1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
395 
MAKING THE MOST OF A GRAPEVINE. 
How to Start Its Training. 
Readers of The R. N.-Y. who are receiving the new 
seedling grape as a premium will no doubt give the 
little vines choice locations where their growth may be 
a matter of daily observance and enjoyment. These; 
locations may be favored sites in the vineyard, by door- 
yard trellises or arbors, or at tile sides of dwellings or 
outbuildings. Personally, were I to receive a grapevine 
of a choice variety, from a friend whom I should be 
pleased to remember daily, there could not be a place 
for the vine quite so satisfactory as where it might be 
utilized as a screen for a veranda or a sunny win¬ 
dow of my home. For such a purpose the grape 
is not only a pleasing ornamental vine in foliage, 
fruit and fragrance, but the fruit, from a practical 
standpoint, is usually free from disease, of fine 
quality and produced in great abundance. I have 
always been well pleased with the Kniffen plan of 
grape training, not only for vineyard culture, but 
for growing vines about the home. This system, 
in its various modifications, is so adaptable to all 
locations and conditions, and the pruning of the 
vines so simple a matter, that even our boys and 
girls can easily master the details and do scientific 
work with the pruning shears. I have given here¬ 
with a few rough pen drawings which teach the 
principles of Kniffen pruning and training more 
clearly than would be possible by a most carefully 
written description alone. But few words will be 
necessary. 
Fig. 185, page 396, shows the little vine as it 
should be planted. But one or two strong buds 
should be left to form the new cane, which should 
be tied to a light stake for support. Should there 
be two buds left, the weaker one of the two new 
shoots growing from these should be rubbed off. 
At the end of the first season after planting the 
vine will be of the form shown in Fig. 186, page 
396, in which is indicated, by a diagonal line, the 
next pruning. Four or five strong buds will be 
left—the upper two of which we will decide to have 
grow—those below being rubbed off. The two 
growing shoots should be supported by a stake 
which should be replaced by a trellis the succeed¬ 
ing season. Notice the pruning of these two divi¬ 
sions of the young vine, in Fig. 187, page 396, one cane 
being cut at the height of 3*4 feet and the other at 
the height of six feet. These caries are now tied to 
the wires of the new trellis, the plan of which is given 
in Fig. 178. The upper two buds of each division of 
the vine are permitted to grow. These develop into 
two pairs of arms, which are tied to and supported by 
the two trellis wires, as shown in Fig. 178, page 394. 
Again notice the lines marking the points at which the 
arms should be cut back. This pruning leaves from 
six to eight strong buds upon each arm. Each bud will 
produce a strong fruiting-cane. These fruiting-canes 
are not tied up to the wires, but per¬ 
mitted to droop or hang as shown in 
Fig. 181, page 394. Each of these canes 
should bear from two to four clusters 
of fruit. Fig. 181 shows what we may 
term the adult or full grown form of a 
double or Y Kniffen trained vine. The 
pruning of this vine is a simple matter— 
cutting each cane back to one bud. 
These buds produce a new crop of fruit¬ 
ing canes, which are allowed to hang 
as before, taking the place of those 
which were pruned away. Each suc¬ 
ceeding season the pruning is the same 
—cutting the drooping canes back to one 
strong bud. February or March is a 
good season for pruning. I trust that 
the reader may gain from the foregoing 
drawings and brief explanation a good 
understanding of the Kniffen plan as 
applied to trellis culture. Another draw¬ 
ing or two will give a conception of 
how “elastic” this system really is—how 
adaptable to various conditions and pur¬ 
poses. Indeed one can hardly conceive 
of a requirement that it is not possible 
to meet by some variation of this ex¬ 
cellent plan of growing, pruning, bend¬ 
ing and tving the vines, in accordance with existing needs. 
In order to cover any given space, or to screen any 
object or opening, the first thing to do is to carry the 
young cane or canes, by rapid, upright growths, sup¬ 
ported by a perpendicular wire or wires, to the top of 
the space or spaces to be covered. There, from ex¬ 
tending arms securely tied to wires stretched horizon¬ 
tally, the new shoots droop by the force of gravitation 
in a natural, graceful way that is most effective for 
utility as a screen, for fruiting and for ornamentation. 
Fig. 1/9 shows a grapevine employed as a screen for 
two south windows. The support for this vine is made 
by driving strong nails at a, b, c, d. A heavy wire is 
stretched from a to b, and another from c to d. It is 
well to have the horizontal wire a few inches higher at 
the point b than at the ends c and d. For the stronger 
growths of a vine are found, first, at the extremities of 
the canes; second, at the higher points. By keeping die 
head of the vine a little higher than the extremities of 
its arms we thereby equalize the growth of new wood, 
securing equally vigorous canes throughout. In Fig. 
182 is shown an adaptation of the same system of 
training to a different arrangement of windows, also 
the plan of wiring for support. It may take two or 
three years to grow the framework of the vine in this 
form, but it is readily accomplished by encouraging the 
GLADIOLUS TRISTIS CONCOLOR. MUCH REDUCED 
IN SIZE. Fig. 183. See Rurafisms, Page 398. 
vine to make the necessary extension canes by restrict¬ 
ing the number of shoots to those necessary to produce 
the desired form. A vine such as that shown in 
Fig. 182 is formed by growing a single cane to the 
height indicated at 1. From this point two buds are 
permitted to grow—those below being rubbed off. One 
shoot is carried across to a point above the lower win¬ 
dow, and the other is encouraged a year or two longer 
to gain a like point above the upper window. The treat¬ 
ment of these vines, as to pruning, is the same as with 
the Kniffen trellis form—annually cutting back the 
drooping canes to one-bud spurs. These two special 
SOME PRINCIPLES IN ROAD BUILDING. 
The Use of the Scraper. 
There is a principle of secondary importance to which 
I would first call attention. This second principle is 
to surface or topdress the road-bed with material that 
will “pack,” or cement itself firmly to the stones with 
which most of our soils are well supplied, thus present¬ 
ing a smooth upper surface to the wheels of passing 
vehicles. This property is not possessed by the surface 
soil, which is filled with particles of organic matter, 
nature having prepared it for a seed-bed for vegetation. 
It very soon works loose from the sides of the stones, 
both in the form of mud in wet weather, and of 
dust in dry weather, allowing the wheels to pound 
the protruding stones in a way that is familiar to 
most travelers of the Empire State. As a rule, 
the stratum of earth below the soil proper, pos¬ 
sesses this adhesive property which is so desirable 
on the surface of a road. Gravel, slate, shale, 
hardpan or even some kinds of clay, will give a 
smooth hard finish to a road-bed when properly 
handled, and some of these different materials are 
available in all localities. A good test of a good 
road is to sit in a heavy wagon, devoid of springs 
and drive over it at a good trot. In order to com¬ 
plete the test take a big basket of eggs in the wagon 
with you. If you succeed in getting to market 
without breaking the third commandment, or the 
eggs, you may safely call it a good road. 
The principle of first importance in road building 
or road repairing is to have a well-drained sur¬ 
face on which to place this adhesive surfacing 
material. It is useless to place even the best of 
material where it will have to lie and soak its feet 
after every rain, and at the same time have it 
trampled by the hoofs and wheels of travelers 
There can be no doubt that a well-drained stone 
foundation presents the best surface on which ro 
place this finishing material. Its great cost is the 
great objection of this kind of road, whether it be 
of the macadam, the Tilford or the simple bed of 
crushed stone type. A good substitute can be 
secured on nearly all soils where quicksand is 
absent, by simply bringing the earth and the soil of 
the road-bed to well-rounded shape with a road ma¬ 
chine, and providing suitable outlets to the gutters 
thus secured, at all low points. Any farmer who has turned 
a back-furrow across a field until it is somewhat ridged 
knows that the crowns of those ridges dry out much 
quicker after a rain than the lower and flatter parts 
of the field. By spreading a very little good adhesive 
road material along the crown of a road, thus ridged 
for drainage, a smooth, hard surface can be presented 
to the wheel at a very slight cost. 
In all subsequent repairs, these are the two all im¬ 
portant principles to keep in mind. The beaten track 
along the crown of the road soon becomes a hard 
crust, lying upon the more porous and open soil be¬ 
neath it, and at the sides near the gut¬ 
ters. This crust must be kept drained 
from the upper surface by keeping it 
scraped to a true oval with a hone or 
small scraper, after every heavy rain 
and from the under surface by occa¬ 
sionally scouring out the gutters, not 
making the mistake of throwing the 
wornout material back upon the road¬ 
bed. By keeping the gutters well below 
the crust of the beaten track, all water 
will quickly percolate away from the 
under surface of the crust, through the 
more porous soil beneath, and into the 
lower gutters at the sides. This treat¬ 
ment will give a good road indefinitely 
more pleasant to wheel and hoof in 
most weather than the high-priced stone 
roads, by simply applying a little new 
adhesive material to the beaten track ir 
the form of shale, gravel, etc., as it 's 
worn out by use. Where this principle 
is not understood we have the usual 
unsatisfactory dirt road. o. w. mapes. 
MOTIVE POWER ON A NEW HAMPSHIRE FARM. Fig. 1S4 
forms of Kniffen training are only suggestive of the 
many variations which may be worked out to suit 
almost any location or condition. With the principle 
once well fixed in the mind, the application under widely 
different circumstances is but a simple matter. 
F. H. BALLOU. 
ST. LAWRENCE APPLE.—Information is wanted by 
ID. R. F. in reference to St. Lawrence apple. It was quite 
largely cultivated in this section as York and Lancaster 
some years ago. but was never proved to l>e of European 
origin. Closely allied to the Fameuse it spotted very badly 
(although under the present spraying system that may be 
overcome 1 ), otherwise a handsome and very fine flavored 
apple. The red stripes so definitely outlined on yellow 
ground suggested the name. t. e. smith. 
Nova Scotia. 
MAIL SUGGESTIONS.—If people 
are as careless about their mail all 
over the country as they are here, 
we farmers lose a lot of the benefit that should come 
from the R. F. D. The routes which interfere, so to 
speak, with this office, have been in operation for some 
years. Our daily letter mail numbers about 100 letters. 
It is no unusual thing for one-fourth of it to require 
forwarding as “missent,” chiefly because the proper 
R. F. D. addresses are not understood. If every box 
bore, not the number of box on route, but the number 
of the route itself, and where from, and if the farmers 
would have printed letter heads or envelopes with 
printed address, much of this delay would be provided, 
and R. F. D. mail make as quick time as any, which is 
not the case now. G. S, PAINE, 
Maine. 
