42 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 19, 
GRAPE VINES GROW TOO FAST. 
C. S. B., Princess Anne, Va .—I have some 
Moore's Early grape vines which were set out 
in the Spring of 1894, and came in bearing 
in due time. For a few years they produced 
good crops of fruit, after which they have 
steadily declined in fruit production, and the 
last two years have borne scarcely any fruit, 
although the vines continue strong and vigor¬ 
ous, making immense growth each year. 
These vines have been regularly pruned back 
to one or two buds of old wood, and have 
been fairly well cultivated, but the cultiva¬ 
tion has been very shallow, because the roots 
were so shallow that we could not work deep 
without tearing out large roots, there being 
a perfect mat of small ones near the surface. 
Other varieties of grapes set in same soil, 
at same time, and treated in same way, seem 
less vigorous in vine growth, but continue 
to yield good crops. What can be done to 
make these Moore’s Early vines more produc¬ 
tive? What effect would root pruning and 
deeper cultivation have? 
I have no difficulty in obtaining all the 
fruit of Moore’s Early grape the vine 
can stand, but with us the vine is not so 
good a grower as Concord or even Ca¬ 
tawba. Our cultivation is from three to 
four inches in depth. I would recom¬ 
mend training up a new shoot from the 
ground and cutting out the old head of 
the vine. F. m. hyatt. 
New York. 
The only possible explanation of the 
behavior of the grapevines described 
above, is that the ground is too rich 
Grapevines not infrequently receive too 
much fertilizer, and especially too much 
fertilizer containing nitrogen. The great 
vigor of the vines, as noted by your 
correspondent, indicates that the vines are 
“going to wood,” and probably because 
of too much plant food. Deep cultivation 
to prune the roots; cover crops in late 
July to use up excess plant food and ex¬ 
cess moisture; and comparatively light 
pruning, leaving 40 or 50 buds, might 
bring the vines into bearing. 
U. P. HEDRICK. 
N. Y. Agricultural Exp. Station. 
C. S. B.’s experience with Moore’s 
Early grape is exactly the opposite of 
mine. I find that after a few years’ bear¬ 
ing they make a poor growth of vine, and 
require heavy fertilization to keep up 
wood growth. Deeper cultivation might 
have the desired effect, but I would be 
afraid to try it. If the vines were mine 
I would apply a fertilizer containing 
about six per cent of phosphoric acid and 
14 per cent of potash at the rate of 800 
pounds to the acre, and use no nitrogen 
for a couple of years; this would not 
injure the vines and reasoning on general 
principles should produce the desired re¬ 
sult. GABRIEL HIESTER. 
Pennsylvania. 
The inquirer does not say whether 
they bloom or not. If they bloom as 
usual, and he is troubled with Rose bugs, 
no doubt that they destroy the bloom, 
which they will on Moore’s Early, and 
not materially injure other varieties. If 
this is not the case it is probably caused 
by too close pruning, as in the vigorous 
condition the first few buds which he 
leaves next to the old cane are not fully 
developed, and the remedy is to leave 
more fruiting buds; instead of cutting to 
two buds leave canes three to six feet 
long, and thin out the number of canes. 
Moore’s Early is not as productive as 
many others, and requires more fruiting 
wood. I have vines in vineyard 15 years 
old that are still productive, but we do 
not prune as closely as for Concord and 
Worden. The Rose bugs sometimes de¬ 
stroy our crop. We have found no re¬ 
liable remedy except hand picking. 
New Jersey. chas. black. 
I should say that the whole trouble is 
with the method of pruning. No Chau- 
tauqua-Erie grower would expect any 
grapes, nothing but a great swamp of 
vine growth. It is well understood here 
that if too little bearing wood is left for 
thh'.y ( igor of the vine, the blooms seem 
indalTft’bte of fertilization, and the result 
wijl >bcjMZ.y few loose, scraggly bunches 
of souf;••poorly ripened fruit. A continu¬ 
ance bf the treatment aggravates the 
‘ % 
trouble. When C. S. B. trims for crop 
of 1907 let him leave from eight to 20 
(according to vigor of vines) canes of 
this (1906) season’s growth. These canes 
should not be cut down to two buds, but 
should be left 30 to 40 inches long. If 
he can make a good guess as to the right 
proportion the 1907 yield will be large 
and of fine quality. If the wood growtli 
of 1907 appears rather weak then for next 
season less wood should be left. In cases 
like above it is sometimes necessary to 
remove every other vine in order to get 
room enough to place the bearing canes. 
C. S. B. should use his own judgment 
as to this. a. i. loop. 
Pennsylvania. 
C. S. B. does not say how his Moore’s 
Early vines are trained. Are they tied 
to stakes, or grown on a trellis, one run 
each way? We suspect he has been spur- 
pruning them ever since they came into 
bearing, and are tired of it. Moore’s 
Early usually produces a fair 'crop of 
fruit, and is held in high esteem in this 
neighborhood as a profitable variety, ow¬ 
ing to its earliness, and good quality. We 
do not think any bad results will follow 
by cultivating them the same as for corn, 
during the fore part of Summer, and as 
they bear but little fruit nothing will be 
lost by advising him to renew them by 
cutting them all down as low as possible, 
and then allow fewer of the strongest 
shoots to grow to a height of six or seven 
feet before stopping them, and be sure 
to remove all other growths from the 
vines during Summer. If the canes pro¬ 
duce laterals, these may be stopped back 
to one or two leaves. This will strength¬ 
en the fruit buds of canes and encourage 
larger bunches of fruit. At pruning time 
cut out the two smallest canes and shorten 
the others back to 4J4 or five feet, which 
will give fruit enough for the vines to 
carry. We suggested four canes to grow 
the first year as we thought as the vines 
were strong it would regulate their 
growth and induce better ripened wood 
than if two canes only were allowed to 
grow. These can be fruited two seasons 
by spurring them the second year. Two 
new canes must be grown every second 
year to take the place of those to be cut 
out after two years’ fruiting. In disbud¬ 
ding all weak shoots should be removed, 
leaving those with the largest bunches of 
fruit, and only what the vine can carry 
to perfection. Renewing vines, if judici¬ 
ously done, will always renew t'heir fruit¬ 
fulness, as there is nothing else to do for 
it. JOHN CHARLTON & SONS. 
New York._ 
COLONIES FOR THE SOUTH. 
H. H., Sand Bay, Ont .—In a recent issue 
of The R. N. j Y. one of your subscribers asks 
an opinion as to the practicability of spending 
the Winter in the South and returning North 
in the Spring. The article is headed “Farm¬ 
ing Both Ends of the Country.” I have had 
such a scheme in view for a number of years. 
I have spent several Winters in the South. 
I believe the plan can be made practical by 
forming a colony of northern people. They 
could co-operate in buying a tract suitable 
for Winter vegetable growing in the far 
South. They could get special excursion tickets 
over some railroad or steamship lines. They 
would get special attention in the matter of 
transportation of products to northern mar¬ 
kets. They could co-operate In buying sup¬ 
plies and in hiring a superintendent who 
understands southern methods. fie could 
have plants such as tomatoes and celery 
readv for transplanting when colonists would 
arrive, and in the Spring if products were 
not all sold when colonists wished to return 
North he could complete sales and make re¬ 
turns. Also look after fruit trees and rent 
the tracts to southern people who could grow 
a crop during the Summer months. If the 
scheme could be carried out it would afford 
many who do not feel able to withstand our 
northern Winters an opportunity of going 
South. It would break up the monotony of 
northern life. We could look forward to a 
delightful annual outing with the possibility 
of making some money. I have heard of 
great returns from truck growing in the Win¬ 
ter even as high as $500 to $1,000 per acre. 
R. N.-Y.—In theory such a scheme ought 
to work yet we doubt if it could be carried 
out. Truck or fruit growing in the South 
requires constant and careful oversight. We 
doubt if people could come and go as you 
describe and carry out a profitable season. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
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