672 



GRAPE 



development of the Chautauqua Grape zone is that some 

 of the so-called poor land has given vineyards as pro- 

 ductive as any, — land that previously had been given 

 over to sheep pasture, briers and mulleins. This land 

 was poor in nitrogen, but no doubt had a fair supply 

 of available potash and phosphoric acid, which Grapes 

 most require. 



In preparing land for vineyard planting, it is necessary 



to lay great stress on the importance of first removing 



all trees, stumps and large rocks, for when the trellis is 



put up all tillage of the soil will be in a straight line and 



way. A favorite way of disposing of boulders is to 



in the 1 

 to the 

 plants : 



pleted by the last of Mav. 

 during the last half of Juiie 

 production, but it was due 

 weather and soil. Fif *ir.7 i-c 

 vme. The fewn.oi- i I 



thpmainl)0dvof tl 

 Thepruning'faiilii 



.ii.s clc-i.. ih,. .1. a. 1 furrow will have about 

 'Irpth I'l.r plain ill-. If tlie ground is stubble, 

 '!'■ liilci. aial the II layout rows by striking 

 ""• Mialii in -li-iiM be exercised to have 

 !■ I VI ,. plant the vines Straight 



ii i ' I ii ; ii^r, besides appealing 



I '! : ■ ' I -ihmI farmers. If the 



I -iiaijiii "I III, i.iw. the posts cannot be 



au.l 11 Ih.- piiMs art- not straight the wires 

 be trellis will bind on the posts which are 



and they cannot be easily tightened in 



No. 1 vines, of one season's growth from cuttings, 

 are much to be preferred to Xo. 2 vines of the same 

 period of growth. A young plant, stunted in growth 

 either by constitutional reasons or accident, has a 

 handicap that usually follows it all through life. For 

 the same reason, avoid planting 2-year-old plants, as 

 often they are the second season's growth of what was 

 a cull the year before. Cull plants and cull men are sel- 

 dom worth the cost of reformation. Spring planting is 

 universally followed in the North. It should be 



Some vineyards planted 

 have developed into good 

 to the grace of favorable 



Th( 



of the vine can be c-ut liark to two or t 

 nwn by a b. Six quarts of well pulverized fertile soil, 

 11 packed about the roots, will hold the plant in place 

 a keep it moist until the furiow can la- filb-d b\ iilow- 

 ;, if on stubl.b. . I I rn„i. I, I ', ,1 111^ I I iilti- 



Wli. Ibtr some 



tlif 1 



bury them about twenty inches deeper than one thinks 

 necessary, for they have a vexatious way of overcoming 

 the power of gravitation and creeping out of their 

 graves. The real reason for this apparent freak is the 

 compacting of the soil in later years. If any open ditches 

 should cross the line of the Grape rows, they should be 

 supplied with tile and the ditch filled so as to make long 

 "bouts" possible. Short rows and frequent turning 

 should be avoided as much as possible. Turning at the 

 end of a row is lost labor, and the time it occupies 

 would enable a team to cultivate over a hundred feet 

 straight ahead. 



The rows in nearly all the commercial vineyards are 

 9 feet apart, and the vines are planted 8 feet apart in 

 the row. This makes 605 plants per acre. If the land 

 is sod, plow into narrow lands, so that the center of the 

 dead-furrows are 9 feet apart, and plant in the bottom 



IS a question of pn.lit for ea.'li Mn.-Miialist to decide. It 

 .1.1. Is s.,nictliing to the expense of cultivation. It is gen- 

 I 1 ill\ no detriment to the growth of the Grapevines. 

 Mill fli. first season, the ground should not be planted 



to otl|. 1 ITops. 



Till' L.-1'neral appearance of an infant \nit-\aid at or 

 about the middle of the first season - _i ili h.mn 



in Fig. 968. Lay great stress upon ti it a 



vigorous and even growth during tin i i i ml 



years. If such is not attained, inn n^ - nl lie 



required for the vines to recover, an.l soiuttiiius they 

 reach the standard of a good vineyard. Even vines 

 planted after the second year to fill vacancies require 

 constant coddling to bring them up to the average. In 

 the spring of the second year the shoots or canes of the 

 previous season's growth should be cut back to three or 

 four buds, and the canes should be thinned out accord- 

 ing to the vigor of the vine— one cane for a feeble 

 growth, and three or four for a decidedly vigorous 

 growth. In all other respects, the second year's man- 

 agement should be a repetition of the first. 



In the spring beginning the third year will come the 

 most considerable expense of the undertaking— that 

 of putting up the trellis. There are many forms of 

 training Grapes, and some of them so peculiar that 

 special trellises must be constructed. There are three 

 popular styles of Grape training in the commercial Grape 

 fields of the North: KnifUn system, as practiced in the 

 Hudson river valley) the High Renewal system, as 

 practiced along Lakes Keuka, Canandaigua and Seneca; 

 and the Chautauqua system, as practiced along the Lake 

 Erie valley. It is impossible to say which of the three 

 is preferable. A man's preference usually depends on 

 how he was brought up— like his politics and religion. 

 In horticultural meetings, advocates of the various sys- 

 tems argue the merits with much partisan fervor. It is 

 clear to me that the essential point to be attained in any 

 system is to hang up the vines so that fruit and foliage 

 can obtain the greatest amount of air and sunshine, all 

 of which can be secured by several methods. The 

 form of trellis may be illustrated by a high 



