Prune the grape in winter — November to February 



The two arms for next season's growth 



All the other wood is removed 



The Best Grapes for Home Use— By Julian Burroughs, ?£ 



A FRANK AND VIGOROUS DISCUSSION OF COMPARATIVE MERITS AMONG VARIETIES— SOME FAMOUS MARKET 

 SORTS THAT ARE WORTHLESS FOR THE AMATEUR— THE WHOLE STORY OF GRAPE CULTURE BRIEFLY TOLD 



TPHERE are so very many kinds of grapes 

 -*- listed by nurserymen that a person 

 who has not spent a lifetime in testing them 

 may well become bewildered in trying to 

 make a selection for home use. It takes four 

 years, too, to correct a mistake. Also some 

 very popular market grapes are of little value 

 in the garden, and on the other hand, some 

 grapes never grown for market are a delight 

 to the home-garden. These varieties have 

 been selected regardless of their value as 

 market grapes. 



THE BLACK GRAPES 



Moore's Early (or Moore) is a widely 

 grown and recommended grape that, like the 

 Champion, Telegraph, and other early mar- 

 ket kinds, is scarcely fit to eat. It is a shy and 

 uncertain bearer, sour, dry, and tasteless. 



The first good black grape to ripen is 

 Campbell (or Campbell's Early), which is 

 fully as early as the Moore, and a wonderful 

 variety for home use. It is a heavy bearer, 

 large, handsome, tastes like an Emerald Gem 

 muskmelon, and can be left to hang on the 



vine until frost. No other early grape can 

 do this. The berry is large, with a tough 

 skin, and young vines have a tendency to 

 produce straggly bunches. As the flavor 

 is very rich, spicy, and aromatic some people 

 do not like it. 



Worden, a seedling of the Concord, is the 

 next standard black grape to ripen. It is a 

 heavy bearer, large, very sweet, tender, and 

 juicy. Compared with the high-spiced Camp- 

 bell it is rather tasteless, but when one is hot 

 and thirsty it is one of the most refreshing 

 of grapes. 



In my experience the Herbert makes the 

 best and highest flavored grape juice, but 

 otherwise it is of little use. 



The Mills is the latest and longest-keeping 

 and highest-bred black grape we have. In 

 New York State it will keep until Christmas. 

 Many people do not like the Mills, but those 

 that do praise it above all other grapes. It 

 is an American descendant of the Black 

 Hamburg, and has a very compact, meaty, 

 and delicious berry. It is an after-dinner 

 fruit, being essentially a luxury. The vines 



require careful spraying and in some places 

 winter protection. The thirty degrees below 

 zero in 1904 froze my Mills to the ground — 

 the first time in twelve years. 



Concord is still a standard grape, easy to 

 grow and liked by many people. 



WHITE GRAPES 



Green Mountain or Winchell is the earliest 

 and sweetest of all grapes. It soon, however, 

 becomes over-ripe and tasteless. It is a most 

 delicate and tender grape, having large 

 bunches with small, thin-skinned berries. 

 Though almost invaluable for the garden 

 a few vines of Green Mountain are enough. 



Moore's Diamond is also a handsome, early 

 white grape, spicy and high-flavored. It 

 makes the best white wine of any of our 

 Eastern grapes. A vine or two of this high- 

 bred grape should be in every garden. 



In my opinion the queen of all grapes, the 

 handsomest, the most delicious, the most 

 aromatic and the one that pleases the most 

 people is the Niagara. It comes the nearest 

 to being the ideal, all-'round grape. The 



Prune so as to keep the spur short 



After pruning tie the cane with raffia 



How a vine should look afier pruning 



"All intelligent pruning of the grape rests upon the fact that the fruit is borne in a few clusters near the base of the growing shoots of the 



season, and which spring from wood of last year's growth." — Bailey 



152 



