63 The Cultivation of the Grape Vitie. 



canes prolonged from eight to twelve feet, and put the vines 

 under cover as in the previous year. 



I should mention that I water freely in the first of the 

 summer, occasionally with soap suds, and syringe often, 

 towards evening, with rainwater. The summer pickings or 

 weedings are buried by the roots of the vine, with a good 

 sprinkling of plaster, and by the first of August, mulcJi well 

 about the vine. 



I might here mention that I have found that in dressing 

 the strawberry beds, which should be done about this time, 

 the surplus growth is very good for that purpose, and does 

 well to dig in in the spring with the manure. — Yours truly, 

 Wm. Gore, Freeport, Me., Nov., 1852. 



Mr. Gore's communication, as we have said, may contain 

 nothing very new, and yet possess much interest, as the views 

 of every one have their value. Mr. Gore says himself that 

 his mode of treatment " is not new or very different from 

 what is called regular." Yet any one who reads his article 

 carefully, will see that his treatment does deviate somewhat 

 from the mode generally laid down by writers on the vine. 

 We shall notice these deviations in the order in which they 

 occur, as we think some useful hints will result from it. 



1. The Spur System of Pruning. — It is generally be- 

 lieved that the long rod or renewal system is best adapted to 

 the out-door culture of the grape, particularly of our hardy na- 

 tive kinds. We think, however, this is an error, particularly in 

 the more northern latitudes, and especially in the cold regions 

 of Maine. The wood of long rods or canes does not ripen 

 so thoroughly as the smaller and less gross spur shoots, and 

 is less likely to be affected by the winter. The spurs also 

 break more evenly than the long rods, and the flower buds 

 appear nearer the base of the shoots than on those from the 

 long canes, and consequently open sooner. The vines, too, 

 are more readily managed by the spur mode than in the cane 

 system. 



2. Protecting the Vines with Spruce Boughs in Win- 

 tee. — Capital advice. The Isabella, though apparently quite 



