DWYEK'S GUIDE 79 



in each hole after the roots have been well covered with soil. In the 

 absence of stable manure we recommend the use of wood ashes when it 

 IS a first class article, and to be such it should contain five to eight pe-- 

 cent, potash, two to three per cent, phosphoric acid and thirty to fifty per 

 cent, wood lime. The after feeding of the vines as they fully develop 

 and bear fruit will have to be attended to, using the most convenient fer- 

 tilizer for this purpose and in quantities to suit the needs and require- 

 ments of the plants. A splendid practice is to apply two or three forkfuls 

 of manure around each vine in the month of November or December of 

 each year. 



Training the Vines. — The vines can be trained to stakes as before 

 recommended for the first two years and the trellis can be con- 

 structed the second Spring after planting if it is convenient to do so. 

 The posts should be 9 feet long; the end posts about 6 inches in di- 

 ameter at the small end, and the intermediate posts or stakes 4 to & 

 inches. Holes four feet deep should be dug for the end posts, these end 

 posts should be well braced. The intermediate posts should be about 20 

 feet apart, the exact distance to be regulated somewhat by the vines, and 

 may be set in holes, or the lower ends may be sharpened and driven down 

 with a weighty mallet. After the posts are set and properly braced, run 

 one wire 2i^ to 3 feet from the ground, the upper wire about six inches 

 from the top of the post, and the middle one half way between the two. 

 The three wires are sufficient for any of the practical methods of training. 

 In putting up the wires they should be fastened to the end posts by wind- 

 ing them twice around them, fastening with staples, and to the interme- 

 diate posts by staples. The wires should be nicely straightened, but not 

 drawn too tight. The vines can then be trained to these wires, spreading 

 them out at full length and uniformly over the trellis. In cold climates 

 in the Northern States, and in fact in cold and somewhat unfavorable lo- 

 cations in the Middle States, the vines are untied from the wires and left 

 lay on the ground during the winter months as an extra precaution 

 against possible injury by the cold weather during this season. 



Summer Pruning. — This should be done cautiously; in fact we 

 do not recommend the practice further than the pinching back and rub- 

 bing off of weak and superfluous shoots and laterals. Severe Summer 

 pruning is positively injurious to the welfare of the vine; the foliage is the 

 life of the plant and to remove any great portion of it during the growing 

 season is to weaken the vitality of the plant. 



Thinning the Fruit. — This is of absolute necessity when we wish to 

 produce the very choicest samples of fruit. Our vines should not be per- 

 mitted to bear any fruit until the third year after being planted. The 

 third year, strong vines with good culture ought to produce six to eight" 

 pounds. Care must be taken not to allow the vine to overbear, or it may 

 be so injured as to never recover. Three to four tons per acre is a full 

 average crop for the strongest growers, although good vineyards often pro- 

 duce without injury five or six tons per acre. The less the number of 

 clusters this weight can be put into, the more satisfactory will be the 

 money return from the crop. Hence it is well to thin the fruit, picking 

 off the smallest and poorest clusters. 



Spraying. — This is essential to the best results, and should not be neg- 

 lected under any circumstances. Moreover, it should be done several 

 times during the season. The best spray is the Bordeaux mixture with 

 Paris Green added as formulated on page 11. Make the first application 

 in the early Spring just as the buds begin to swell, and the second applica- 



