lona and Delaware. 341 



It is true that many young vines were lost in the winter of 1865 !^"d ^td; 

 but in equal proportion were small vines of all other varieties lost : even 

 apple, pear, and cherry trees, that had come safely through the extreme 

 cold of the winter of 1863 and '64, were killed. Is it, under such circum- 

 stances, just or reasonable to say, that, because vines of lona and Delaware 

 were killed this winter, they are not hardy ; that they have not proved 

 a success in Illinois, or in the West generally? There is yet another thing 

 which has done much to bring about this belief that the lona and Delaware 

 are not hardy in the West. This is the extremely poor plants that have, 

 in too many instances, been bought and planted. Thousands upon thou- 

 sands of the most worthless plants have been and will continue to be sent 

 out until people learn that extreme cheapness of vines for a vineyard is, 

 like buying many other things because they are cheap, very bad economy 

 in the end. This has done more than any other one thing to injure the 

 reputation of these varieties ; and it will continue until planters learn that 

 ten good vines are better, and will bring in more money, than one hundred 

 poor ones. Undoubtedly, in particular locations and situations, they will 

 require peculiar treatment : for instance, a man planting a vineyard in the 

 rich soil of the West would make a great mistake should he manure his 

 ground as highly as is required in some parts of the Eastern States. In 

 the West, all vines grow too rapidly : they do not make as solid wood, 

 neither is it as perfectly ripened, as in localities where the growth is slow ; 

 and, of course, cannot withstand the same degree of cold. Knowing this, 

 as all Western vine-growers do, it becomes necessary to prevent this rapid 

 growth as much as possible by choosing ground for the vineyard not so 

 rich as is the greater part of our land ; and, to cause the canes to ripen, 

 their ends are pinched off in August. This exceedingly rapid growth of 

 the lona and Delaware vines is confined to the first two or three years 

 after planting. 



A situation for a vineyard should be chosen where the vines will not be 

 too much exposed to high winds, yet where there will be a free circulation 

 of air through them. The surface of the ground should incline, so as to 

 quickly run off all surface-water ; for, when this water is retained, then the 

 roots will surely freeze out in winter, even though they be of Concord or 

 Clinton. The ground should be thoroughly underdrained ; the soil 



