172 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



1871 



win be slight enougli to go away in the ordinary 

 drawing off which must necessarily be performed 

 for other purposes, unless sulphur has been applied 

 to the vines late in the season, and in needlessl_y 

 large quantities, and no heavy rain has come to 

 wash it off, nor sufficient heat intervened to vapo- 

 rize it away. 



But the slightest inconvenience of this sulphur 

 flavor, so easily got rid of, is an inconsiderable evil 

 compared with what r suits when, in absence of 

 the proper remedy, the mildew, or its remains, 

 passes into the wine. For which reason it is always 

 well to sulphur vines whenever any considerable 

 attack of the disease occurs late in the season, even 

 though it come too late to injure the fruit; for by 

 fastening on such parts of the fruit-stems as yet 

 remain green, it can maintain a foothold until vin- 

 tage, and so find entrance into the press or vat. 



M. Mares thinks the small quantity of sulphuret- 

 ed gas that will ordinarily be found in the new 

 wine is valuable to preserve it, and thinks, too, the 

 wine made of sulphured grapes is more even in 

 quality, has a brighter color — very important in red 

 wine — and keeps better than other wine ; while De 

 la Vergne says the time will soon come when those 

 who buy wine of the producer will be glad to hear 

 him say, " My vines were thoroughly sulphured ;" 

 and we all know that in commerce it has long been 

 used to fumigate wine casks, without complaint be- 

 ing made of any bad effect resulting. 



1 » » 



Grapes on Trees— Grape Rot— Cause. 



In the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, Mr. 

 Tompson stated that he lets his grape vines run at 

 random over trees, and that he has great success in 

 this plan. 



Now, this may be new to the grape-growers 

 about Cincinnati, but it has been my practice for 

 the last twenty-five years to let them run just 

 where they like and climb higher and more higher 

 still, if they please ; and I always have an abundant 

 yield of grapes, notwithstanding Dr. Warder's 

 opinion to the contrary. 



I must confess that I feel considerably elated 

 when I contrast my vines with those on the vine- 

 clad hills around Cincinnati. Whilst on one of my 

 vines there will be thousands of bunches of grapes 

 without five minute's labor in a year, those little 

 pipe stem vines, tied to stakes, and requiring con- 

 stant care, only produce a few bunches. 



Kow for the theory. Your little dwarfed and 

 spindling vines can have only a corresponding 

 amount of roots, and, consequently, a correspond- 

 ing amount of fruit. It is nonsense to talk of vines 

 overbearing for two or three years, and then 

 not bear at all, unless they are cut and trimmed. 

 Experience proves the contrary. 



If any one does not agree with me, he is wel- 



come to his theories, whilst I can and do have an 

 abundance of grapes. I have used sulphur more 

 than twenty years, and with benefit, to prevent rot. 



Rot is not caused by a fungus, as some suppose, 

 but is caused by some insect puncturing the grapes 

 whether to deposit their eggs or not I don't know, 

 but presume it is for that purpose ; yet I never 

 succeeded in finding any eggs or worms in a rotted 

 grape. Well, says one, bow do you knotv they 

 have been stung by an insect ? Because I have seen 

 the puncture and a jet of juice which had oozed out. 

 Whenever you find a grape that has been stung, tie 

 a string to it, (for a mark so as to find it), and watch 

 the result. After a longer or shorter period it will 

 turn whitish around the place where stung, and 

 continue to spread until the whole grape is rotted. 

 If at any time with a sharp knife you cut out the 

 black spot, the remainder of the grape will grow 

 and ripen, thus providing there is no defect in the 

 vine. 



Upon this discovery was based the sulphur 

 remedy for the rot, being distasteful to all the 

 insect tribe. Fumigations with sulphur in the 

 evening is better than the dust, as I think the 

 depredators work at night. I have no certain 

 knowledge of the enemy, but always find a few 

 large yellow bugs on the vines when the grapes are 

 rotting — they are very shy fellows. Whether 

 friend or foe, I know not, but kill him when I find 

 him. — Cor. Cincinnati Gazette. 



Preparation of Grape Cntttngs. 



In preparing cuttings, the upper end should 

 always be cut off' a very little above a good strong 

 bud, so that the sap in its natural flow upward will 

 feed this bud and cause it to make a strong and vig- 

 orous growth. It is also better that the wood 

 extend some distance below the lower bud, as the 

 end will sooner heal over and throw out roots, and 

 thus the sooner the cutting will become a vine con- 

 taining all the parts and performing all the func- 

 tions of a complete plant. 



The cutting should be set in a slanting position 

 at an angle, say of about forty-five degrees and, 

 should be covered so that the upper end will be en- 

 tirely out of sight, say one inch below the surface. 

 If planted erect, the roots will only start at the 

 extreme lower end, while if slanted, roots will grow 

 at several different points, giving the vine much 

 more vitality and force. 



Remarks. — We copy the above paragraphs from 

 an article in the Rural Pacific Press on " Planting 

 Vineyards," and we do so for the purpose of point- 

 ing out .some of its fallacies. This cutting oft' close 

 to the bud at the upper end of the cutting is not 

 necessary but absolutely injurious, unless covered 

 over with the ground to keep it moist, for the bud 

 has a tendency to dry up before it starts. Cut- 

 ting some distance below the bud at the lower end 

 is not necessary, as the roots are formed at the 

 nodes or joints instead of at a distance from them as 



