Preparing. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Planting. 29 



favored that no artificial protection is needed. 

 Remember, however, that no one locality is 

 suited to all kinds of grapes. (See page 6). 



2. A good soil for the vineyard should be a 

 dry, calcareous loam, sufficiently deep (say 3 

 feet), loose and friable, draining itself readily. 

 A sandy, yet moderately rich soil is better 

 adapted to most varieties than heavy clay. 

 New soils, both granitic and limestone, made 

 up by nature of decomposed stone and leaf- 

 mould, are to be preferred to those that have 

 long been in cultivation, unless these have been 

 put in clover and rested a few years. If you 

 have such a location and soil, seek no further, 

 ask no chemist to analyze its ingredients, but 

 .go at once to 



PREPARING THE SOIL.. 



" The preparation of the soil is undoubtedly 

 one of the most important operations in the 

 establishment of a vineyard, and one of its 

 objects should be to get the soil of a uniform 

 texture and richness throughout, but not over- 

 rich. This deep stirring of the soil puts it very 

 much in the condition of a sponge, which ena- 

 bles it to draw moisture from the soil beneath 

 And from the atmosphere above, and hold it for 

 the wants of the plant ; hence, soils that are 

 drained and deeply stirred, keeping the good 

 soil on the surface, are less subject to the evils 

 that accompany and follow a drought than 

 those that are not so treated. It is of the first 

 importance, therefore, that vineyards and or- 

 chards at least should be put in the best condi- 

 tion for the reception of the vines and trees, if 

 the best results are aimed at." Pet. Henderson. 



The old system of trenching is no more prac- 

 ticed, except upon very hard, stony soil, and 

 upon steep hillsides, being too costly and of 

 very little, if of any, advantage. The plow has 

 taken the place of the spade, and has greatly 

 lessened the expense. While we would urge a 

 thorough work in the preparation of the soil 

 before planting the vine, and warn against 

 planting in ditches, or, still worse, in square 

 holes, we believe that by careful grubbing (in 

 timber lands), leaving no stumps, which would 

 only be continual eyesores and hindrances to 

 proper cultivation, and then, using a large 

 breaking plow, followed by the subsoil plow, 

 the soil will be stirred as deeply (say 20 inches) 

 .as is really necessary to insure a good and 

 healthy growth of vines. This will require two 

 to three yoke of oxen to each plow, according 

 to the condition of the soil. For old ground a 

 'Common two-horse plow, with a span of strong 

 horses or cattle, followed in the same furrow 



by a subsoil stirrer, will be sufficient to stir the 

 soil deeply and thoroughly, and will leave it as 

 mellow and as nearly in its natural position as 

 desirable. This may be done during any time 

 of the year when the ground is open and not too 

 wet. Most soils would be benefited by under- 

 draining; the manner of doing this is the same 

 as for other farm crops, except that for vines 

 the drains should be placed deeper ; it is less 

 important on our hillsides, and too costly to 

 be here practiced to a great extent ; wet spots, 

 however, must, be drained at least by gutters, 

 and, to prevent the ground from washing, small 

 ditches should be made, leading into a main 

 ditch. Steep hillsides, if used at all, should be 

 terraced. 



PLANTING. 



The soil being thus thoroughly prepared and 

 in good friable condition, you are ready for 

 planting. The proper season for doing this here, 

 is in the fall, after the 1st of November, or in 

 the spring, before the 1st of May. Seasons dif- 

 fer and sometimes make later planting advisa- 

 ble, but never during frost nor while the ground 

 is too wet. If you have been delayed with your 

 work of preparing the soil in spring, the young 

 plants from the nursery should be hilled in 

 some cool, dry place and covered, so that their 

 vegetation be retarded ; if they have already 

 made shoots, be specially careful to guard 

 against their roots getting dry. Most vine- 

 yards are planted ^n spring; in northern and 

 very cold localities, this may be preferable. 

 We prefer fall planting ; the ground will gen- 

 erally be in better condition, as we have better 

 weather in the fall, and more time to spare. 

 The ground can settle among the roots in win- 

 ter ; the roots will have healed and calloused 

 over, new rootlets will issue early in spring be- 

 fore the condition of the ground would have 

 permitted planting, and the young plants, 

 commencing to grow as soon as the frost is 

 out of the ground, will start with full vigor 

 in spring. To prevent the roots from being 

 thrown to the surface by alternate freezing and 

 thawing, a mound of earth hoed up around the 

 plants, or a ridge thrown up with a plow so as 

 to elevate the ground somewhat in the rows, 

 will be found to afford all the protection neces- 

 sary. By no means delay planting till late in 

 spring, and, if your ground is not ready in time, 

 you had much better cultivate it with corn or 

 hoed crops or some kind, and postpone plant- 

 ing until next fall. Planting in rows, six feet 

 apart, is now the usual method ; it gives 

 sufficient space for a horse and man to pass 

 through with plow or cultivator ; the distance 



