38 MANUAL OF AMERICAN GRAPE-GROWING 



DORMANT CUTTINGS 



Vines for vineyards, with the exception of varieties of Rotun- 

 difolia, are propagated from cuttings of hard wood taken from 

 the season's canes when the vines are pruned. The inactive 

 buds in these cuttings may be brought into active growth, 

 and roots induced to grow from the cut surfaces by various 

 means. By this miracle of Nature, an infinite number of 

 plants, in an endless procession, may be propagated from the 

 product of a single seed, each plant complete in its heredity and 

 differing from its fellows only in accordance with environment. 



Time to make cuttings. 



A good cutting should have a protective callus over the cut 

 and this requires time, so that the sooner cuttings are made 

 after the wood becomes thoroughly dormant the better. Be- 

 sides, the cutting should use its stored food material for the 

 formation of adventitious roots rather than have it pass into 

 buds, as it quickly does late in the dormant season when buds 

 are about to open. If cuttings must be made late in the season, 

 transplanting must be delayed as long as possible, and the 

 cuttings be set in a northerly aspect to prevent the premature 

 development of the buds. However, the grape responds sur- 

 prisingly well to the call of Nature in forming roots, and great 

 importance need not be attached to the time at which the cut- 

 tings are made. 



Selecting cutting wood. 



Cuttings are made from one-year-old wood ; that is, canes 

 produced during the summer are taken for cuttings in the fall. 

 Immature canes and those with soft, spongy wood ought not 

 to be used. Strong vigorous canes should be given preference 

 over weak growth, but most nurserymen maintain that very 

 large canes do not make as good cuttings as do those of medium 



