154 THE GRAPE CULTUKIST. 



ing them down, one person should hold down the vine while 

 another covers it, and as the vine has to be bent only one 

 half the distance that it would be trained upright, there is 

 no difficulty in laying it down quite flat. ~No straw or any 

 similar material should be used in covering the vines, as it 

 only furnishes a harbor for mice. 



If the soil is so wet and heavy that there is danger of 

 injury to the buds, a little sand should be put on next to 

 the vine before the earth is put on. The buds will not be 

 injured in any ordinary dry soil, provided the vines are not 

 covered until the ground becomes cool, and are not allowed 

 to remain in the ground too late in spring. 



A PLAN FOR POOR SOILS. 



There are many light sandy and gravelly soils wherein 

 the grape will not grow vigorously without the application 

 of a large amount of fertilizing materials, and it is often the 

 case that the cost of such materials would put grape cul- 

 ture out of the reach of persons in moderate circumstances, 

 as well as make it an unprofitable investment for any one 

 who should undertake to grow them under any of the sys- 

 tems in practice at the present time. Having stated on a 

 preceding page that the expansion and amount of root may 

 be restricted by controlling the top, it must be apparent 

 that by increasing the quantity of root we can add to the 

 growth of the branches. The following system is founded 

 upon this well-known principle, and it is recommended 

 only for light, poor soils ; because, if practiced even upon 

 moderately rich soils, an over-luxuriance would almost cer- 

 tainly be the result. When this occurs, the richest and 

 best flavored fruit is never obtained. The plan is as fol- 

 lows : plant the vines four and one half feet apart in the 

 rows, and the rows six feet apart, and if the soil is very 

 poor, add to it at the time of planting a few shovelfuls of 



