The Knox Fruit-Farm. 25 



eight feet. Between these, in the wider space, two rows of strawberry-vines 

 are planted, at about every twelve inches in the rows, which are two feet 

 apart. All are cultivated together, chiefly by hand-labor, with the hoe, for 

 the first summer. The vines are allowed to grow at random, and the straw- 

 berries are kept free from runners : sometimes the latter are mulched with old 

 rotten manure that has been used in hot-beds. At the setting-in of winter, 

 these are covered with clean straw to protect them from the effects of 

 freezing and thawing. 



The second season, the grapes are cut to two eyes, and the shoots are 

 trained to stakes \ the strawberries yield their fruit ; the whole surface is 

 kept clean with the hoe ; and the third season, the trellis, made with vertical 

 strips, is set up, and the two canes grown the previous year are laid in 

 horizontally after having been pruned to about three feet. They are then 

 allowed to bear a moderate crop ; and in future years the alternate spur 

 and cane system is pursued, leading the shoots up the vertical strips, which 

 are nine inches apart, and six feet high. Sometimes, instead of a new cane, 

 an old stem with spurs is retained for fruiting. 



The first thing that strikes the visitor is the extreme vigor and healthful- 

 ness of the vines : this is no doubt owing in great part to the extensive planta- 

 tions of the "noble Concord," which is here spoken of as the grape. Some 

 other varieties, however, rival this in their healthy and vigorous appearance : 

 among these, the Ives, Hartford, Norton, Herbemont, Lenoir, Alvey, Tay- 

 lor, Rentz, and the new seedlings of the Concord, Black Hawk, and 

 Martha, may all be considered rivals, on account of their beauty and vigor 

 as noble plants. 



The Concord may well be the pet and favorite upon these grounds, as it 

 continues to grow and to bear most abundant crops of berries that make 

 the trellises look black with fruit, and this, year after year, without any 

 failure. One plat, that furnished a very abundant first crop in 1865, was 

 so laden, that practical vine-dressers prophesied it must fail the next year; 

 but, to their astonishment, the vintage of 1866 was still more heavy. And now 

 the same vines are indeed a spectacle. Viewing the rows from the end, the 

 trellis resembles a solid column of rich clusters. Well may the proprietor 

 feel satisfied with the result of his planting of this variety. Whatever the 

 opinion of m..Mi of " refined and educated tastes," this vine has here proved 



VOL. III. 4 



