336 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Making and Caring for Cuttings. Cuttings can be taken from 

 the vines at any time after the fall of the leaf and before the 

 spring flow of sap begins. The earlier cuttings those taken 

 before January are more likely to make a successful start and 

 after-growth than those cut later in the season. 



It is common, however, to defer preparation of cuttings till 

 the pruning is done, be it early or late, and this will generally 

 answer the purpose, if care be taken to secure the cuttings imme- 

 diately at the pruning; but if the branches be allowed to lie upon 

 the ground for days, exposed to sun, wind, or frost, before the 

 cuttings are secured, their chances of growth are seriously lessened, 

 and a good part of the failures in planting are due to such cuttings. 



Cuttings should be taken from the short-jointed, well-ripened 

 wood of the previous year's growth, cut squarely and smoothly 

 as already described. Cuttings from the outer ends of long canes 

 are not so likely to root, nor to grow so vigorously, as those from 

 stronger wood, from three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch diam- 

 eter generally. 



Keep them dormant until the time comes to set them in the 

 vineyard, else the tender shoots may get broken. To keep them 

 back, place them, at the pruning, in trenches, about as deep as the 

 length of the cuttings, on the north side of a close board fence 

 or a building, cover with loose earth, and over that throw some 

 straw and boards. Take care that the trenches are in moist but 

 not wet ground as too much moisture rots the cuttings. If the 

 ground has not been moist enough, and the cuttings seem dry 

 or withered, plunge them in water to within three or four inches 

 of their top, for a few days before setting, and do not let them 

 dry again before planting. 



Rooting Cuttings in Nursery. What has been written is in 

 reference to cuttings designed for placing in permanent position 

 in the vineyard, but, for the most part, applies as well to the 

 preparation of cuttings for the nursery. For nursery treatment, 

 however, shorter cuttings can be used than for field planting, 

 because of the better cultivation and more generous moisture con- 

 ditions which are usually provided. 



In preparation of ground for the rooting of vines and the 

 planting of cuttings therein, the suggestions in Chapter VIII are 

 directly applicable, as, to secure rooting of the cuttings, there is 

 just as great need for deep and fine working of the soil, pressing 

 of it around the cutting, and for careful culture during the grow 

 ing season, as there is for such treatment of fruit-tree seedling 

 or root graft. It is just as necessary, too, that the rooted cuttings 

 should be carefully lifted and guarded from drying out while on 

 the way from the nursery to permanent place. The reader is, 

 therefore, referred to Chapter VIII for suggestions on preparation, 



