THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 91 



VINEYARDS. 



By GEORGE HOLSINGEE, Rosedale, Wyandotte county. 



Of all the fruits with which I have had experience, I know of none more sat- 

 isfactory in results or that will respond to the efforts of the horticulturist better 

 than the grape. It is easily cared for, requires comparatively little cultivation, 

 yields generously, is very popular as a table fruit, is easily picked and marketed, 

 and has the supreme good quality of not requiring immediate marketing when 

 ripe. 



The cultivation of the grape requires an ordinary use of plow and hoe. Our 

 v ineyards receive seven or eight plowings and two or three hofeings a season. The 

 first plowing of the season is done with the eight-inch diamond plow, and the dirt 

 is thrown to the grapes. This covers all the weeds, refuse or manure that may 

 be on the surface, and leaves a narrow ridge in the row to be hoed. All subse- 

 quent plowings are done with the double-shovel, or five-toothed-cultivator, and 

 as often as is necessary to keep down the weeds and the soil mellow. 



Methods of pruning are many, and I suppose about equally good, each 

 grape grower using his own preferred method. Our method is a combination of 

 the upright and horizontal systems, and is intended to distribute the fruit and 

 foliage so that the grapes will not burn for want of shade or become spotted and 

 rot under too dense foliage. The trunk is not allowed to become more than a 

 foot in length, and from this six or seven shoots are allowed to grow throughout 

 the season, except in heavy soils, when summer pruning becomes necessary to 

 prevent too dense shade. At the end of the season, when the trimming is done, 

 the canes are reduced to four in number and are cut back to about four feet in 

 length, leaving perhaps forty eyes. These are now spread out fan-shaped on the 

 wires and tied securely to the top wire by willow withes. Willow is- used because 

 it is cheap and more quickly applied than pawpaw or string. One should be care- 

 ful in tying to see that all vines are tied close to the lower wire, to prevent injur- 

 ing from a long singletree in the hands of a careless driver. The lower wire is 

 usually thirty-six inches from the ground and the upper one four to ten inches 

 above that, so that the top wire should be at least forty-five inches from the 

 ground. My reason for having a high lower wire is to keep the fruit high above 

 any weed that may get a start in the rush of berry picking or in a wet season. 



In planting, I would prefer a gentle slope to level upland or bottom, unless the 

 upland be thin. Thin land, heavily manured, is better than heavy soil, and, in 

 particular, the land should be thoroughly drained. We plant in rows, seven or 

 eight feet apart, and the same distance between vines. This gives each plant 

 plenty of room, and insures a passageway for wagons in collecting the picked 

 fruit, as also for manuring. Suppose you desire to plant a vineyard eight feet 

 each way, with rows running north and south. First, mark off your rows 

 eight feet apart, east and west, with a marker; next, run a cotton string the en- 

 tire length of the field north and south where the first row is to be located. 

 This will give the exact location of every plant in the first row, the points being 

 at the intersection of your string and row mark. Now make your hole in the 

 shape of a triangle, with your acute angle at the intersection of your string and 

 row mark. The point where the plant is to rest next the string should be shal- 

 low, and eight to twelve inches in depth at the base. This will give the plant a 

 good setting, will prevent scratching by careless plowmen, with the additional 

 advantage of giving perfectly straight rows, a point not to be overlooked in vine- 

 yard planting. 



As to varieties for commercial purposes, the Concord should be classed above 



