1862. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
305 
Propagating Grape Vines. 
At. this season of the year, many thoughts are 
directed to this subject, and many inquiries 
made of those who are supposed to understand 
it. A special interest has of late been awakened 
in it because of the superior excellence of the 
newer varieties, and of their profitableness for 
market. We will now describe several differ¬ 
ent methods, leaving the reader to choose be¬ 
tween them. 
LAYERING. 
This is the surest, and in some respects the 
best. The common way is to bend down, early 
in the season, a cane of last year’s growth, dig 
out a trench three inches deep, and as long as 
the cane, peg down the shoot by short pins, and 
cover it with earth. Spread a few leaves, or 
short grass, over the surface, to keep the ground 
moist. Roots will form all along the cane, and 
from the strongest buds shoots will spring up. 
In Autumn, the cane may be severed from the 
parent vine, and may be cut into as many parts 
as there are shoots with roots. 
When it is desired to get as many new vines 
as possible, a better way is to let the cane lie on 
the top of the ground until early Summer, until 
shoots have pushed six or eight inches from 
every eye, then peg it down in a shallow trench, 
and cover it with soil. Roots will soon strike 
out at the base of every young shoot, and we 
shall be quite sure to get as many new vines as 
we have eyes. If the vine is old, and has been 
trained so high that canes cannot easily be lay¬ 
ered, resort may be had to the following pro¬ 
cess. Take a large flower pot, draw a side grape 
shoot up through the hole at the bottom, fill 
the pot with sandy loam, and hang it to a stiff 
branch above, or to a hbok on the frame. 
The cane should have the bark scarred near the 
base of a bud in the lower part of the pot. This 
will favor the emission of roots. Keep the 
ground moist by frequent waterings, and a new 
plant will soon be formed. Cut off the cane 
below the pot, in Autumn, and the work is done. 
CUTTINGS. 
These are of two sorts, the long cutting for 
planting in the open ground, and the short, 
for starting in hot-beds. The long cutting 
should contain two or three buds, the. wood 
should be ripe and strong, and the buds plump. 
Taken off at the fall or winter pruning, they 
are easily preserved in a bank of earth out of 
doors, or in a cool part of the cellar. Each 
cutting should have a bud close to the base, and 
if there is a piece of the old, or last year’s wood 
attached, it will be more sure to strike well. 
In planting, choose soil of a sandy loam, not 
a stiff clay, and not wet. If it is very sandy, 
the cuttings will be apt to dry up in mid-sum¬ 
mer. If the land is cold and stiff, work in a 
little sand, especially in the part occupied by the 
base of the cuttings. 
Suppose we have a hundred or more cuttings: 
we will begin the work by spading up the 
ground, and putting it in the best condition. 
Level it down handsomely, draw a garden line 
across the patch on one side, and cut out a 
trench one foot deep. Set the cuttings in ob¬ 
liquely ; if set perpendicular, the lower buds, be¬ 
ing so far from the heat and air of the surface, 
will rot off without forming roots. The lower 
bud should not be deeper in the soil than six or 
eight inches. The upper bud should be just on 
the surface; if higher up in the air, the cane is 
apt to dry up. The cuttings being in place, fill 
up the trench and level off smooth. Proceed 
in the same way with other rows, until' the cut¬ 
tings are all planted, leaving a space of eighteen 
inches or two feet between the rows for conven¬ 
ient cultivation through the Summer. If the 
season is very dry, mulch between the rows. 
SINGLE-EYE CUTTINGS. 
These are employed chiefly in the propagation 
of choice varieties,where the vineyardist can not 
afford to use so much wood as is required in the 
long cutting, and where it is wished to make a 
little wood go a great way. These cuttings, or 
more properly buds, are prepared by taking a 
single one, with an inch of wood on each 
side of it, and splitting off nearly half of the 
wood underneath the bud. This last operation 
facilitates the striking. The buds are then set 
out in a gentle hot-bed, about half an inch deep, 
or in pots or boxes plunged in a hot-bed. The 
latter method is generally most successful. They 
should then be regularly watered and ventilated 
until the young vines are hardened off enough 
to be removed to the open air. Experienced 
propagators prefer this method to any other. It 
not only saves a great deal of wood, but, as each 
new plant retains only a trifle of the substance 
of the parent vine, it is almost as truly*a new 
vine in its constitution as one raised from seed. 
We only add that if these eyes start well, they 
will become fine little plants the first season. It 
is better, however, to set them out in nursery 
rows until the second year, before a final planting. 
GRAFTING GRAPE VINES. 
Another method sometimes used for propagat¬ 
ing the vine is grafting. Old vines of an inferior 
sort may thus be made over new, in one or two 
seasons. Wild vines may be dug up from the 
roadsides and grafted in the Winter, and set out 
in the Spring. These soon make strong plants. 
Protection of Young Trees in Winter. 
So many are the losses every year from the 
effects of Winter, that this subject is worthy of 
special mention as the trying season approaches. 
A few words of precaution are needed now: 
There are many considerations in favor of 
fall-planting. One has usually a better lot of 
trees to select from at the nurseries, than in 
the Spring. If set out early, the wounded roots 
become calloused, and ready to emit new roots 
in the Spring: they may even begin to form 
roots in the Fall. They are fairly in their new 
quarters at the very opening of Spring, and 
ready to start at the first beginning of warm 
weather. Fall planting saves much time for 
other work in Spring, which is always a busy 
season. In the Fall, the ground is warm, com¬ 
paratively dry, and easy and pleasant to work. 
It can not be doubted that the hardiest trees, 
such as apples and forest-trees, may be set out 
in Autumn to the best advantage. But those 
slightly tender—such as cherries, some kinds of 
pears and shade trees—if taken up in the Fall, 
should be “heeled in,” and protected for the 
Winter. They will then be in the best possible 
condition for planting out in the Spring. And 
here is the way of doing it. On receiving the 
bundle of trees from the nursery, choose a dry 
and partially sheltered corner of the garden or 
orchard, lay open a trench about- a foot deep, 
sloping it off on one side, and making a hillock 
on that side for the trunks and branches to rest 
on. It is taken for granted that this trench is 
made where no water will stand in it. Now 
lay the roots along in the trench as closely to¬ 
gether as possible, the limbs resting on the bank 
of earth. Cover the roots a foot deep, making 
a mound over them to shed water. Let also the 
trunks be slightly covered, for full half their 
length. It is well to lay a few evergreen bows 
over the branches; cornstalks may be used, 
though in moderation, or they will attract mice. 
As soon as Spring opens, remove all covering, 
shorten in the branches, and plant. 
For trees planted within a year or .two 
past, a slight Winter protection is important, at 
least in exposed places at the north. The roots 
of such trees are yet small, and have not recov 
ered from the shock of removal. The main 
thing required is to cover the entire body ol 
roots with a few inches of extra soil. If coarse 
manure is at hand, use that, and it will answer 
the double purpose of protection and enrich¬ 
ment. In Spring, let the manure be worked into 
tlie soil. Wherever there is danger from mice, 
a conical bank of earth, about a foot high, should 
be made around the stem of every newly plant 
ed tree, removing it early in Spring. 
A Paying Investment—Plant Trees. 
For how much money would you cut down 
the fruit and shade trees on your farm ? Every 
owner will, in reply, name a sum far above the 
cost of planting and raising them. This proves 
conclusively that tree planting will pay. We 
know of no more certain way to increase the 
market price and the salableness of a farm, than 
by stocking it with trees. The satisfaction to be 
derived from abundance of fruit and shade, the 
attractiveness thereby given to the Home , and its 
good influence upon the family circle, these can 
hardly be estimated in dollars and cents. 
Now is the time to make this richly paying 
investment. Commence in the vicinity of the 
dwelling. The peaches, cherries, and other 
stone fruits, and tender trees, will be better left 
until next Spring. For apples, pears, and de¬ 
ciduous shade trees, the best time is when the 
frost has nearly stripped them of leaves. They 
become well settled in their places during Win¬ 
ter, and are ready to commence growth when 
Spring opens. A few essential points need at¬ 
tention in transplanting. Large trees may be 
successfully transplanted by using extra care, 
but it is generally far preferable to take those of 
only a few years’ growth. In a few years they 
will outstrip those of larger size, and be of better 
shape, as they need little pruning when removed. 
When taking them up, use great care not to 
injure the roots, particularly the smaller fibers; 
these draw most of the nourishment taken from 
the soil. All injured roots should be pared 
smooth; they will then heal more quickly. 
The better the soil is made before planting the 
trees, the more speedy and thrifty will be the 
growth. It is essential not only that a few feet 
immediately around the trunk be enriched, but 
that the whole area where the roots are to ex¬ 
tend should be in good condition. If the loca¬ 
tion be wet, draining must be resorted to, or all 
other labor will be mostly wasted; the trees 
will drag out a short and profitless existence. 
Make the holes large enough to allow of spread¬ 
ing the roots to their full length, and lay them 
all out in the direction of growth. Set the trees 
at the same depth as they originally grew. 
If an orchard is to be set out, the following 
simple contrivance (republished from a former 
volume,) will enable a person to place them in 
exact rows. It is merely a strip of board, about 
eight feet long, with an opening from one side 
to the center, large enough to admit any tree to 
be planted, and having also a hole, say of an 
inch in diameter, near each end. It is used thus: 
