THE GRAPE VINE. 79 



siderations, such as the character of the season, the state of 

 the vines themselves, and whether the vines are intended 

 for being forced early or for late crops ; just as the vines, 

 in the ease of one-year-old plants, are bursting their 

 buds in a cool place, is the condition, all other things 

 being equal, in which they are ready to make a vigorous 

 start. The exact time when this takes place depends 

 considerably on the time they ripened and shed their 

 foliage in autumn. When kept in a cool airy place, 

 they are at this stage, in ordinary seasons, about the end 

 of March or beginning of April, which is a good time to 

 plant. "When intended for early forcing, I recommend 

 their being planted about the middle of February, when, 

 in the case of early varieties, they can be easily excited 

 into growth by fire-heat. It is an established fact, that 

 being started early one season, they are the more 

 susceptible of early excitement the next ; and conse- 

 quently they can be brought sooner into an early forc- 

 ing condition when planted and started somewhat early. 

 Late varieties intended for late grapes should, on the 

 other hand, be planted just as they begin to burst their 

 buds in a cool place, which is generally in April. 



For a vigorous start and growth, April and May are 

 the best months to start young and newly-planted vines. 

 Except in the case of those required for early forcing, it 

 is best to wait for long days, bright sun, and the nat- 

 ural impulse of the plant, before applying much fire-heat. 



In the case of vines struck from eyes the same spring, 

 the end of May is a good time, just as the plants have 

 attained to about 2 feet in height, and their roots have 

 been prepared according to the Tweed Vineyard practice. 

 I have, however, planted them at various times from 

 May to July with very similar success. In one case 

 where I had to ripen a crop of grapes, in the same house 



