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252 REARING VINES FROM SEEDS. 



they having been previously soaked in water for a few hours. 

 Immediately after planting, the ground should be watered to 

 cause it to settle, and whenever the weather is dry this should 

 be repeated. Some persons in order to obtain a greater growth 

 the first season, sow the seeds in pots during the winter 

 months, and place them in a hot bed, where by regular atten- 

 dance they attain sufficient size by the middle of May, to be 

 planted out in nursery rows. 



When the plants have grown to the height of nine or ten 

 inches, stakes of about three feet in height should be placed 

 between every two vines, and to these they can be trained 

 allowing in no case but one shoot to each plant. These can 

 be subsequently treated in the same manner as plants of the 

 same age raised from cuttings. There will however be some 

 among them which will not bear fruit, and the proportion will 

 be greater or less according to their parentage. As soon 

 therefore as these barren ones can be designated with preci- 

 sion, they can be engrafted with such varieties as may be pre- 

 ferred. 



Major Adlum states that probably not more than half the 

 number of seedlings will produce fruit. Dr. Rulings states 

 that in his experiments, principally made with seeds from the 

 most southern and western states, including some from Owa- 

 chita, he found only about one in seven to bear fruit, on which 

 account he ceased rearing any more. Others have been more 

 successful, and have had a greater proportion of fruitful vines, 

 than is named by either of the preceding gentlemen. For my 

 own part, I consider the proportionate success in this respect 

 depends altogether on the species. Our northern ones are 

 known to be almost wholly polygamous, whereas several of the 

 southern varieties are dioecious ; it thence follows that we may 

 have a large proportion of barren seedlings from the latter, 

 when we would scarcely have any unfruitful ones from the 

 former, and as a natural proof of the latter remark, how very 

 few barren vines do we discover in our hedges and woods ? 



Having now in progress nearly or quite ten thousand seed- 

 ling plants reared from natural varieties, and from an admixture 



