1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



253 



mt limgartr. 



vineyard Work for October. 



Bt The Associate Editor. 



What grapes are not sold may now be made into 

 wine, as wc stated last month. 



Must of Concord grapes slioiild weigh by Oech" 

 les' must scale, at least 80 degrees, to make good 

 wine. Neitlier sugar nor water should be added to 

 any must, for a grape that does not contain enough 

 of sugar is not fit for that purpose. AVine should 

 be fermented at a high temperature, at least 80 de- 

 grees, if you wish it to keep in warm weather. 

 The natural temperature of the must when work- 

 ing is the best indication to be governed by in keep- 

 ing the outside temperature of the room, without 

 specific rules. When the wine is done working it 

 must be bunged up tight to completely exclude the 

 air, and placed in a cold, dry cellar ; keep a small 

 vent or gimlet hole over the bung, closed l)y a 

 spicket, to occasionally withdraw, to give vent to 

 any increase of carbonic acid which might endan- 

 ger the bursting of the cask. 



Tender vines may be covered with earth in cold, 

 severe localities, but this is not necessary in Kan- 

 sas. Vines too tender for this climate should never 

 be planted in a vineyard. 



Layers and rooted cuttings may be taken up af- 

 ter the first killing frost and heeled-in for winter. 

 New vineyards may also be made, and the vines 

 planted any time in the fall when the weather is 

 not freezing cold, and you will gain nearly a year 

 thereby in growth over spring planting, but the 

 tops of the vines must not be left exposed — (cover 

 over with earth.) Cuttings may also be made after 

 the first hard frost, and planted if desired, or heel- 

 ed-in for spring planting. In heeling-in vines or 

 cuttings, pack the earth tight amongst them to ex- 

 clude the air as much as possible ; loose packing is 

 the general cause of many vines being injured in 

 heeling-in. We do not advise ploughing the vine- 

 yard in the fall if it bas been kept in good order 

 through the season, as it makes the ground too 

 loose and liable to wash by hard rains, and also 

 makes it in bad condition for pruning the vines, 

 particularly when the ground is a little wet, or du- 

 ring thawing or freezing weather. 



The earlier you make cuttings after the falling of 

 the leaves, the better they will grow. 



Even Norton's Virginia and Delaware will grow 

 if so made and plantedjvery firndy, particularly if 

 you remove the bark from ar<iund the lower bud. 

 There is but little diffleulty in growing any variety 

 in this way except perhaps the Vulpina species, 

 which we have not tried. 



Cnlluro of drapes In <>raperle8, No. I. 



Bt S. J. P-MtKER, M. D., Ithaca, New York. 



Editor Pomologist and Gardener: — The 

 culture of choice foreign grapes under glass in 

 this country dates from before the war of inde- 

 pendence, from which time to this the fair-looking 

 Sweetwater, the perishable Oha.sselas, the delicious 

 Frontignac, and the luscious Hamburg have lieen 

 here and there carefully ripened — efforts mainly 

 confined to the vicinity of large cities, isolated, and, 

 to the surrounding inhabitants, a mysterious luxury 

 of the more highly educated and rich. Not until of 

 late has the idea l)ecome justly prevalent that no 

 American citizen possessing a homestead, no mat- 

 ter how humble, need be without his own out-door 

 vines, nor without his in-door foreign vines in 

 his grapery, with its glass gleaming beneath our 

 crystal sunshine. Not until recently has the sim- 

 plicity of grape culture been understood.or have we 

 had the patience to await its sure results. 



We have supposed out-door vines recjuired only 

 to be planted and let alone, and if they did not bear 

 of themselves, without pruning, the fault was in 

 our climate — ideas too prevalent yet with the great 

 mass of our inhabitants. We have been led to 

 believe in-door culture to be so complicated an art 

 that none but imported vine-dressers could accom- 

 plish the task — an impression most skilfully contin- 

 ued by this class of persons ; while we have forgot- 

 ten that in mechanism, art, and agriculture our real 

 advancement lies mainly in native-born talent, and 

 that when self-reliant we make progress. We have 

 only just begun to learn how little time and care a 

 grapery, giving as much as the family can eat of 

 these heaven-born fruits, requires ; how surely tons 



