44 Planting. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Trellis. 



variet}^ and the attempt to do so would only 

 be confusing. 



During the first shimmer little else can be 

 done than to keep the ground mellow, loose 

 al^out the plants and free from weeds ; stir- 

 ring the ground frequeutl}', especially in dry 

 weather, is the best stimulant, and a finely 

 tilled surface, even when reduced to a mere 

 layer or bed of dust, is the very best mulch 

 in a dry season. It is not necessary to tie 

 up the 3'oung vines during the first summer, 

 nor to pinch back the laterals. A stouter, 

 short-jointed cane will thus be produced. 

 Some grape-growers prefer, however, to al- 

 low but one shoot, the strongest, to grow, 

 and break the others off, then tie this one 

 shoot to a stake, and pinch back the laterals 

 to one or two leaves each. In the fall, after 

 the foliage is all off, cut back to tivo or three 

 buds. If any vacancies have occurred, fill 

 out, as soon as possible, with extra strong 

 vines of the same variet}'. 



During the following winter, the trellis 

 should be built. The plan adopted by most 

 of our experienced grape-growers, as pos- 

 sessing some advantages over other plans, 

 especially if grapes are grown in large quan- 



FiK- 64.— (Four wires, 15 inches apart.) 



inches from the ground. No. 12 wire is 

 strong enough. At the present prices of 

 wire the cost per acre will be from $15 to 

 $30, according to distance of rows and num- 

 ber of wires used. Manj'^ grape-growers 

 now place the lower wire about 30 inches 

 from the ground and use only two wires, or 

 if they use three, they cai-ry the trellis cor- 

 respondingly higher. This affords a better 

 circulation of air, besides greater conveni- 

 ence in hoeing and cultivating. 



Galvanized wire is the best and cheapest in 

 any case. 



Fig. 65. 



titles, is as follows: Posts of some durable 

 timber (red cedar is best) are split, 3 inches 

 thick and about 7 feet long, so as to be 5 feet 

 in height after l)eing set ; these posts are set 

 in holes 2 feet deep, 16 to 18 feet apart in 

 the rows (so that either two vines 8 feet 

 apart, or three vines 6 feet ai)art, are between 

 two stakes) : three wires are then stretched 

 horizontally along the posts, being fastened 

 to each post with a staple f|. The two end- 

 posts should be larger than the others and 

 braced (Fig. 64) so that the contraction of 

 the wire (in cold weather) will not loosen 

 them. Instead of the brace a short wire may 

 be fastened to the top of the end-post and 

 anchored to a rock sunk in the ground, or to 

 a short stake about 3 or 4 feet beyond the 

 end of the trellis, ])ut in line with the same. 

 The first wire is placed about 1 8 inches from 

 the ground and the others ] 8 inches apart ; 

 this brings the upper wire about 4 feet 6 



In place of the wire, slats or laths maj' 

 serve the same purpose (as seen in Fig. 65), 

 but they are not durable, and the posts must 

 then be put in much closer. Another mode 

 of making wire trellis (the Fuller plan) is 

 with horizontal bai's and perpendicular wires, 

 as shown in Fig. Q6. Posts of good, hard. 



