Grafting. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Planting. 39 



Below the ligature make a slo- 

 ping cut down, as shown at a; 

 also, a similar reversed one above 

 the ligature, as at 6, about one 

 inch in length. In selecting a 

 scion prefer one that has naturally 

 a bend. Cut it so that it shall be 

 wedge-shape at both ends, and a 

 little longer than the distance be- 

 tween the cuts in the vine at a 

 and 6. Insert the scion, taking 

 care to have the barks in direct 

 contact, securing it with a string, 

 c, bound round both scion and 

 vine sufficiently tight to force the 

 scion-ends into their places. If 

 the work is done well, no tie will 

 be required at a and 6, but the 

 joints should be covered with 

 grafting wax. In a short time, the bud at d 

 will commence its growth, after which you can, 

 by degrees, remove all the growing shoots not 

 belonging to the scion, and in course of the 

 summer you may cut off the wood above 6, and 

 in the fall remove all above a on the stock, and 

 above c on the scion." 



We refrain from speaking of other methods 

 of grafting, as we believe that the modes of 

 CLEFT-grafting as well as the wmp-graft and 

 CHAMPiN-graft, which we have described 

 and illustrated by plain figures, are those 

 which give the best results, generally. The 

 extensive grafting operations of France are 

 mostly confined to these methods, and practi- 

 cal experience is the best teacher in such mat- 

 ters. 



We also deem it unnecessary to speak of the 

 many machines and tools lately invented for 

 grafting ; as a good pruning knife, as de- 

 scribed, is the tool most in use, and quite satis- 

 factory in skilled hands. 



We should here mention that, generally 

 speaking, our American varieties do not take 

 the graft as readily and surely as the Euro- 

 pean species. A graft of V. vinifera on an 

 American stock will rarely fail to grow if the 

 operation has been properly performed ; while 

 success is not quite as certain when both, stock 

 and scion, consist of American varieties, espe- 

 cially if of the hard wooded kinds. Neverthe- 

 less, when well done, at the proper season and 

 with well conditioned wood, the operation will 

 show a far greater percentage of success than 

 of failure. 



In our former edition we promised to experi- 

 ment more largely with the grafting of Euro- 

 pean varieties on our native stocks here. We 

 have made these experiments, and in Septem- 



ber, 1880, we, exhibited in St. Louis, at the 

 meeting of the Mississippi Valley Horti- 

 cultural Society, a number of fine foreign 

 grapes, raised in open air, on grafted vines, 

 in our own vineyards. But while success, 

 in so far as protecting the European grape 

 from the Phylloxera, has been highly satisfac- 

 tory, we have found our climate, in this lati- 

 tude, too unfavorable for the V. vinifera to en- 

 courage us for more extensive operation. Not 

 only are our winters too severe for the V. vini- 

 fera, but the tendency of the latter to mildew 

 makes their success too doubtful in all but the 

 most favorable seasons. For our section of the 

 United States, therefore, we would not recom- 

 mend anything further than limited trials in 

 this direction. But we think that there is a 

 valuable field of operation for the enterpris- 

 ing grape-grower in some sections of the 

 Southern States, where, under more favorable 

 climatic conditions, the V. vinifera, grafted 

 upon Phylloxera-proof native stocks, would 

 most likely give excellent results. 



PLANTING ("Continued). 



But now let us return to the modus operandi 

 of planting. Take your vines, in a pail with 

 water, or wrapped in a wet cloth, from the 

 place where they were heeled-in,* to the holes ; 

 when planting, let one person shorten the 

 roots, with a sharp knife, then spread them 

 out evenly to all sides, and let another fill in 

 with well pulverized earth. The earth should 

 be worked in among the roots with the fingers, 

 and pressed to them with the foot. Lay the 

 vine in slanting, and let its top come out at the 

 stake previously set. Then, with your knife, 

 cut back the top to a bud just above, or even 

 with the surface of the ground. Do not leave 

 more than two buds on any one of the young 

 vines which you are planting, however strong 

 the tops, or however stout and wiry the roots 

 may be. One cane is sufficient to grow, and 

 merely to be prepared for possible accident, 

 both buds are allowed to start. The weaker 

 of the two shoots may afterwards be removed 

 or pinched back. 



*On receiving your vines from, the nursery, they 

 should be taken out of the box, without delay, and 

 heeled-in, which is done as follows: In a dry and well 

 protected situation, a trench is made in the soil 12 to 15 

 inches deep, wide enough to receive the roots of the 

 plants, and of any required length, the soil being thrown 

 out upon, one side. The plants are then set thickly 

 together in the trench, with the tops in a sloping direc- 

 tion and against the bank of soil thrown out of the 

 trench ; another trench is made parallel to the first, and 

 the soil taken from it is thrown into the first, covering 

 the roots carefully, filling in all of the interstices be- 

 tween them. Press down the soil, and smooth off the 

 surface, so that' water shall not lodge thereon. When 

 one trench is finished, set the plants in the next, and 

 proceed as before. When all this is completed, dig a 

 shallow trench around the wliole, so as to carry off the 

 water and keep the situation dry. 



