46 THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 



Cultivate very shallow with small shovels. Do not mulch. Have tried Concord, 

 which I would recommend for this locality. Cut the bunches in baskets or 

 boxes, and sell in local market, receiving two cents per pound. They pay, but I 

 would not advise planting extensively. Have never bagged my grapes. 



J. C. WEATHERS, Howard, Elk county : I have forty square rods of grape- 

 vines, planted on second bottom having a clay subsoil, which is quite flat and 

 level. Side-hill limestone soil is best. Set two-year-old vines, 6x8 feet. Prune 

 in February to two or more buds, according to vine. Use a trellis of seven-and- 

 one-half-foot hedge posts and three wires. Cultivate clean, with a one-horse, five- 

 toothed cultivator. Do not mulch. Have pruned some during summer, but will 

 do so no more. Have tried Concord, Worden, Moore's Early, Pocklington, Dra- 

 cut Amber, and Champion ; discarded Pocklington and Dracut Amber. Those 

 that do best, and I would recommend for this locality, are Worden, Moore's 

 Early, and Concord. Sell in local markets. They are a paying crop, but I would 

 not advise extensive planting. Have not sacked the fruit, but think it would 

 pay. Mulch heavily with barn-yard manure, but think the land should be tiled, 

 as often after heavy rains it is much too cold. Have no protection for the vines 

 from winds and storms. Think protection by a heavy belt of timber on the north 

 and west would be beneficial. Cultivate with a five-toothed cultivator, followed 

 by a hoe in the hands of a careful person, making sure that no weeds are left, and 

 continue until after the crop is gathered, provided no more weeds appear; keep 

 them out by all means.' I have fine, large grapes and plenty of them, while my 

 neighbors grow weeds and very poor grapes on the same kind of land. Clean 

 cultivation is better than mulching. I tried cutting back the young vines dur- 

 ing summer, so that I could get closer to the rows with my cultivator, but found 

 it was injurious, killing many of them back to the old vine, besides exposing the 

 berries to the hot sun, and many were badly sunburned. I place Worden first, 

 Moore's Early second, Concord third, and Isabella fourth. Dracut Amber is a 

 fine, large grape, but sunburns easily and is not good flavored. The Pocklington 

 is a fraud ; I have not got anything from it so far. I let the berries get well 

 ripened before gathering. Contract them in our near-by towns. Gather in 

 twenty- five-pound boxes and baskets, cutting off all spoiled or defective grapes. 

 Get four cents per pound for the Worden and Moore's Early, and two to two and 

 one-half cents per pound for Concord. Think them a far better paying crop 

 than wheat or corn. The poultry have the run of the vines, and they pick up 

 any bug, grasshopper or worm found loafing there, never molesting the grapes, 

 as they are well fed on grain. Have never put up unfermented grape juice, but 

 have furnished hundreds of pounds of grapes for this purpose, and have tasted it 

 in the spring and found it just as sweet as though freshly made, and consider it 

 a much better drink than the so-called grape wine ; and believe the canning of 

 the sweet juice to be one of the ways of preserving the product of our vineyards, 

 and will no doubt increase the demand for this, one of our finest and choicest 

 fruits. 



A. BOLINGER, Moline, Elk county : I have forty grape-vines, planted on clay 

 soil having a northern slope, which I consider best. Plant two-year-old vines, 

 eight feet apart each way. Prune short during summer by taking off new 

 branches when too long. My trellis is wire. Till with a cultivator and hoe ; 

 mulch some. Have tried Niagara, but it winter-kills; I would recommend Con- 

 cord, which does best in this locality. Would not advise planting extensively 

 here. Have never bagged the fruit. I do not think it would pay, as there is not 

 sufficient market for it. 



