-h Tl;e \7ir)eyard. -r 



ABOUT GRAPES. 



LARGE amount of plant food is lost in the soil near our houses. 

 It accumulates in the shape of ashes, bones and slops. In what 

 way can it be utilized ? We cannot grow vegetables nor flowers in 

 all out-of-the-way places. Neither can we have trees too near the 

 house to shut out the light. In addition to its being an improper 

 place to raise these things, the soil is often so hard and dry that but 

 few things will flourish; and the heat reflected from the house is too much for most 

 crops. What is it that can send roots through hard, dry soil, down beside found- 

 ations, under buildings and walks — anywhere and everywhere, 40 or 50 feet 

 away — and make use of all the plant food within its reach ? The grape vine can 

 do this, and its foliage is all the better for the heat and the shelter that it gets in 

 such situations. It needs a dry, rich and hard soil, and if its foliage can be kept 

 dry, so much the better. The sides of buildings are admirable places to train vines 

 on. The fruit never rots when it is kept from rain and dew by the projection 

 of the roof, or by any means. Three sides of our house have been covered 

 with vines for ten years, and a rotten grape has never appeared, although we 

 lost most of the crop on the trellises in the garden near by. 



It makes no difference how rocky land is for grapes. I have known them 

 to flourish where it was necessary to carry soil to cover the roots in planting. 

 I have frequently planted vines with their roots under buildings and brought 

 the vines out at the foundation. They never fail in such places for want of 

 water, the natural dampness of the soil being sufficient for them. Not unfre- 

 quently such vines come through the winter uninjured, when those in the garden 

 or vineyard are seriously damaged. 



Vines trained on a building are quite ornamental, and, if judiciously man- 

 aged, produce a large amount of fruit. They keep the house cool in hot weather, 

 and do no injury in any way except to get their tendrils under the siding or 

 occasionally overload the gutter. 



I have known of vines that produced an immense amount of fruit when 

 trained on buildmgs. A large vine in a city yielded nearly a hundred dollars" 

 worth every year. A friend of mine had an Isabella vine that produced a ton 

 of grapes in a single season. Another man of my acquaintance sold $50 worth 

 of fruit from a vine, and not a very large one either. 



In village lots, where there seems to be no room at all, one can raise grapes 

 if he only has a fence or building to train the vines on. I know of one person 

 who covered the roof with a vine. If there be no soil to plant in, one can take 

 up a little of the pavement, plant the vine and replace it. The roots seem to 

 do better under flagging than anywhere else, especially if there be fertility to 

 encourage root growth. 



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