GRAPE 



669 



and tliej- are 



each has merit. It is probable that the upright system 

 is better for the slender or shorter varieties, as Dela- 

 ware, and also for those whose shoots stand erect, as 

 Catawba. The Kniffin has distinct merit for strong-grow- 

 ing varieties, as Concord; it is also cheaper, since it 

 requires no summer tying. Grape-training is a very 

 special subject; it is discussed at length, with many 

 illustrations, in "The Pruning-Book." 



One- or 2-year-old vines are planted either in the fall 

 or early spring. At planting, the vine is cut back to 3 or 

 4 buds and the roots are well shortened. If all the buds 

 start, the strongest one or two may be allowed to grow. 

 The canes arising from this bud should be staked and 

 allowed to grow through the season: or in lartre planta- 

 tions the flrst-year canes may be allowed to lie on the 

 ground. The second year this cane should be cut back 

 to the same number of eyes as the first year. After 

 growth begins in the second spring, one of the strongest 

 shoots should be allowed to remain. This cane may be 

 grown to a single stake through the second summer. At 

 the end of the second year the cane may be cut back to 

 the bottom wire of the trellis, if upright training is to 

 be employed. The cane may be strong enough at this 

 time to be made the permanent trunk of the Kniflin 

 training, but in most cases the trunk is not carried to 

 the top wire until the third year. 



The main pruning is performed when the vine is dor- 

 mant. The ideal time is January and February in the 

 North, although the work is often begun in November 

 if the area is large. Pruning in spring causes the vine 

 to bleed, but bleeding is not injurious. But late pruning 

 interferes with tilLige, and the buds are likely to be in- 

 jured after they are swollen. .Summer pruning is now 

 practiced only to the extent of pulling out suckers and 

 weak shoots, and even this is not always done. Head- 

 ing-in the vine in summer is likely to start side growths, 

 which are useless and troublesome. 



Propagation. — The Grape grows readily from seeds- 



957. Moore Early. 



958. Massasoit. 



be greater. Seeds produce new ^ 

 used only in an experimental way 



The commercial propagation of Grapes is done by 

 means of hardwood cuttings. These cuttings are taken 

 in the winter from the trimmings of vineyards. In all 

 ordinary cases they are made of two or three buds' 

 length, preferably three (Fig. 963). They are cut as 

 soon as the canes are trimmed, tied in small bundles, 

 and these bundles are then buried half their depth in 

 damp sand in a cool cellar. By spring the cuttings will 

 be more or less callused. The cuttings are planted in 

 the open on the approach of warm weather. A loose, 

 loamy soil is selected, and it is well and deeply pre- 

 pared. The cuttings are inserted until only the upper 

 bud stands at the surface of the ground. These cut- 

 tings are placed 6 to 8 inches apart in rows, and the 

 rows are far enough apart to allow of horse cultivation. 

 These cuttings may give plants large enough for sale 

 the following fall; but it is usu.nlly pnf. n-i-.l to l.t the 

 plants grow two years before tin y nrr jiiit ii]ii.n tin- 

 market. In such cases it is cn-toiiKir\ . in ihkhn .-f tin- 

 best nurseries, to transplant nt tli, , ii,i ,if tl.i lirst m m- 



nearly always start. .1 

 greenhouse bench. It i 

 will be large enough t.-i 

 seed-bed very early in tl 

 are sometimes used in 1 

 rare varieties, but they 

 California, rooted vines 

 in soil in which cuttin; 

 planted directly 



the 



gs are 

 n the 



.-I-,,, .in a well-prepared 



^i.iin_-. I ai-cu ivuod cuttings 



summer time with new and 

 e not in general favor. In 

 one year are preferred ; and 

 root readily, they are some- 

 eyard'. 



which may be kept over winter and germinated in the 

 house early in the spring. They may be even planted 

 in beds in the open, but the proportion of failures will 



The Grape is easily grafted. Because of the flexible 

 nature of the vine, however, it is customary to make the 

 graft below the surface of the ground. An ordinary 

 cleft-graft is the one which is umkiIIv . ,n|,Iny,-d. The 

 whole vine is cut off 4 or .' inrh,^ 1,, l,\v the sur- 

 face, and the graft is inserte.l in tin <ani.- ta^lnnu as in 

 apple or pear trees. The surfacn may iln-ti l^- waxed or 

 covered with clnv or other mat.rial. tn k> .-(i tin- water 

 out of the cleft, altlnmsli if tin- i-arth is tiriuly jiacked 

 around the graft ami im wat.r >tainls. the union may be 

 perfectly sati<fai-t(.ry witlnmr any cnvt-r (Figs. ',ti'.4-5). 

 Vines of any age may be grafted. It is important that 



