iVO. 



151.] 325 



In planting cuttings, I plant two in each hill, placing them with- 

 in two or three inches of each other at the top, and widely separa- 

 ted at the bottom, to enable me to remove one of them without dis- 

 turbing the roots of the other, should both grow. If the growth 

 has not been sufficient to produce well ripened wood, I cover it with 

 earth the first winter. Early in the spring I head down the plant 

 to two or three eyes, as soon as I discover Avhich is the strongest 

 shoot, break the others off, and permit one only to grow. I break 

 off three or four of the first lateral branches, and after that give the 

 plants no attention till the spring following when I again head them 

 down to four eyes, and permit two of the strongest to grow, taking 

 off the lateral branches to such point as I expect to prune to the 

 next spring. The spring following, (the third year,) I expect a 

 small crop of fruit, and prune the strongest branch from two to four 

 feet long, according to the growth of the plant, for bearing, and 

 prune the other shoot, leaving five eyes, three of the strongest of 

 which I allow to grow, breaking off lateral shoots as usual, and the 

 following spring cut out the bearing wood of the preceding season, 

 always pursuing the cane pruning, and leaving none of the two year 

 old wood; and thereby always having all my shoots within a foot 

 or eighteen inches of the ground. In breaking off the lateral shoots, 

 it must not be done till the wood begins to ripen; for if clone too 

 soon, it forces out the fruit buds of the next season, which brings a 

 crop that is usually killed by the frost of the next fall, before fully 

 ripe. I have frequently had the tops of my vines broken off by a 

 heavy wind, and numerous fruit buds of the next season forced out; 

 and when the fall was favorable, which is often the case on the 

 Ohio, had a fine show of grapes fully ripe the last of October. 



As a matter of curiosity, I have on the same vine, had fruit not 

 only of the current year, but from the buds of four succeeding years. 

 Say in May, 1847, as soon as the plant is in blossom, I cut off the 

 extremity of the shoot, and force out the fruit bud, designed for 

 fruit in 1848. As soon as the fhiit bud of 1848 is in blossom, I 

 again cut' off its extremity, and force out the bud designed for fruit 

 in 1849, and so continue to clip the extremities, till the gi'owing 

 season is over. In a grape house properly heated, the fruit of the 

 different years may all be brought to maturity. My Germans are 

 averse to pruning till spring, as such was the practice in Germany. 

 This often interferes with spring work. I would recommend pruning 

 in the fall, as soon as the leaves have fallen, and at the same time 

 plant out cuttings. Where planted in the fall, I should plant so as 

 to leave the upper bud even with the surface, and throw a little soil 



