40 Planting. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Trellis. 



When planted in the fall, - raise a small 

 mound around your vine, so that the water 

 will drain oft, and throw a handful of straw or 

 any other mulch on the top of the mound, to 

 protect it ; but do not, under any circumstances, 

 cover the vine with manure, either decomposed 

 or fresh. 



It is a well-authenticated fact that, under 

 the action of nitrogenous agents, the grape 

 grows more luxuriant, its leaves are larger, its 

 product increases in quantity. But the pro- 

 ducts of vineyards so manured have an ac- 

 knowledged defect they impart to the wine a 

 flavor which recalls the kind of manure ap- 

 plied. What is gained in size of bunch and 

 berry is lost in quality and flavor. Overfeed- 

 ing produces a sappy growth of soft and 

 spongy wood, with feeble buds or eyes, which 

 are in far greater danger of being winter- 

 killed. Moreover, nitrogenous substances ex- 

 clusively used hasten the decay of vineyards 

 and the exhaustion of the soil, and even those 

 authorities who favor manures in preparing 

 certain grounds, or long after planting, mean 

 a compost made of old barn-yard manure, leaf 

 mould, broken bones, etc., laid up to rot and 

 frequently turned ; but do not allow any de- 

 composing organic matter to come in contact 

 with the newly planted vine. 



During the first summer little else can be 

 done than to keep the ground mellow, loose 

 about the plants and free from weeds ; stirring 

 the ground, especially in dry weather, is the 

 best stimulant, and mulching (spreading over 

 the ground a layer of tan-bark, sawdust, straw, 

 salt-hay, or the like, to maintain a more uni- 

 form state of temperature and moisture for the 

 roots) is far better than watering. Do not tie 

 up your young vines ; do not pinch off the lat- 

 erals ; by allowing them to lie on the ground, 

 during the first season, more vigorous stems 

 will be obtained. A fair growth is about four 

 feet the first summer. Borne grape-growers 

 prefer, however, to allow but one shoot, the 

 strongest, to grow, and break the others off, 

 then tie this one shoot to a stake, and pinch 

 back the laterals to one or two leaves each. 

 In the fall, after the foliage is all off, cut back 



to two or three buds. Cover the short cane left 

 with a few inches of earth before the ground 

 freezes. If any vacancies have occurred, fill 

 out, as soon as possible, with extra strong 

 vines, of the same variety. 



During the following winter, the TRELLIS 

 should be built. The plan adopted by most of 

 our experienced grape growers, as possessing 

 some advantages over other plans, especially if 

 grapes are grown in large quantities, is as fol- 

 lows: Posts of some durable timber (red cedar 

 is best) are split 3 inches thick and about 7 feet 

 long, so as to be 5 feet in height after being 

 set ; these posts are set in holes 2 feet deep, 1& 

 to 18 feet apart in the rows (so that either 2 

 vines 8 feet apart, or 3 vines 6 feet apart, are 

 between two stakes); three wires are then 

 stretched horizontally along the posts, being 

 fastened to each p*ost with a staple n, which is 

 driven in so firmly that the wire is prevented 

 from slipping through. The two end posts 

 should be larger than the others and braced 

 (Fig. 61), so that the contraction of the wire (in 



Fig. 61. (Four wires, 15 inches apart.) 



cold weather) will not loosen them. The first 

 wire is placed about 18 inches from the ground 

 and the others 18 inches apart; this brings the 

 upper wire about 4 feet 6 inches from the 

 ground. The size of the wire used is No. 10 

 annealed iron ; No. 12 wire is strong enough. 

 At the present prices of wire the cost per acre 

 will be from $40 to $60, according to distance of 

 rows and number of wires used. 



In place of the wire, slats or laths may serve 

 the same purpose (as seen in Fig. 62), but they 



Fig. 6-2. 



