54 THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 



is cheap, and creates less shade and take less room than wood trellises. I sum- 

 mer prune if the vines are very thrifty; the fruit develops better and ripens 

 vener. I have never bagged any and would not advise it, as I do not think the 

 price of fruit would justify it. I gather by cutting with a knife, and pack in 

 baskets and market at home, realizing three cents per pound t for one and one- 

 half tons. I consider them a paying crop. Grapes may be profitably grown in 

 Jackson county if the vines are properly cared for, but through neglect sixty per 

 xjent. of the vines here have died during the past. Pruning is but little under- 

 stood by Kansans here, and, unless directed by a German or some one of vineyard 

 experience, the vines are not cut back sufficiently, causing them to overbear, 

 which is very hard on them, killing them in two or three years. Exhausted by 

 overproduction and robbed by weeds, a hard winter easily kills them. Some 

 mulch to keep down weeds, but this proved unsatisfactory with us, as it induces 

 ifche roots to grow near the top of the ground, making them hard to cultivate and 

 asily injured by dry weather. 



J. W. WILLIAMS, Holton, Jackson county: I have seventeen vines, planted on 

 prairie upland having a southern slope. Set one- and two-year-old vines, 

 8x10 feet apart. I prune in December or February, by cutting back last year's 

 growth to two or three buds. My trellis is hard- wood stakes, six to eight feet 

 high. I till them with a garden rake, but if I had many would use a plow. Do 

 not mulch. Prune the green shoots during the summer by pinching back to 

 within two buds of the bunches. I have tried Concord, Pocklington, Moore's 

 Early, Wyoming Red, Martha, Norton's Virginia, Delaware, Niagara, Clinton, 

 Catawba, and Isabella. Of these, I have discarded all excepting Concord, Wyo- 

 ming Red, and Moore's Early, because it does not pay to raise so many varieties. 

 Moore's Early and Concord do best here. Gather and market in grape baskets, 

 receiving two cents per pound. They do not pay, and I would not advise plant- 

 ing them largely here. I have tried sacking my grapes, and find that it pays; 

 have bagged one bunch on a limb where there were two or three, and found that 

 the unbagged bunches rotted, while the bagged bunch was not affected. Have 

 put up unfermented grape juice ; take ripe grapes, strip from stems, put into a ves- 

 sel, boil to a pulp, press through a colander, then strain and put juice on to boil 

 again, adding sugar to fairly sweeten; bottle while hot and seal up. 



JOHN M. BACON, Soldier, Jackson county : I have 125 grape-vines, planted on 

 upland prairie; an eastern or southern slope is preferable; set one-year-old vines, 

 8x10 feet; prune back to two or three buds in the fall, and cut all the long 

 shoots on the sides of the rows during summer; use a wire trellis; cultivate with 

 a one-horse double-shovel plow and a hoe; do not mulch my vines; have tried 

 Concord, Moore's Early, Worden, Salem, Agawam, August Giant, Jewel, Jeffer- 

 son, Niagara, Elvira, and several others; have discarded the Jewel and Elvira; 

 tthe former is small and almost tasteless, and the latter is no better than a ground- 

 cherry; all varieties do well here, but Worden best, with August Giant a close 

 second; I would recommend for planting here Worden, Moore's Early, Salem, 

 August Giant, Jefferson, and Agawam; gather generally in sixteen-pound bas- 

 kets; sell at home, receiving three cents per pound; they are a profitable crop, 

 but I would not advise extensive planting; have never sacked the fruit. We put 

 cup unfermented grape juice; boil the grapes, and as soon as cool squeeze out the 

 juice; add one pound of sugar to every half-gallon of juice and bring to a boil; 

 skim, and seal in fruit-cans. 



J. W. CURRY, Dunavant, Jefferson county: I have fifty vines, planted on 

 Iieavy soil. I think a north slope best. Set two-year-old vines, eight feet apart. 



