50 THE GRAPE CULTUEIST. 



enriching materials should be placed as deep in the soil as 

 the roots will extend. An application of a peck of ashes 

 to the square rod will often be found very beneficial. It 

 is always best to prepare the cutting-bed in the fall, so 

 that all the materials of which it is composed may become 

 intermingled by spring. 



TIME TO MAKE CUTTINGS. 



In this latitude the fall of the year, soon after the leaves 

 have fallen, is the best time to take cuttings from the vine, 

 but where the winters are mild they may remain on the 

 vine until mid- winter, or even later, without injury. 



When taken from the vine, the wood may be cut into 

 the required length, or, in other words, the cuttings may 

 be made and put away in moist soil in the cellar, or buried 

 in some dry place in the open ground, or the wood may be 

 put away entire, and the making of the cuttings deferred 

 until spring. 



SELECTION OF CUTTINGS. 



Cuttings should be made of the past season's growth 

 that is, shoots that have been produced during the summer 

 are to be taken for cuttings in the fall. These are called 

 cuttings of one-year-old wood. That which is strong and 

 vigorous and well-ripened is the best, although the very 

 largest does not always make the best cuttings, nor does 

 it root so readily as that which is of medium size. All 

 soft, spongy, and unripened wood should be discarded, as 

 good plants are produced only from good, healthy wood. 



FORM OF CUTTING. 



There is as great a variety of opinion among cultivators 

 in regard to making long cuttings as there is respecting 

 the form of those of a single bud. They are made of van- 



