500 



GROWING GRAPES 



foliage and fruit are susceptible to disease. Catawba will keep 

 well. It makes a high-grade, light-colored wine. 



Keuka is a red grape which ripens one week earlier than 

 Catawba. It has a very good flavor and is a new variety of the 

 European type. Urbana, red, is a good grape but a little later 

 than Catawba and for that reason its planting districts are 

 limited. Delaware is a very high-quality American table 

 grape. The berries are very small. The plants grow slowly 

 and should be planted closely. The high quality of this grape 

 makes it useful for wine making and champagne blending. 

 It grows fairly well if planted in rich soil. 



Recently the introduction of European types and seedless 

 kinds has changed the list of grape varieties for home vine- 

 yards and roadside markets. It takes many years, however, 

 to revise the list of standard commercial varieties of any 

 fruit which has as long a life as the American grape. 



Consult the local experiment station before making a final 

 selection of varieties either for market or home use. 



5. Determining Time of Planting. Plant in the spring in 

 the northern regions of commercial production. Elsewhere, 

 plant in the fall or spring at the grower^s option. It is im- 

 portant, as in all fruits, that the plants should be in the ground 

 early while spring rains are still abundant. 



6. Determining Planting Distances. Strong growing vari- 

 erties on fertile soil need 10 feet of space both in and between 

 the rows. This is not too much for Concord grown under 

 favorable conditions. Set less thrifty varieties 8 feet apart in 

 the rows, or some, as Delaware, even closer, but the space 

 between rows should always permit free use of implements, 

 including tractors. Even though carefully trained, the trunks 

 of some of the vines, when mature, will arch in such manner 

 as to lessen materially the available tillage space. At 10 feet 

 each way 435 plants per acre will be required. 



7. Securing the Plants. Grapes may be grown from cut- 

 tings, or from layers, as described in Chapter VII, 'Propaga- 

 tion.^' The commercial grower, however, will usually prefer 



