SOIL AND SITUATION. 95 



spade, and it will very much lessen the expense ot prepara- 

 tion. If the soil is stirred to the depth of twenty inches, 

 which it may be by using a subsoil plow, it will be as deep 

 as is really necessary to insure a good and healthy growth 

 of vine. 



I do not believe that it is desirable to encourage the 

 roots to penetrate to a great depth, especially in a northern 

 climate, for when the roots penetrate deeply they do not 

 come into full action until late in the season, and they also 

 continue to act late in the autumn, thus preventing the 

 early ripening of the wood. 



If the soil is not naturally rich, spread the manure upon 

 the surface before plowing, then turn it under with the 

 surface plow, and let the subsoil plow follow in the same 

 furrow, breaking up the subsoil. After the ground has 

 been all plowed over in this way, then cross-plow it in the 

 same manner ; this will insure a thorough breaking up of 

 the soil and mixing of the manure with it. When the 

 land has been both plowed and cross plowed, if it is then 

 gone over with the cultivator it will still benefit it very 

 much, as it will break to pieces the lumps which will be 

 left unbroken after even the most thorough plowing. 



We should always endeavor to make thorough work in 

 the preparation of the soil before planting the vine, for it is 

 not an ordinary crop that we are to plant, nor one that 

 necessitates a seed-time to each harvest, but it is one that 

 requires but one planting in a lifetime, yet it will reward 

 us with many harvests. 



There are very few soils that a person of good judgment 

 will select that will need any further preparation than that 

 which can be done with the plow, with the addition, per- 

 haps, of underdraining. Manures, of course, must be 

 applied where the soil is not rich enough without them. 



