FLORIDA FEUITS. 



143 



bent down into the hole, the earth firmly packed in on them, the 

 ends left out turned slightly upward, and the work is done. 

 During the summer the weeds must be kept down, and the 

 ground kept slightly moist, not wet. By November the layers 

 are ready to be lifted and set out, either in their nursery or in 

 their permanent places ; they will be found fully supplied with 

 strong, thrifty roots. One good, large stump, thus devoted to prop- 

 agation, will in one season furnish from fifty to a hundred layers. 



These layers may be set out at any time while dormant, and 

 this, of course, is during the winter and early spring months. 



They should not be set closer than twenty -five feet to each 

 other in any direction, and if the land is very rich, not closer 

 than thirty feet. This may seem very far apart while the vines 

 are young, but wait awhile, and see ; and if the holes where they 

 are planted are well manured before setting out, you will " see " 

 all the sooner. 



Cut back the vines as they are planted, so that not more 

 than three or four eyes or buds are left, and drive down a st@ut 

 stake alongside of each, so that it stands fully six feet out of the 

 ground. 



Watch the young vines carefully, and pinch off all of the 

 lateral shoots, a few at a time, so as not to check the growth of 

 the main stem, which is the object of your care. This must be tied 

 to the stake as it grows, until, at the end of its first season, it 

 should have reached the top, a single, stout, clean stem. 



Before spring comes again, a canopy should be prepared ; 

 four perpendicular posts, six feet high (out of the ground) and 

 ten or twelve feet apart, with slatted top, will suffice for the sec- 

 ond season's growth, and each season, as the vine spreads, the 

 canopy must be spread also to meet its increasing requirements. 



It is a fact to be noted and heeded, especially by the North- 

 ern settler, who thinks he " knows all about grapes," that the 

 Bullace family w^ill not do well at all, spread out on the perpen- 

 dicular arbors usual at the North, and indeed everywhere, for 

 most other varieties of grapes. 



They must emphatically be kept spread out uniformly on 

 this horizontal canopy, and not permitted to overleap and crowd; 



