Treatment of tJie American Grape -Vine. 261 



lean, poor soil is essential ; and that the use of fertilizers, except in extreme 

 cases, tends to increase the growth of wood and foliage, and to diminish 

 the production of fruit. While, under certain circumstances, there is a 

 phase of truth in this statement, yet facts which have transpired in Naples 

 Valley have shown, that, under other circumstances, a very rich soil may 

 be profitably used in vineyard-culture, if other prerequisites are at hand. 



Some years since, Hon. E. B. Pottle, President of the New- York State 

 Grape-Growers' Association, found an Isabella vine on his place from which 

 he had been unable to get any fruit. With nearly thirty acres of vines in 

 successful bearing elsewhere, he could only attribute his want of success 

 with this to the richness of the soil in which it grew. Though the vine had 

 a spread of twelve feet on a high trellis, the shoots made extravagant 

 growth. Thinking that this untoward tendency of the vine in not fruiting 

 might be owing to its being restricted in the space it required, he deter- 

 mined to try the experiment of giving it a spread of twenty-four feet on the 

 trellis. The result was like magic. The vine soon covered the space given 

 it ; it was no longer difficult to be kept under control ; and, the next season, 

 it produced a crop of nearly a hundred pounds of excellent grapes, and 

 has continued in well-doing ever since. 



To still further try the merits of the system, he this year took out alter- 

 nate vines from a certain spot in his Isabella vineyard where but little fruit 

 had been produced of late, leaving each vine twenty-four feet of trellis to 

 cover ; and in this instance the vines have become largely fruitful. In an- 

 other case, he allowed the vine to run twelve feet upon one side of the 

 stem, but on the other side kept it within a space of six feet on the trellis. 

 Where the additional space was given the vine, there will be a yield of 

 about forty pounds of grapes : on the other side, there will not be more 

 than ten. 



I was shown still another illustration of the working of this method of 

 wide planting and high training on a rich soil. As previously stated, the 

 McKay vineyard has lately borne but little fruit, by reason of the large 

 amount of fertilizing material put into the soil at the time of planting. At 

 the suggestion of Mr. Pottle, the present owner of the property last spring 

 removed alternate vines from certain rows, leaving the remaining vines 

 thirty-three feet apart in the rows. Here the result was the same. Though 



