GRAPE MANUAL. 



(We may as well remark here that the Wagner 

 grafting machine, which is highly recommended 

 by many who have tried it, works upon the 

 same principle.) As the slit cut by the saw is 

 always of a uniform thickness, the scions may 

 be prepared beforehand in the house during a 

 rainy day or in the evening, and kept in damp 

 moss until wanted. 



There are besides various other methods of 

 grafting the grape below the surface of the soil, 

 but as the one we have described is that which 

 is most generally adopted, and we have reason 

 to think, also, the most successful one, we re- 

 frain from describing the others. 



It frequently happens that the buds of the 

 grafts swell rapidly within a few days after the 

 operation, and then after having given great 

 promise for a week or two, they turn brown 

 and apparently die off. Do not let this discour- 

 age you too quickly, and above all make no rash 

 examinations of the cause of this seeming fail- 

 ure, by pulling out the scion or otherwise 

 loosening it. A graft will often remain in this 

 state for a period of five or six weeks, and then 

 start up all at once with a vigor that will push 

 young wood to the length of twenty or more 

 feet the same season. Keep the young growth 

 well tied up and carefully remove all suckers 

 from the parent stock as soon as they appear. 



However, if our object is to graft a variety 

 subject to the Phylloxera on a stock whose roots 

 are healthy and possess the power of resisting 

 the insect, we must place the scion so that the 

 grafted variety can not form its own roots, 

 which would soon become the prey and breed- 

 ing ground for the insect, and by their disease 

 would contaminate the whole vine. We must 

 in this case aim to place the graft above the sur- 

 face of the soil. The cleft and other ordinary 

 modes of grafting are, unfortunately, seldom 

 successful, unless worked below the surface. 

 Having this object in view we take recourse to 

 grafting by approach or inarching. 



For this method it is desirable that two plants, 

 one each of the variety which is to form the 

 stock, and one of the scion, are planted close 

 together, say about one foot apart. In June (the 

 first year, if the plants make a sufficiently 

 strong growth, if not, the second year,) or as 

 soon as the young shoots become sufficiently 

 hard and woody to bear the knife, a shoot is 

 taken from both the stock and the scion vine, 

 and at a convenient place, where they may be 

 brought in contact, a shaving is taken out from 

 each of these, on the side next to the other, for a 

 length of 2 to 3 inches. This must be done with 



a smooth cut of a sharp knife, a little deeper 

 than the inner bark, so as to obtain on each a 

 flat surface. They are then fitted snugly to- 

 gether, so that the inner bark joins as much as 

 possible, and wrapped securely with some old 

 calico torn in strips, or soft bass strings. Besides 

 this, it is well to place one tie a little below, and 

 one above the grafted point, and also to tie the 

 united canes to a stake or trellis to insure 

 against all chances of loosening by the swaying 

 of the wind. The rapid swelling of the young 

 growth at this period of the year makes it desi- 

 rable that the grafts be looked over after a few 

 weeks, replacing such ties which may have 

 burst, and loosening others which may bind 

 so as to cut into the wood. A union will gen- 

 erally be made in the course of two or three 

 weeks, which will be further consolidated in the 

 course of 6 to 8 weeks, when the bandages may 

 be removed and the grafted portion left exposed 

 to the sun, to thoroughly harden and ripen it. 

 The shoots themselves are to be left to grow 

 undisturbed for the rest of the season. In the 

 fall, if a good union has taken place, the cane 

 forming the scion is cut close below its union 

 with the stock cane, which in its turn is cut 

 close above the connection. Supposing the stock 

 to have been a Concord and the scion a Dela- 

 ware, we now have a vine of the latter entirely 

 on the strong, vigorous root of the former. Of 

 course constant vigilance must be exercised to 

 prevent suckers from starting f out of the stock. 

 It is well to protect the grafted joint the first 

 few winters by 'a slight covering of straw or soil 

 to prevent the frost from splitting it apart. 



Mr. Cambre, a practical and successful grape 

 grower near Nauvoo, Ills., and to whom we owe 

 the main points of these directions, has prac- 

 ticed this system on a large scale and with the 

 most flattering results. He has applied it ex- 

 tensively to the Delaware, using wild seedlings 

 from the woods as the stock, and thus succeeds 

 in raising fine and regular crops of this ex- 

 cellent grape, even in seasons when other vines 

 of this variety on their own roots in the neigh- 

 boring vineyards are a total failure. It would 

 be highly interesting if others in different sec- 

 tions of the country would also experiment with 

 this system. 



Another mode of grafting above ground, prac- 

 ticed with success by a Mr. Cornelius, (copied 

 from "The Gardeners' Monthly" by W. C. 

 Strong in his valuable work, " The Cultivation 

 of the Grape ") is not merely interesting in it- 

 self, but also illustrative of many other modi- 

 fications in grafting : 



