56 THE GRAPE CULTUEIST. 



form of the mallet cutting. Where the one-year canes 

 have been allowed to produce side, or lateral shoots, 

 during the summer, these may be used to make mallet 

 cuttings, the head of the mallet, or butt of the cutting, 

 being composed of wood of the same age as that of the 

 handle, or stem. The advantage derived from the pres- 

 ence of the piece of old wood is not, as is sometimes 

 stated, because roots are more readily produced from 

 it, but because there are several latent buds at the point 

 of junction of the old and young wood ; consequently, a 

 larger deposit of cambium than where there is but a sin- 

 gle bud. The piece of old, or large wood, assists in pro- 

 tecting these buds until roots are produced. 



The number of cuttings that can be obtained from 

 a vine is* necessarily but few, as only one is made from 

 each cane unless laterals are used and it will depend 

 very much upon the mode of training, whether it will do 

 to cut away the old wood for this purpose. The cut- 

 tings should not be made more than ten or twelve inches 

 long ; they are sometimes made much longer, but it is 

 unnecessary, as too much wood will often prove injurious. 



There are some varieties of grapes, for instance, the 

 Delaware and Norton's Virginia, that grow much more 

 readily from mallet cuttings than from the ordinary two 

 or three-bud cuttings. If the laterals have been allowed 

 to grow unchecked, and have produced canes of consid- 

 erable size, they may be used, leaving a piece of the 

 main cane attached to form the mallet. 



The mallet cutting is, perhaps, the most ancient 

 form of cutting. The Romans made their cuttings in 

 this manner, and they were called malleolus, from the 

 Latin malleus; hence our word mallet. The French 

 vineyardists, in some instances, still adhere to this form 

 of cutting, and with them they are called crosetts. 



There are some vineyardists in this country who, to 

 extend their vineyards, depend almost entirely upon the 



