GRAPE MANUAL. 



buds near the arms only the strongest one 

 should be allowed to grow, and all others 

 rubbed off. Instead of ten to twelve upright 

 canes, you will have twenty to twenty four, and 

 allowing three bunches to each, you may get 

 seventy bunches to every vine, the fourth year 

 after planting. These canes are now to be 

 treated the same, as regards stopping, pinching 

 laterals, etc., during each subsequent year of 

 their growth. 



There are many other modes and systems of 

 training, but the same general rules and princi- 

 ples prevail in nearly all. 



There is one well authenticated fact in the 

 fruiting of the grape, viz: that the finest fruit, 

 the best, earliest and largest crops are produced 

 upon the strongest shoots of the previous years' 

 growth. The only proper system of pruning 

 will therefore be that which encourages and se- 

 cures an abundance of such shoots. By this 

 general principle all new systems, so called, 

 should be proved, and beginners in grape cul- 

 ture may be able to guard against receiving 

 false impressions with reference to any mode 

 which may fall under their observation; and 

 this caution is the more necessary as young 

 vines will bear good crops for a -few years, even 

 under very indifferent treatment In all sys- 

 tems of training which involve the retention of 

 wood beyond five or six years, as in the case of 

 spur pruning, and the methods with permanent 

 horizontal branches, it is absolutely essential to 

 remove the older wood at certain periods, and 

 replace it with younger wood from near the 

 base of the plant. Fixed rules can hardly be 

 given for an operation which requires so much 

 thought and such close acquaintance with the 

 growth and bearing habits of the different 

 varieties. 



If you desire to train your vines for arbors or 

 on walls, leave but one shoot to grow during 

 the first summer, and if necessary even the sec- 

 ond, so that it may get very strong. Cut back 

 to three eyes in fall, these will each throw out a 

 strong shoot, which should be tied to the arbor 

 they are designed to cover, and allowed to grow 

 unchecked. These three canes will be cut back 

 in the fall following to three buds each, which 

 will give us three principal branches, each with 

 their canes the third or fourth season; of each 

 of these branches, cut next fall one cane to two 

 eyes, and the others to six or more buds, ac- 

 cording to the strength of the vine, then gradu- 

 ally increase the number of branches and cut 

 back more severely those which fruited. In this 

 manner a vine can be made in the course of 



time to cover a large space, produce a large 

 quantity of fruit, and get very old. 



Those who desire further information and di- 

 rections on various modes of pruning and train- 

 ing, or on the culture of grape vines in glass 

 houses, we refer to Chorlton's Grape Growers' 

 Guide; Fuller's Grape Culturist; Hoare's Cul- 

 tivation of the Grape-vine on open Walls ; and 

 other books on Grape Culture, especially also to 

 an article on Pruning and Training the Grape- 

 vine, by Win. Saunders, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Report, 1866. 



DISEASES OF THE GRAPE VINE. 



The vine, with all its vigor and longevity, is no less 

 subject to diseases than all other organic bodies, and as 

 we cannot remove most of their causes, and can even 

 with the best care prevent and cure but few, our first 

 attention must be given to the selection of healthy 

 plants and of hardy varieties. You have already been 

 warned against planting the Grape Vine in heavy, wet 

 soil, where water stagnates, or in places exposed to 

 early and late frosts. You have been impressed with 

 the necessity of clean cultivation, stirring the soil,* of 

 proper training, and of thinning the fruit. It you dis- 

 regard these points, even the healthiest and most vig- 

 orous varieties of vines will become diseased. 



" The Mildew is probably our most formidable disease. 

 It is a fungus; two distinct kinds are infesting our 

 vines. The one "Odium Tuckeri," of Europe, shows a 

 powdery appearance on the nvper surface of leaves, and 

 frequently forms a somewhat leathery coating on shoots 

 and berries. Its effects are to corrode and prevent the 

 further swelling of the parts attacked. Grapes that are 

 touched by it, will show an indurated spot, hard and 

 brown, the portions of the berry ^not attacked, will 

 swell out freely, and all that this hurt portion can do is 

 to crack open, which it unially does, and the seeds 

 may frequently be seen to protrude from this crack. 



But the mildew most injurious to our native grapes 

 is altogether different. This is a Peronospora, and 

 shows itself on the under surface of the leaves, usually 

 looking like a small patch of whitish-brown, downy 

 matter. It adheres closely to the leaf, and is a perfect 

 parasite; it destroys the part where it adheres, the sun 

 burns a hole, and it is called blister, leaf-blight, etc. 

 But if you say that it is mildew oh, no ! I never had 

 any mildew. Being confined to the under surface of 

 tke leaves it escapes observation. This mildew is en- 

 couraged by continued damp, rainy weather, or even 

 constant heavy dews, followed by still, balmy days ; 

 anything in fact that will prevent moisture from quickly 

 leaving the foliage." Wm. Saunders. 



* We are aware of the fact that in certain seasons and 

 peculiar soils, neglected vineyards, filled with grass and 

 weeds have escaped diseases and borne full crops, while 

 well hoed and cultivated vineyards suffered severely, es- 

 pecially from rot; but the rule holds nevertheless good, 

 in general. After a season of severe drouth, for instance, 

 fall ploughing may cause the evaporation of the scanty 

 remaining moisture in the loosened soil and render the 

 exhausted roots a prey to severe frosts, while the un- 

 ploughed, baked surface would serve as a protection 

 against both. Such exceptions have misled some grape 

 growers to advocate non-cultivation, or even grass 

 sowing in their vineyards. But after a year or two a 

 stunted growth, and unproductiveness of their vines was 

 the result. 



