THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 61 



After it is somewhat settled draw off as clear as you can apd put it in a kettle 

 to boil, or rather bring it to the boiling-point and skim off any scum that 

 arises. Have your bottles ready, scalded out clean and standing in hot water. 

 As soon as the juice commences to boil, bottle at once ; fill but one bottle at a 

 time. Cork tightly by driving in good velvet corks, and seal. If this is done 

 properly, and the juice placed in a cellar in the dark, it will keep for years. 



J. WEIDMAN, Lincoln, Lincoln county: Have three acres of grapes, planted on 

 sandy soil with a clay subsoil having a west-northwest slope (would prefer an 

 eastern slope). Would recommend Concord, Elvira, Worden, Catawba, Dracut 

 Amber, Noah, Telegraph, Early Victor, Missouri Reieling, Cythiana, and Cham- 

 pion. Varieties tested experimentally are Niagara, Goethe, Northern Muscadine, 

 Perkins, and three different very late seedlings of my own which are very fruit- 

 ful and thrifty. Goethe and Niagara are not hardy here. Plant strong, one- 

 year-old vines, seven feet in the row, and the rows nine feet apart. Cultivate 

 with stirring-plow in the spring, and after that with a one-horse cultivator; use 

 the hoe in the rows twice during the season. Prune in April [?], or, when the 

 weather will permit, in the spring. My trellis is of posts, with two or three No. 

 11 galvanized wires. I prune my vines during the summer by pinching out all 

 canes not needed for next year's wood; also cut or pinch off near the last bunch 

 before blooming it makes the fruit perfect and easier to gather; too many 

 leaves smother the fruit more or less. Bagging grapes is too slow work. Market 

 my fruit in the vineyard and in near-by towns. I get about three tons per acre 

 in good seasons. They are a paying crop when taken care of, as they sell at 

 three cents per pound. 



MARTIN Moss, Lincoln, Lincoln county : I have one-half acre of grape-vines 

 growing on sandy soil. I prefer a northeast elope. Set yearling vines, eight feet 

 apart. Prune in February to one bud on each spur of the main canes ; have 

 never summer pruned, but think it would be beneficial. I use posts and wires 

 for a trellis. Till part of my vines with a small one-horse cultivator; the bal- 

 ance of them I mulch. Have tried Concord and a red and a green grape, but 

 discarded the latter two, as they were poor bearers. I would recommend Con- 

 cord for this locality, as it is the most satisfactory. Gather my grapes carefully 

 by hand; market them in Lincoln Center, receiving five cents per pound for the 

 first, and later on only two and one-half cents per pound. They are not profit- 

 able at present prices, excepting for home use. Have never sacked the fruit. 



WILLIAM BAIRD, Vesper, Lincoln county: I have about 500 grape-vines on 

 black, sandy loam creek bottom which is nearly level; they are Concord, Elvira, 

 Pocklington, Schuylkill, and several others. Would recommend Concord, Elvira, 

 Schuylkill, Clinton, Pocklington, Niagara, and Moore's Early. Plant one-year- 

 old vines. Cultivate with a five-tooth cultivator and one horse. Have not 

 bagged grapes, as I think that for exhibition purposes only, and would not ad- 

 vise it. Cut from the vines with a sharp knife or shears, pack in five- or ten- 

 pound baskets, and market at home. A good vine will yield one dollar's worth 

 of grapes. I consider them a paying crop. I have put up unfermented grape 

 juice; cook in porcelain kettle, squeeze out the juice, skim, bottle and seal up 

 while hot. Cider from apples can be treated in same way. The grape is un- 

 doubtedly adapted to this soil and climate, and is a good paying crop if properly 

 cared for. I plant my grapes eight feet apart each way. Prune after the Cali- 

 fornia style ; that is, run them up eighteen or twenty inches high, then form a 

 head, and cut back each year to two or three buds, owing to the strength of the 

 vine. I keep them staked up until they are strong enough to support them- 



