236 THE GRAPE. 



with a porous sub-soil not retentive of moisture ; if mixed with 

 some gravel or small stones, so much the better. Some prefer a 

 sandy soil with a gravelly substratum ; as in this the grapes are less 

 subject to rot ; the juice, however, is not so rich, lacking in saccha- 

 rine matter, and in dry seasons the vines will suffer from the 

 drought, shedding their leaves prematurely, and preventing the 

 grapes from ripening well. In warm, sandy soils, the fruit-buds on 

 the vines, if swelled prematurely in autumn, are sometimes killed 

 by the frosts of a severe winter. 



"Any soil underlaid by a stiff, wet clay, is to be avoided, as also 

 wet or spongy lands. No trees should be allowed to grow within 

 one hundred feet of the vineyard." 



Preparing the Ground. " In autumn, or early winter, dig or 

 trench the ground all over, two to two and a half feet deep, with the 

 spade ; this is far better than plowing ; turn the top soil under. 



" Wet spots in the vineyard may be drained by small stone cul- 

 verts, or by what is termed a French drain, a ditch, with some loose 

 stones thrown into it edgewise, covered with flat ones, and filled up 

 with the earth again. Surface draining may be obtained by concave 

 sodded avenues of ten feet wide, and intersecting each other at 100 

 or 120 feet, thus throwing the vineyard into squares of that size. 

 This will do for gentle declivities ; but steep ones must be terraced 

 or benched with sod or stone. These benches should be as broad as 

 they can be made conveniently, and with a slight inclination to the 

 hill, that they may be drained by stone or wooden gutters, running 

 into the main trunks, to carry off the water without washing away 

 the soil. This is important, and requires good judgment and skill. 



Cultivation of the ground. The first two years the grounds should 

 be kept clean- of weeds, by use of the German hoe, a two pronged 

 instrument. A light plow is sometimes used in the spring, but the 

 best vine dressers object to it. The third year, and afterwards, the 

 earth should be kept clean until July, after which time it should not 

 be stirred; this especially through the Western prairie country. 



Pruning and Training. Tact and judgment are necessary to 

 perform this portion of vineyard work, and none but general in- 

 structions can be given. Buchanan says : " In the spring, cut the 

 young vine down to a single eye, or bud. at first ; if two are left for 

 greater safety, take off one, afterward ; drive a stake six or seven 

 feet long firmly to each plant. Locust or cedar is preferred, but 

 oak or black walnut, charred at the end, driven into the earth, or 

 coated with coal tar, will, it is said, last nearly as long. Keep the 

 young vine tied neatly to the stake with rye or wheat straw ; pick 

 off all suckers, and let but one stalk or cane grow. 



" The second spring after planting, cut down to two or three eyes, 



