THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 47 



JAMES MC!NTOSH, Hays, Ellis county : I have only a few grape-vines, but am 

 putting out more on bottom land. I think a north slope best, and that the vines 

 need a windbreak. Set them eight feet apart. Till with a cultivator and hoe. 

 I mulch my grapes. Have tried Concord; am putting out Worden and others. 

 Grapes are a paying crop in this county, and I would advise extensive planting, 

 with good cultivation. I have put up unfermented grape juice canned it, first 

 adding a little water. 



GEO. W. McCoy, Wilson, Ellsworth county : I have about half an acre of 

 grape-vines growing on bottom land. Planted yearling vines, ten by twelve feet. 

 Use a trellis of posts and smooth wire. Cultivate with a disk harrow between 

 the rows, and by hand between the vines. The disk harrow is best for this work. 

 I am going to mulch my vines this year. Have tried Concord and Niagara ; have 

 discarded none, as my vineyard is young yet. I would not advise extensive plant- 

 ing here. 



WILLIAM M. SYLVESTER, Garden City, Finney county: I have fifty- three 

 grape-vines, planted on clay soil having some gumbo in it. Set two-year-old 

 vines, eight feet apart. Prune in February ; cut off all the small canes, leaving 

 only two main ones; also, cut off all of the shoots which spring from the roots, so 

 as to let sunlight to the fruit. Use a trellis of posts and wires. I plant garden- 

 truck among my grapes, and till with a two-shovel cultivator ; any cultivator 

 will keep the soil fine and level. I use fine, well-rotted manure around my 

 grapes. Have tried Concor would recommend this variety and Niagara, as 

 they give the most satisfaction in this locality. Use all of our grapes at home. 

 I consider them a paying crop, and would advise extensive planting, as we do n't 

 grow half enough to supply the home market. I have never sacked the fruit, 

 but other parties have successfully, when they wished to keep some fine fruit 

 for the county fair; but it does not pay. 



NICHOLAS MAYRATH, Dodge City, Ford county : I have about one half an acre 

 of grape-vines growing on sandy upland loam. I consider a north slope the best. 

 Set one- and two-year-old vines, 6x8 feet, but they would do better if farther 

 apart. Prune closely during the early spring; never summer prune. For a 

 trellis I use smooth wire stretched along the rows. Till them the same as corn, 

 with a plow and cultivator. Do not mulch, although it would pay here. Have 

 tried Concord, Ives, Martha, Worden, Clinton, and Delaware. Have discarded 

 Martha and Delaware, as they winter-kill easily. I would recommend Concord 

 and Ives, as they are satisfactory here. Gather my grapes when fully ripe and 

 market in Dodge City, receiving from three to ten cents per pound. They are a 

 profitable crop here, more so than in eastern Kansas. I would advise extensive 

 planting for home market. Have sacked the fruit to a small extent. For a few 

 years past the grasshoppers cut the grapes before fully ripe: this was only in 

 spots. I lost part of my grapes by a swarm of grasshoppers striking them just 

 before ripening and cutting the stems. Wild grapes grow all over this county 

 along the creeks, draws, and streams; why not tame grapes? Our early grape 

 planters set them too close together for southern Kansas, and the dry season 

 killed them on account of it. I tried several varieties; they grew fine, but 

 winter-killed. 



R. D. PATTERSON, Ottawa, Franklin county : I have one and one-half acres of 

 grape-vines growing on river bottom. A southern slope is preferable. Set two- 

 year-old vines, eight feet each way. Prune early, before the sap runs. For a trel- 

 lis I use posts and two wires. Till with a cultivator. Do not mulch. Have 

 tried about forty varieties, but find that Concord and Moore's Early do best here. 



