For a shady arbor tlie grape is unsurpassed; it will give fruit too 



Grapes will yield returns from land that cannot well be cultivated otherwise 



Planting Grapes in Waste Places— By w. H. Jenkins, 



New 

 York 



HERE IS A SUGGESTION FOR THE PROFITABLE USE OF OTHERWISE UNCULTIVABLE LAND -GET A SELEC- 

 TION OF VINES THIS SPRING, START A VINEYARD, AND HARVEST FRUIT WITH A MINIMUM OF LABOR 



4 VINEYARD of twenty-five or fifty 

 grape vines will give more returns for 

 less trouble than anything I know. It was 

 almost with the protest of my family and 

 neighbors that I planted with grape vines a 

 bank that was too steep for profitable cul- 

 tivation. "The climate," they said, "is 

 too cold for grapes and the vines will not grow 

 well if you cannot cultivate them." But I 

 wanted a vineyard, and I did not want to 

 plant it on tillable level land, worth several 

 hundred dollars per acre. 



The growing season in my locality is from 

 May to October, and the temperature some- 

 times 20 degrees below zero. The soil is 

 clay-loam. 



In the early spring when the frost was just 

 out of the ground, I dug up places for the 

 vines about six feet in diameter and eighteen 

 inches deep, turning over the sods and pul- 

 verizing the soil where I set the vine. I 

 worked in some fine manure, then planted 

 my vines 6x8 feet apart. The vines, were 

 two years old, and I bought 50 of a nursery 

 and the cost was not over $5. 



I planted 20 Worden, 5 Niagara, 5 Moore's 

 Diamond, 5 Delaware, 5 Concord, and the 

 balance were the Winchel, Moore's Early, 

 and some newer varieties for experiment. 



The first year I cultivated the small space 

 around the vines. I had spaded before 

 planting, and mowed the grass and left it 

 on the ground for a mulch. I had read about 

 the grass mulch for trees and wanted to try it 

 for the grapes on land that was too steep and 

 stony to cultivate. 



The second year I gave the vines the same 

 treatment, put up three wires, so the rows 

 were eight feet apart, and began to train the 

 vines on them according to the "Kniffin" 

 system, which is to establish a vine in the 



You could easily pick a bushel of fruit standing 

 in one place 



form of a T with the horizontal part on 

 the top wire. 



In the four years following I have top- 

 dressed the ground with stable manure and 

 wood ashes as I could, also emptying wastes 

 from the house around the vines, and I have 

 mown the grass and left it for a mulch. 



Now about the results. We have had 

 grapes for family use three years, and last 

 year, six years from planting, the vines were 

 loaded with many bushels. A section of the 

 Wordens (black) is shown by the photo, with 

 166 



one of the lady pickers, which bore so heavy 

 a crop one could pick a bushel from the same 

 place. This is the most profitable variety 

 I have. An immense bearer, ripening the 

 last of September before the hard frosts; of 

 good size when pruned and thinned, sweet 

 and valuable for every purpose for which we 

 use grapes. 



The Niagara (white) is by far the most 

 desirable grape for the family fruit garden, 

 but it is more difficult to grow than the Wor- 

 den. It needs liberal feeding and some 

 protection in winter, in my locality. I 

 usually cut the vines loose from the trellis, 

 lay them down and cover them with straw 

 or brush early in the winter. All the other 

 varieties are sufficiently hardy for the winters 

 here in Delaware County, N. Y. 



Next to the Worden and Niagara, as being 

 most desirable here, I mention Concord, 

 Moore's Diamond, Campbell's Early, Dela- 

 ware, Winchell or Green Mountain, and 

 Moore's Early, in the order named. 



One needs only a few of the last two, for 

 the very early grapes are small, the vines 

 weak growers, and the grapes not so good 

 as later varieties. The medium early kinds 

 will ripen earlier, if rightly pruned, and the 

 bunches thinned. 



At the same time I planted my little vine- 

 yard, I also planted a few vines in various 

 places elsewhere. One now completely covers 

 an arbor and gives a pleasant shade during 

 hot days, and our children enjoy it as a 

 summer house. The inside of the arbor is 

 covered with grapes in their season, so the 

 arbor is useful and profitable, as well as 

 ornamental. I recommend the Worden or 

 some strong grower for covering arbors. 



Another vine I planted near an unsightly 

 apple stump and it now covers the permanent 



