320 GRAPES, STRAWBERRIES, BUSH FRUITS 



upon the climate, exposure is not so important. For grapes, 

 the ideal soil is a sandy loam with an open clay subsoil, 

 but they may be grown upon any soil of moderate fertility 

 and fair texture having good drainage. On soil that is 

 too rich in nitrogen, the fruit is likely to be of poor flavor 

 and the vines unproductive. 



Grapes are planted in the spring in rows about ten feet 

 apart and the vines eight to ten feet apart in the row, de- 

 pending much upon the vigor of the variety. The land, 

 after being plowed and cultivated, is furrowed out one 



way and marked the 

 other, the intersection 

 showing the position 

 of each plant. This 

 greatly facilitates the 

 planting. The roots 

 of the plants may be 

 cut back to twelve 

 inches in length and the tops pruned back to two or 

 three buds. As soon as the vines are planted, the vine- 

 yard should be cultivated and some hoed crop grown for 

 the first few years. After this time, the plants will require 

 the entire space and the vineyard should be regularly 

 cultivated and cover cropped. 



Pruning. Pruning is performed to get the most high- 

 grade fruit from the least amount of vine and to maintain 

 the plant so that profitable crops may be produced for 

 many years. It must be remembered that the old wood 

 that has once borne fruit never bears again, and that if 

 all the new wood produced on the vines is left, it will bear 

 a great many more clusters than it can properly develop. 

 Pruning is practiced as a thinning process, thus concen- 



Fig. 170. A pruned grape vine (A), and an 

 unpruned vine (B). 



