ROBBING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



87 



plowed during the spring. After the vineyard is 

 pruned it should be plowed not less than six inches 

 deep. Immediately after plowing the soil should 

 be hoed away from the vines, and all suckers 

 should be cut off close to them. The basin made in 

 hoeing should not be filled, for among the many other 

 benefits secured, the eggs and larvae of insect pests 

 collecting around the vine are destroyed by exposure. 

 The next step is cultivating, or if the ground is cloddy it 

 is far better to use either a disc or harrow first to break 

 up the clods, and then follow this up with cultivation. 

 The cultivating should be continued as long as the. 

 shoots will not be broken off by the team and imple- 

 ment passing through the rows. 



FERTILIZING 



Very little attention has been given to the 

 fertilizing of vineyards. Anyone having given this 

 subject any thought must be convinced that 

 wood and fruit can not be taken from the vines 

 year after year without adding something to the 

 soil to maintain its fertility. The problem of fertilizing 

 or of growing cover crops in a vineyard should be given 

 careful attention. The expense of carrying on this work 

 is so heavy and goes so deeply into the vineyardist's 

 pocketbook that he fights shy of this problem quite 

 frequently until it is too late. After many years of 

 experimental work in my own vineyards, consisting of 

 table, raisin and wine grapes, using commercial fer- 

 tilizer, stable manure, and a variety of cover crops, I 

 have come, to the conclusion that in both the use of 

 manure and the use of commercial fertilizer the best 

 pYaotice was to make the applications where the crop 

 produced was not up to the standard it should be. A 

 record was kept of the blocks in the vineyard where the 

 vines were not growing well and where the crop was 

 deficient, and liberal applications of barnyard manure 

 and a complete fertilizer were made to better the condi- 

 tion of the vines. In. applying manure it should be 

 well decomposed, if obtainable in this condition, and not 

 less than* ten tons to the acre should be put on. If 

 possible this should be put on in December and the 

 commercial fertilizer in the latter part of January, or in 

 February using not less than five hundred pounds to 

 the acre, although double this quantity is better. 

 Cover crops have as a rule been very unsatisfactory. 

 The immense benefits to be derived from the use of 

 cover crops have been exploited to the limit. I have 

 been one of the many practical growers who have 

 paid dearly for their experience, not only using them 

 in vineyards but in orange orchards as well. I have 

 tried all of them fenugreek, vetch, Canadian field 

 p&as, rye and melilotus. The first three are failures 

 in the interior valleys because it- is impossible to plant 

 them in the vineyards in October when the harvesting 

 of the crop is going on, and secondly because it is out of 

 the question to apply any water at that time; thirdly, 

 the cool, sharp air which is so apparent during the late 

 fall and winter months, entirely at variance with the 

 climatic conditions in the counties south of the Te- 

 hachapi, is not conducive to the growth of any of these 

 crops unless it is Melilotus. In the counties referred 



A Thompson Seedless vine with numerous stems. 

 Abominable method of pruning. 



to where the air is warm and where the water is carried 

 in furrows made after the cover crop is planted these 

 crops do well. However, there is one very important 

 point which should not be lost sight of and that is to 

 turn under a cover crop before it begins to draw on the 

 soil and sap, the strength of the trees. Time and time 

 again I have seen citrus orchards drained of their 

 vitality to such an extent by allowing cover crops to 

 remain in the ground too late in the season that it took 

 several years for the orchard to get back to its normal 

 condition and then only by very careful attention 

 through fertilizing and irrigating. It is a safe rule to 

 follow to plow all cover crops under on or before March. 

 The melilotus is the most satisfactory crop in the in- 

 terior valleys, but to even get results from it which are 

 worth while the planting of the seed should be done in 

 October. It has one advantage over the other crops 

 and that is that it grows eveii in cold weather providing 

 there is moisture in the ground. The only advantage 

 that rye has is that it may be sown after the first rains, 

 and as it makes a very rapid growth it adds humus to 

 the soil. Such lands as have not been planted to cover 

 crops before should have the seed inoculated with 

 nitrogen-bearing bacterial germs before planting. 



GATHERING FOR SHIPPING 



California is now and will continue to be the main 

 source of supply for table grapes both for consumption 

 in the United States and for export. The magnitude of 

 the industry is a sufficient indication of its stability. 

 The readiness on the part of the consumer to pay high 



