SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
315 
the roots go some inches deeper than the bottom of the 
ditch; the other places the vine upright and holds it until 
the first has put earth around it. If you have other hands 
let them follow with hoes and refill the trench, so that the 
top eye of the vine will be about on a level with the sur- | 
face. Put a short stake to each vine, to mark its place 
There is nothing more to do until the spring grass will 
call your plows and hoes into use; then work then:, as j 
you would corn or cotton. You may plant two rows of ■ 
corn or peas betv/een the rows, and they will not inter- ' 
fere with the vines in the least i 
FIRST PRUNING. ’ i 
In the winter, at any time between the 1st of Decern- ! 
ber and the 1.5th of March, take a sharp knife, remove j 
every branch except one, and cut that down above the 
second or third eye of the last growth ; break the land j 
with a half-shovel plow as for corn, passing the nearest ' 
furrow about twelve inches from the vines. Give them a | 
stake about four feet long; they will, in the spring, shoot | 
out ncany suckers, and put out eyes where they have no 
business ; cut out the suckers with a long handled chis- 
sel, and rub off all the eyes excepting the two or three 
you left in pruning ; these, as they grow up, should be 
fastened to the stakes, with bits of soft string, bark, or any 
thing else you may have at hand. Keep the land culti- j 
rated with plow and hoe, and plant peas between. | 
SECOND PRUNING. I 
The second winter's pruning is a repetition of the first, ! 
but you must replace the small stakes by good lasting j 
wood, from six to eight (eet long. There will be some fruit. | 
The summer’s work is the same as above. 
THIRD PRUNING. 
The third winter's pruning is different : remove all 
branches or canes, save the two strongest ; of these, cut 
the highest about eighteen inches long, and the other 
about three inches — the longest is intended for fruit ; the 
latter, which is called “spur,” is to make wood f®r next 
year. Towards spring, bend this long branch horizon- 
tally^ and fasten the end of it strongly to a short stake, 
placed at a sufficient distance. In the West this cane is 
made to form a complete circle by fastening the end of it 
to the foot of the vine; this is called “arching.” The 
object of arching is to moderate and regulate the flow of 
the sap, in order that it may fill all the eyes on the cane, 
for if the cane were left perpendicular, the sap would 
pass the lowest eyes, and rush upv/ards into the top. 
But, in my opinion, arching overdoes the business, and 
the sap, whose tendency is always upwards, will most 
generally stop at the eyes on the upper part of the arch, and 
develope them strongly ; and those below will put out 
very weakly, or not at all. While, when the cane is laid 
horizontally, they all get their share much more equally 
divided. The vine should also be strongly fastened to the. 
large stake. All wdio plant vines must plant out O.sier 
Willow, w’hose twigs are superior to any otliers for tying, 
although I have made use of the young twigs of Black 
Gum, or of the Wild Willow, and of the bark of young 
Hickory. 
During this summer, the vines wdl throw out strong 
branches, which must be fastened to the stakes as they 
grow, until they reach the top, when they may be left to 
hang over. Plow and hoe as usual ; plow deep in win- 
ter and in summer make use of a scraper. After tliis, 
the v/inter pruning is always, more or le.ss,a repetition of 
this last ; one spur, and one or two bearing canes, accord 
ing to the strength of the vine. In pruning let the cut be 
clean and close, leaving no small ends of dead wood, 
which will surely injure the old stem Among old vines, 
a small-toothed butcher-saw will greatly assist the ope- 
ration. 
I do not approve of summer pruning; vines and fruit 
i 
1 
require all the shelter they can muster to preserve them 
from our burning sun. Persons engaged in the grape 
culture should not lose sight of the object of pruning ; it 
is to moderate and equalize the production of fruit, thereby 
improving its quality, and sparing the health and life of the 
vine. We are often told that this or that person has a vine,, 
which is never pruned, climlis to the summit of high trees,, 
bears abundantly, is very old, etc. A single vine is very dif- 
ferent from twelve hundred to the acre! — and in many 
parts of Italy, where they have adopted the tree culture, 
the quality of the wine, which formerly ranked high, has- 
completely been destroyed. I never wish to see my 
vines average more than from twelve to fifteen bunches 
each. Qu.iLiTY is better than quantity. 
The Catawba seems to have usurped the most promi- 
nent place among the natives. At the West it is by far 
the greatest favorite ; perhaps, there others do not succeed 
as well. At the South, most persons are following in the 
wake of our Western brethren, and have taken it for 
granted that none others are worth cultivating, and con- 
demn without a trial, or even without knowing them. 
The Catawba is certainly a beautiful looking grape, and 
a great bearer; but its honied and wild musky flavor, 
( which is unfortunately too strongly retained in the wine,) 
is a very serious objection for a palate accustomed to e 
more delicate fruit or beverage. The “ boquet,” or per- 
fume, of wine is a precious quality, but this has “ toe 
much of the good thing.” 
Foreign grapes must be discarded for wine making.. 
After a fair trial, we, like many others, have come to the 
conclusion that they cannot stand our climate. 
Of all the natives that have come within my reach, I 
give a decided preference to the Warren and the Isabella, 
both great bearers, but, like the Catawba, subject to the 
rot The former makes a delicate wine of the color of 
Madeira, but not so strong; the latter, a light beautiful 
colored Claret, very similar to Bordeaux wines. I, also, 
like what we here call the Burgundy and Black July, 
(both misnamed,) — the first being the best table grape we 
have in this country, and making a delightful Madeira 
colored wine; the Black July makes a very dark, rich, 
red wine, not unlike Port. These two vines are not^ 
great bearers, but their fruit does not rot. 
MAKING WINE. 
My process for making wine is different from that fol- 
lowed in the West and in Georgia. The grapes being 
gathered, and all unsound or green berries removed, they 
are thrown into large tubs, or half barrels, and thoroughly 
crushed with the hand ; the contents are tlien emptied 
into large vats, (hogsheads.) which are filled to within 
fourteen inches of the top; cover these with homespuri 
and boards, to keep out gnats and flies. In a very short 
time fermentation commences; the mass swells and rises 
to the top, and should be pressed down, with a wooden 
paddle, two or three times per day. The next morning 
the clear juice is drawn from a fascet, near the bottom, 
and poured into a barrel; when no more juice comes out, 
the mass in the vat is t.hen carried to the press and what 
liquid remains in it is squeezed out; this is n.^ually very 
thick, and is put into another barrel, as it is of inferior 
quality. Be sure that your barrels are filled to within 
three inches of the bung; ivss than that would leave wo 
much air in contact with the wine, and would cause it 
to sour ; more than that would cause it to overflow* in the 
fermentation which for a few days will be very brisk; 
when this has subsided, fill tiie barrels to one inch ot the 
iiung, with w’ine reserved for that purpose, and close the 
bungs tightly. Be very eareful that the barrel, tubs, vats, 
etc , be all perfectly clean and sweet, as the slightest de- 
gree of uncleanliness would be fatal to the wine. 
There now remains nothing to do until the next wunter, 
w*hen the wine is drawn into other barrels in order to clari- 
