GRAPE. 225 



may now be put in a gentle hot-bed, or on a greenhouse bench, 

 and kept moist. They should be rooted in about six weeks. 

 When they have made a good root growth they should be plant- 

 ed, after the soil is warm, in rich soil outdoors. The time for 

 this will be as late as the latter part of May in this section. 

 Very nice plants may be grown in this way, but they do not 

 make as strong a growth the first year as plants from long cut- 

 tings, and often need a second year in the nursery before they are 

 large enough for transplanting to the vineyard. 



Soft-wood cuttings. These are made from the green wood 

 taken off while the plant is growing. They are rooted in sand 

 in much the same way that florists root cuttings of geraniums, 

 fuchsias, etc. It is a method used only where wood is very valu- 

 able, and as a means of increasing new varieties. Plants grown 

 this way are apt to start slowly and to be weak until well start- 

 ed, and should not be used when those grown from hard-wood 

 can be obtained. 



Layering. This is the simplest, surest and easiest method 

 of increasing the grape, and is the best way to grow it where 

 but few vines are wanted. There are two kinds of layers, called 

 spring and summer layers from the season in which they are 

 made. 



Summer layers are made in the summer, generally the last 

 of July, from a branch of the same season's growth. They are 

 likely to be weak for several years, and do not make as good 

 plants as spring layers. In making them the wood should be 

 slit for an inch or so near the buds that are covered. Bury 

 about one foot of the cane four inches deep in the ground and 

 it will be rooted by late Autumn, when it may be treated as 



recommended for weak year- 

 ling vines grown from hard- 

 wood cuttings. 



Spring Layers. These may 

 be made by laying down any 

 cane early in the spring. It 

 will root in one season and by 



fall will have made a good 

 Fig. 104 Ordinary layer of a grape 



vine. growth of roots, when it may 



