ft 3 "' by 3 "^ 435 



One acre = 41 ares French measure, or one hectare 

 jiearly equal to two and a half acres. 



Having determined the distance at which 

 you desire to plant the vines, mark off the 

 rows, running them parallel, and with the 

 most level lines of your slope or hillside, so 

 tliat 3'ou may easily plow between the rows 

 and that the ground may not wash. (On an 

 eastern slope the rows will therefore run in a 

 'direction from north to south, which most 

 vine-dressers prefer.) Be careful, on sloping 

 ground, to leave spaces for surface drains ; 

 the steeper the hillsides the more frequent 

 must these surface drains be. Then divide 

 the rows into the desired distances by the 

 aid of a stretched line, and put small stakes 

 where each plant is to stand. Now, if the 

 ground is sufficiently dry so as to pulverize 

 easily, make the holes to receive the vines. 

 The depth of these holes must necessarily 

 vary somewhat with tiie nature of the soil. 

 On very steep hillsides, and especially on 

 southern slopes, with naturally warm, dry 

 soil, you must plant deeper than on gentle 

 slopes with deep, rich soil, or on bottom land 

 and rich prairies. Eight inches will be deep 

 enough on the latter ; on the former we should 

 plant from twelve to fourteen inches deep. 



Having made the holes — and it is best not 

 to make too many at a time, as the ground 

 will dry out too quickly — you can go to 

 planting. In planting it is important to 

 spread the roots carefully, and to have them 

 each and all firmly surrounded with good fine 



soil, pressing it down with the hands or foot; 

 then fill up the hole with earth, forming a very _ 

 small mound, leaving one or two eyes exposed. 



Every beginner in Grape culture knows 

 that young rooted vines are used for i)lant- 

 ing, whether it be for whole vinevards or 

 merely for tlie garden or arbor, and that 

 such young vines are usually raised in the 

 nursery' from cuttings or laj^ers. But the 

 reason why they are not grown from seeds is 

 not generally so well known, and even among 

 old experienced grape-growers some errone- 

 ous ideas prevail with regard to seed culture 

 and questions connected with this, now more 

 than ever important and interesting subject. 

 It is scarcely necessaiy to mention that the 

 wild grape grows and propagates itself from 

 seed only. This wild grape generally re- 

 produces itself; i. e., its seedlings do not 

 materially differ from their parent vines. 

 Transplanted into richer soil, and receiving 

 care and cultivation, its berries ma}^ increase 

 in size, and in the course of years may some- 

 what improve and change its character ; if, 

 then, we take the seed of this cultivated vine, 

 especially if it was grown in proximity to 

 other different grapes, the seedlings of these 

 will more materially differ. So great is this 

 tendency to variation, that of a hundred 

 seedlings of one cultivated vine scarcely two 

 will be found exactly alike ; some will differ 

 widely ; nearly one-half will be male plants 

 and will not produce any fruit at all, while 

 most of the others will retrograde to their 

 wild origin, and scarcely one, perhaps, be an 

 improvement on the cultivated i)arent. 



The layer or the cutting of a grape-vine 

 will, on the contrary, exactly reproduce the 

 parent vine from which it was taken, and 

 even any transplanting of the same, into a 

 widely different locality, cannot change it. 

 The differences in soil and climate may im- 

 prove or impjair the vigor of the vine and its 

 foliage, the size and quality of its fruit ; in 

 other words, they maj' be more or less favor- 

 able to the development of its inherent 

 qualities, to the good or ill success of the 

 variety ; but they will never materially change 

 it in appearance, form, taste, color — much 

 less in its botanical characteristics.* The 



* Tlie erroneous opinion that a grape transplanted 

 to other countries may become entirely changed by 

 influences of climate and soil was often supported by 

 errors or deceptions in transplanting a vine or cut- 

 ting, not true to name. Thus the famous Tokay grape 

 was suppo.sed to liave been transplanted to the Rhine 

 150 years ago, and, as it was there found to be a miser- 

 able grape, uuite different from the noble Tokay, this 

 was ascribed to the influence of the different soil. But 

 lately it has been di-scovered that tlie grape trans- 

 l)lanted from Tokay (in Hungary), and known in 

 (jreruiany under the nickname " Putsschcre" (Snuffers), 

 is the same grape which also grows at Tokay and is 

 known there under the name " Gyonyssdlo" (white 

 pearl), and that it is there also of poor quality, and 

 is not the e.\cellent variety " Frumint" of which the 

 celebrated Tokay wine is made. 



