8o Vineyard Culture. 



vine is produced, if it be well developed in leaf, shoots and 

 roots. As has been well said by one of the most extensive 

 vine-planters of our country, "give me a good plant, and I 

 don't care a fig how you have produced it — by steam or other- 

 wise." The good plant is what we should demand. 



It must be confessed, however, that we do not always re- 

 ceive good plants, even when we have paid enormous prices 

 for some of the new and fancy kinds ; and it must be ac- 

 knowledged that when these delicate, slender little things have 

 been set out in the open ground of the vineyard, they have, 

 too often, succumbed to the eifects of the exposure. A ques- 

 tion arises whether, in a majority of cases, the disasters we 

 have suffered have not been incidental to the faulty character 

 of the variety itself, rather than to the method of its propa- 

 gation. Some kinds of grapes are much more subject to the 

 attacks of mildew than others, and the little plants have not 

 acquired sufficient force in their new stations to resist the 

 malady. 



The next question that arises is, whether we can honestly 

 recommend the extensive planting of such varieties ; and with 

 these views some of our most reliable planters, and some of 

 our most intelligent societies, have adopted the principle of 

 not recommending any fruits for general cultivation that have 

 not proved themselves both hardy and healthy, as well as pro- 

 ductive of good fruit.] 



Layering. — This operation consists in choosing one 

 or more vigorous shoots, on the same stock, from which 

 to make new plants. In March each one is laid down 

 into the earth, to the length of about sixteen inches, 

 and at a depth of five inches, the earth having first been 

 well loosened and manured. The top of the shoot is 

 cut so as to leave about two eyes out of the ground, 

 and the end is fastened to a grape-stake. [Fig. g.] 



