246 THE VINEYARD. [March. 
into the earth as before, where you wish it to grow, and the next 
season you will have a fine vigorous plant; observing then, to detach 
it from the mother vine, by cutting off the connection close to its 
new established roots; or you may lay it all the way in the earth 
from the mother plant to where you desire its top to grow, and in 
a year disconnect them near to the old plant; this will be the better 
way, provided you lay it in deeper than the ordinary culture, to 
secure it from being disturbed thereby. This the French call 
Provigner la vigne. 
Propagation by Cuttings. 
The method of propagating the vine by cuttings, is in more gene- 
ral practice than by that of layers, and very justly; for plants raised 
in the latter way are found to be much inferior to those raised by 
cuttings, both in point of vigour and durability. 
The particulars necessary to form a good cutting, are princi- 
pally these: 1st. The eye or bud should be large and prominent. 
2nd. The shoots moderately strong, round and short jointed. 3d. 
The texture of the wood should be close, solid, and compact; but 
the best criterion of its maturity is its solidity, and having very 
little pith: it is absurd to expect good success or prosperous 
plants from wood imperfectly ripened. 
Unskilful persons frequently choose remarkably strong shoots 
for cuttings: the extraordinary size is one of the least necessary 
requisites; indeed, exceeding strong shoots generally abound too 
much with pith, and are too long jointed to claim a preference. 
In the proper pruning season, which, in the middle states, I con- 
ceive to be the latter end of February, or first week in March, 
much earlier in the southern states, and very little later in the 
eastern — take your cuttings from the old vines, near to where they 
were produced; cut off the lower end of each in a sloping manner, 
half an inch below a bud, and the upper end, in like manner, an 
inch above one, having the slope on the opposite side of the bud, and 
leaving the cutting from twelve to sixteen inches long; but twelve 
is sufficient, if short-jointed, and furnished with at least four or five 
good buds. 
There can be but one prime cutting obtained from each shoot, 
though many persons cut these into several lengths, and plant them 
all, which should not be done except in cases of necessity, for the 
upper parts are never so well ripened as the lower, on account of 
these being produced at an earlier period, and having the advantage 
of the whole season to perfect their maturity. The upper parts 
being soft and spongy, admit the moisture too freely, which often 
prevents their growth, and even should they succeed, they will not 
produce fruit so soon, nor will they bear so abundantly for many 
years as those whose wood is close, compact, and already organized 
for fructification- 
Some people recommend taking off the cuttings with an inch or 
two of the two years' old wood annexed, but this is unnecessary, 
and even injurious, unless the species of plant which you are pro- 
