32 



THIRTY-FOURTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' COX\'EXTIOX. 



frosts that may destroy your first crop, as you will then have a second 

 crop to partially make up this loss. If. on the other hand, you want all 

 first crop, you should leave more spurs and buds and your growth will 

 he shorter, and therefore little second crop. Zinfandels seem to do best 

 on bottom land, pruned trellis system, and contrary to the European 

 conditions, a vine pruned high will mature as early as a low one, so 

 no uneasiness need be felt about pruning high when the conditions 

 warrant it. If you wish to produce only first class wine. Zinfandels 

 should be planted only where they will produce a sugar test of at least 

 twenty, and not over twenty-four, as a Zinfandel at twenty-two pro- 

 duces wine with eleven and one half per cent alcohol, which is ideal. 

 I have merely used this grape as a type, the same relative conditions 

 apphing to the others, for when they are too low. or exceed the sugar 

 limit, or are lacking in the finer qualities, they depreciate themselves 

 just so much. 



As to some of the other standard varieties, the Caragnan is a good 

 grape, ripening a little later, a hea^7' bearer, but not quite so fine a 

 variety. The Petite Syrah is the grape of the future. A grape ful- 

 filling all demands as to bearing, quality, etc., with but perhaps one 

 drawback, a very difficult vine to prune, but experiments now under 

 way will, I believe, solve this problem the coming season. I might also 

 mention the comparatively new Grannoir as a grape of ciuality. I must 

 say. hovrever. that the Bouschets are poor, and the planting of these 

 should be discouraged: the wine drops color badly and is no better than 

 third class. For blending, the Burger is a great bearer, but has a 

 tendency to be gour and can not be universally recommended, as can 

 the Chasselas. 



There is very little use to quote varieties in raisin or table grape 

 culture, but with these latter the same characteristics pervade as to 

 localized conditions. With the resistants there seems to be still much 

 to learn. "We can. however, profit by what has already been done and 

 can. at least, begin where the French have left off. and thus prevent 

 largely what would probably be useless experimentation. The French 

 have settled on the beueli-grafted vine as the best, and for good reasons, 

 the principal draVback now being the lack of affinities. For instance, 

 the Zinfandel seems to be one of the worst, and takes poorly to all of 

 the resistants : the best results attained so far being a Champain graft 

 on Eupestris St. Cxeorge. The shotilder graft, used by the French 

 growers, gives fairly good results. There is little need of saying that 

 vines on resistant roots produce .iust as good quality and a little larger 

 crop, on the average, than on their own roots. 



In planting rooted "^ines your general conditions should be carefully 

 taken into consideration, that you may have the best results. For 

 instance, in deep, warm soil with plenty of moisttire, where you get a 

 large gro^nli. it is best to cut the roots back to at least one and a half 

 inches : in dry. lighter soils, six inches or more should be left. You 

 will readily see that this resolves itself into a rttle which will. I believe, 

 fit most eases : Prune yotir roots in inverse proportion to the growth 

 produced by your soil conditions. If the growth of a ^ine is equal 

 above and below ground. Avhat will happen when we plant a vine with 

 a large root system and cut the top back to two buds? If you have 

 plenty of moisttire. and your ground is fertile, you will get a large root 



