GROWING FROM SEED. 1? 



of water, stir it well, let it settle, and then draw off the 

 water and apply it to the plants ; or, instead, a solution 

 of two pounds of guano to a barrel of water may be used 

 with good effect. If there should be signs of mildew on 

 the plants, a few handfuls of sulphur, scattered over the 

 plants and bed, will usually prevent its further progress ; 

 or spraying with some of the fungicides recommended 

 under "fungous diseases" will answer equally as well, 

 or, perhaps, better. Grape seedlings, when well started, 

 usually grow quite rapidly, often making two to four 

 feet of wood the first season. 



Those who have greenhouses or hotbeds may sow 

 the seeds in boxes or seed-pans, and place them in these 

 structures, so that they may receive artificial heat ; but 

 for growing hardy varieties the open ground is prefer- 

 able, as it is more natural ; and the sickly seedlings, of 

 which there are always more or less, will be more likely 

 to show their feebleness in the open ground, and can be 

 selected from the vigorous and thrown away, avoiding 

 further trouble. When the plants have made one sea- 

 son's growth, and the frost has killed their leaves, they 

 should be taken up, a portion of the stem cut off, and 

 the long perpendicular root shortened at least one-half 

 its length ; then heel them in in some dry, warm place 

 in the open ground. All small, sickly looking plants 

 should be thrown away, for they will seldom make good 

 vines if they fail to make a good growth the first season. 

 At the approach of very cold weather cover the entire 

 tops with soil or coarse litter, deep enough to insure 

 them against being severely frozen; not that freezing 

 would be sure to kill them, but it would tend to impair 

 their vitality. In the spring take out the plants and 

 cut the stems off to within four inches of their roots, 

 then plant them out in rows four feet apart, and three 

 or four feet apart in the rows. The ground for their 

 reception should be made rich and deep, using any old, 



