The Canadian Horticulturist. 



MANAGEMENT OF HARDY GRAPE VINES. 



HE summer management of hardy grape vines includes 

 planting, pruning and trellising, cultivation, picking, packing 

 and marketing, together with several items of occasional 

 work, as fertilizing, destroying injurious insects, warding off 

 fungus diseases, etc. 



The introduction of the Concord grape, the invention of the Climax basket, 

 the ability to ship to distant markets, in full car lots, at low rates and with quick 

 time, have made grapes our leading, most reliable and by far the most remuner- 

 ative farm crop. 



Quality First. — Will the business be overdone ? is the universal question. 

 We believe the answer to that question hinges on the one point of quality. We 

 shall not fail for want of consumers. Sixty-five millions of people make a toler- 

 ably large market. The externals of good quality are easily named. When a 

 9-lb. basket of Chautauqua Concords reaches St. Louis, Minneapolis or Denver, 

 it should be of full weight, of which i^ lbs. are the weight of the basket and 

 7^ lbs. the fruit. The basket should be dry, clean and of neat appearance. 

 The covers, preferably of white Basswood, should be of sound timber, free from 

 holes, knots or decayed spots. The grapes neither too green, nor too ripe, should 

 be free from crushed, mouldy or imperfect berries, and the clusters have just 

 enough stems to handle with. Plainly stenciled on the cover should be the 

 name of the grower, and the brand or trade mark of the Association. Accom- 

 panying each basket with these words : " These grapes are warranted of No. i 

 quality. If not found as represented, will the consumer please report to the 

 dealer from whom bought." 



So much for the externals. The real quality, however, lies beneath the sur- 

 face. The best grades have the clusters full, compact, handsome, highly colored, 

 the berries large, plump and meaty to the taste, with a fresh, sprightly, vinous 

 flavor. Soil, climate and cultivation unite to secure this perfect result. Fine 

 quality is secured in the vineyard, or it is never secured. Failure there is failure 



all the way through. 



The grape vine is the child of the sun. The wild vine climbs to the top of 

 the tallest tree that it may bathe its foliage in the upper sunlight and air. Abun- 

 dant light, air and cultivation. In that trio you have the secret of health and 

 vigor for the vine and the highest quality for the fruit. 



The baneful effect of weeds are two-fold, diminution of quantity and deteri- 

 oration of quality. If you have the weeds and thistles up even with the top wire 

 of the trellis, you will get none but second quality of fruit. 



Planting and Pruning. — We use good, one-year-old number one vines, 

 grown from heavy, well-ripened cuttings, in rich soil, in the open air. The rows 

 are nine feet apart, and vines eight, nine and ten feet apart in the row. 



