HISTORY AND EVOLUTION 41 



grower does not intend to keep all seed- 

 pods picked off or cannot water the plants 

 in order to overcome drought, the support 

 should be kept down to four feet. The 

 variety has something to do with the 

 height of the support, whatever the care 

 bestowed, some varieties being naturally 

 dwarfs. 



The sticks should be cut in late winter 

 or very early spring so that they are 

 rather green and tough enough to bear the 

 load until the end of the season. They 

 should be inserted in the soil at least a foot, 

 because when they are clothed with vines 

 to a height of six feet a strong windstorm 

 exerts a tremendous leverage on them. If 

 the sticks have not been inserted deeply, 

 or if they have become dead and brit- 

 tle, the row will go down under the force 

 of the wind and the great weight of the 

 wet vines. In order to guard against dis- 



