16 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



CHAPTER II. 



GROWING FROM SEED. 



GATHER the grapes when fully ripe, and either dry them 

 in the sun or in a dry room, until they appear like raisins, 

 and keep them in this way until spring, or, when they are 

 gathered, the seeds may be separated from the pulp. Put 

 in pots or boxes of pure sand or sandy loam, and set away 

 in the cellar or bury in the open ground until spring. 

 Mice are very fond of grapes and grape seeds, and they 

 should be placed where these pests can not reach them. 

 No matter whether the seeds are frozen or not, all that is 

 requisite is, that they shall not get too dry ; if they are 

 kept cool and moist, their germinating powers will remain 

 unimpaired. 



The soil for a seed bed should be light, moderately dry, 

 and thoroughly pulverized to at least two feet in depth. 

 If not naturally very rich, it should be made so by adding 

 a liberal quantity of old well-decomposed manure from the 

 barnyard, and incorporating it well with the soil. The 

 whole success often depends upon getting a good, strong, 

 healthy growth the first season. So soon in the spring as 

 the weather will permit, sow the seeds in drills about a 

 foot apart, and not too thickly in the drills one or two 

 inches apart will do ; cover about three quarters of an inch 

 deep, and give a liberal supply of water, if the weather is 

 dry. When the plants first appear above ground, they 

 should be partially shaded, to prevent their being burnt 

 off by the sun. The shading may be dispensed with so 

 soon as the second or third leaves are formed, at which 

 time small sticks, say from a quarter to one half inch in 



