94 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PROPAGATING GRAPES FROM EYES AND BUDS. 



BY J. H. HADKINSON. 



Having had some previous experience east in propagating grapes 

 from eyes, I concluded last spring I would try it on a more extensive 

 scale here in Nebraska, as I could not make a success of cuttings satis- 

 factory to myself. I built a small propagating house of glass and 

 heated it with hot water, supplied by a steam boiler, into an open tank 

 six inches deep, two feet wide, and running the entire length of the house, 

 with partitions in it for to make a continuous flow of water from end 

 to end and back into the boiler. From the middle of February to 

 first of March I cut my eyes or buds, commencing on stem about one- 

 half inch above the bud and cutting half way through stem and 

 out about one-half inch below bud. I then callous in sand kept 

 moderately damp. When calloused I take eyes and plant in seed 

 pans or boxes three to four inches deep in a mixture of about two-- 

 thirds good sharp sand and remaining portion good porous soil, main- 

 taining a temperature of from 70° to 75°. After vines start and at- 

 tain a height of from two to three inches I remove to cold frame and 

 put a succession of seed pans with eyes planted in over-tanks. At a 

 suitable time after hardening and during a damp season I plant in 

 open ground same as cabbage. 



I do not claim for this method as robust a growth as from cuttings 

 the first year, but the second year they will make a growth that will 

 far exceed the cutting as I have seen from a few propagated by a 

 friend of mine about four years ago. By this method I saved ninety 

 per cent of eyes planted. I also utilized my space under shelving to 

 callous cuttings, and from these I realized a stand of about eighty per 

 cent of cuttings planted, planting same when weather was suitable. 



