14 
plants, and then should know the various methods to choose the 
best one for his conditions. Sometimes a vacancy in a vineyard 
can be filled by layering from a neighboring vine; or a strong root 
system can be used by grafting a desirable variety upon it; or a vine 
of a choice variety is to be propagated to produce the largest num- 
ber of plants by making cuttings of all the season's wood. 
Cuttings. — The method by which the millions of grape vines, are 
propagated, annually, by nurserymen is by means of cuttings made 
by ripened wood of the last season's growth. When the vines are 
pruned the "primings" are used for making cuttings. This is most 
commonly doue in the spring, in the month of March or early April 
in Pennsylvania, or the wood for cuttings may be taken in November, 
cut into proper lengths for cuttings and buried in sand or soil until 
spring. It is recommended to make cuttings in the fall in preference 
to spring, so that the wood may be protected during the winter, and 
the cutting be ready to develop roots as soon as the spring weather 
may influence root production. If the canes are exposed to severe 
cold and then are not cut until April, weaker plants are obtained 
than by fall cutting. 
Only strong, well-ripened canes are taken and from these the slen- 
der, weak ends are discarded. Cuttings are commonly made from 
six to ten inches long, including two or three buds. (.Figs. 1 and 2). 
The lower cut is made within one inch of the bud and the upper- 
cut about two inches above the upper bud. The pruning shears, if 
sharp, will serve to make this cut, and will be more expeditious than 
a knife. To obtain very strong plants, mallet cuttings are made 
when it is possible to secure the proper wood. A mallet cutting is 
made from the lowest piece of a cane which has been cut with a sec- 
tion of the previous year's cane, as illustrated in Figure 3. It is 
evident that only one such cutting can be made from a single cane. 
It is sometimes recommended to peel or slit grape cuttings in various 
ways on the underground portion to give a greater callusing surface, 
but this is not practiced in commercial establishments. 
Cuttings made in the fall are tied in bundles of 50 or 100 and buried 
in sand, moss or sawdust in a cellar where a temperature of about 
'M) degrees to 40 degrees F. prevails. Early in the spring they 
are planted in rows in ground where they can root and be cared for 
for one or two years. Most varieties of grapes will root freely in this 
manner, but a few of them, of which the Delaware is an example, 
do not root so easily. Cuttings of such varieties are sometimes 
buried in the fall in ground where the sun shines directly upon the 
surface. The cuttings are put in the ground, inverted, so that the 
butt ends are just under the surface. In this way the greater heat 
at the lower ends of the cuttings develops a good callus on each 
