20 CULTURE OF THE GRArE. 



the surface smooth, that the water may not sink, but pass off 

 rapidly, has also been spoken of as a probable remedy 

 against rot. 



Some persons even recommend letting the weeds grow : to 

 say the least of it, this would be slovenly culture. 



With a view to test the advantages of wide planting, and 

 high training, in preventing the rot, Mr. Were has planted 

 on his farm, near Cheviot, eleven acres in the Catawba grape, 

 twenty feet apart in the rows each way, and the vines are 

 trained to locust stakes twelve feet high. Last year they 

 produced fruit for the first time, and were entirely free from 

 rot. But here it must be remarked, that the first crop, from 

 young vines, is generally but little affected by that disease. 

 Mr. Were also cultivated the ground between the rows, for 

 other purposes. 



In 1860 there was scarcely any rot, and crops averaged about 

 four hundred gallons to the acre. In 1851 the frost on the 

 second of May destroyed two-thirds of the grape-buds, and 

 the crop of grapes, a very small one, was almost entirely 

 clear of rot. The past two seasons were drier than the four 

 or five preceding them. 



That the rot, or a similar disease of the grape, existed in 

 the earlier ages, may be inferred from the following passage 

 in Malachi, c. iii, v. 11 — ** Neither shall the vine cast her 

 fruit, before the time, in the field." 



The reader is referred to two articles from the pen of Mr. 

 LoNGwoRTH, in the Appendix, for his views on this subject. 

 Oct. 21, 1848, and Feb. 18th, 1850. 



The "mildew" comes earlier in the season, when the 

 grapes are about one-fourth grown, blighting occasionally a 

 few bunches, and sometimes only the lower end. It is 

 neither common nor destructive. The Isabella is much more 

 subject to mildew than the Catawba, and the Cape is seldom 

 affected by this disease. 



The *' speck," by some persons mistaken for the rot, and 



