1912. 
TRIMMING AND CARING FOR GRAPES. 
Can you furnish me with information regarding trim¬ 
ming and caring for grape vines? E. m. e. 
Ohio. 
The above question I assume refers to the care of 
grapes in the home garden rather than in a commer¬ 
cial vineyard, and that the vines are already set. The 
pruning should be done fairly late in the Spring, but 
before a vigorous sap flow has begun. This time will 
vary from season to season. If not done before such 
flow it should be delayed till after that period is past, 
but there is no reason why it cannot be done at the 
right time, where but few vines are involved. 
For the home garden I believe the Munson system 
of training to be the best. It insures fruit of fine 
quality, is easy to trim and presents an attractive 
appearance. If the vine was pruned back to two buds 
when planted, as is generally done, we will have two 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
level of the middle wire. The pruning at the end 
of the third season consists of cutting back to eight 
or 10 buds of the two best canes that are located so 
they can be tied along the middle wire to the right 
and left of the trunk, and the cutting back to spurs 
of two buds each two more canes that will develop 
canes the fourth season for similar tying down. By 
judicious selection of canes for tying down and spur¬ 
ring, good one-year wood can be found each year for 
bearing, and at the same time limiting the old wood to 
the single trunk. Some fruit will develop the third 
year with nearly a full crop the fourth. This trellis 
offers the optimum leaf exposure, permits a passage 
from one row to another, keeps the fruit away from 
dirt liable to splash from the ground, and insures good 
air drainage, hence less trouble from mildew. It also 
facilitates spraying, picking and pruning and best of 
all it places a limit- upon the amount of wood that 
shall be put up for the succeeding crop. 
N. Y. Exp’t Station. f. e. gladwin. 
always the same way as plowed; equally useful with 
any kind of harrow; gives same result on ground 
plowed in “lands” or plowed around. Result, three 
to five inches, or more, of soil loose enough to pick 
up with the hand. With the two center front and two 
outer rear disks removed, the harrow is a most ex¬ 
cellent two-horse cultivator for corn or potatoes when 
small, straddling the row. (This applies to small sizes 
only.) Always set the levers as far over as your team 
can pull comfortably. Don’t expect good results on 
land full of flat stones; the harrow will ride up on 
them. Clear them out. Fit in a board platform over 
the disks to rest your feet on. Nothing is more im¬ 
portant than thorough harrowing. leo’ a. mapes. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
Different Harrows and Their Uses. 
I use four harrows; the double-action Cutaway,,the 
lever spring-tooth harrow, the Acme, the spike-tooth 
MAKING HIM STAND FOR CLIPPING. Fig. 69. 
canes developed from them at the end of the growing 
season. All the trimming now necessary is to remove 
the weaker cane entirely and cut back the stronger 
again to two buds. The vine will appear the same as 
when planted. 
Early in the second season stakes three or four feet 
long should be driven for each vine, and the develop¬ 
ing shoots tied loosely to them. This keeps them out 
of the way for working the ground around the vines. 
The trellis can be built some time in the Fall of this 
year, or early the following Spring. Chestnut or 
locust posts should be set or driven at intervals of 24 
feet if the vines are eight feet apart in the row; if 
they are nine feet apart the posts may be 27 feet 
apart. A seven or eight-foot post is preferred. Bore 
a quarter-finch hole through each post at a height of 
four feet from the ground, and in the 
direction the wire is to run. Run a No. 
10 or No. 11 wire through each post in 
the holes just made, and fasten securely 
at each end. Now take two pieces of 
2x4, each two feet long, and saw a slit 
half way from each end on the two-inch 
face, running it an inch through the 
four-inch side, and on the other two- 
inch face saw similar slits, but two 
inches from each end. Place one piece 
with the middle slit over the wire, so 
that the wire rests in the bottom of the 
slit, and the wire will then support all 
the weight put upon these cross arms. 
The 2x4 cross arms just described are 
for the end posts, and should be firmly 
nailed to them, and in addition they 
should be braced by running wire over 
each end of the arm and then around 
the post. Now make cross arms in the 
same manner for each of the other 
posts, but 1x4 inch stuff can be used for 
these. These are put on in a similar 
manner. Two more wires are now put 
up, one on either side of the center wire 
and through the slits on the upper sur¬ 
faces of the cross arms. They can be 
held firmly in place by winding the brace wires once 
or twice around them. Our trellis then presents the 
appearance shown in Fig. 70, viz., a center wire 
passing through the posts with two others a little 
above the level of and on either side of it. All three 
wires will require tightening each Spring. 
Our vine at the close of the second season consists 
of two or more canes. Select the best ripened and 
straightest one, and cut away all the others. This 
one is to be tied up to the center wire, and should 
be left a foot or two longer than the required height. 
The cane left is to be the permanent trunk of our 
vine, and extends to the top of the center wire, 
where it is firmly tied, and as nearly in a vertical 
position as possible. During the third season shoots 
will develop all along this cane, but all should be 
broken off except from four to six at or near the 
TALKS ABOUT HARROWING. 
[The followiug notes are interesting, but what we most 
wanted is a discussion of disks. Is a solid disk superior 
to a Cutaway, and if so why?] 
The Art of Harrowing. 
I will reply to E. E. C. requesting harrow experi¬ 
ence. I have used a Cutaway double-action disk har¬ 
row several years on land varying from heavy to 
sand}-. It gives good results on all; is excellent for 
covering in grain, going once over without lapping, 
set medium. Crop looks much as if drilled in. Ex¬ 
cellent for mixing in manure spread on either sod or 
stubble, after plowing, a “double Dutch” cut putting it 
in out of sight. It doesn’t drag foul roots all over the 
field and spread them, like any spike, spade or spring- 
tooth harrow; does not permit the ground to pack like 
any drag harrow; the longer you harrow with it, the 
deeper and finer the soil is worked. Can be used on 
damper ground than rt drag harrow. Doesn’t tear up 
sod or bring stubble to surface like a drag; tendency 
is to cover in everything and bring fine soil to surface. 
But, it must be used rightly to produce the best re¬ 
sult. It was not quite satisfactory to me on sod until 
I saw a description of “Dutch” dragging in a paper 
and tried it. First, run a light smoothing harrow over 
the sod in same direction it is plowed to level down 
broken and rough places and partly fill in the little 
gutter between rows of sod, which should be turned 
about three-quarters over, not flopped flat. Next run 
once without laps, with Cutaway, the same direction 
as plowed. Now to “double Dutch” it. Start in a 
A PLAN FOR TRAINING GRAPES. Fig. 70. 
corner where you can see the “catty” corner, and go 
to that if a square plot; or to the middle of the other 
side and turn and go to the far corner on side of be¬ 
ginning, if plot is twice as long as it is broad. Arrived 
at the far corner, turn around sharp and come back 
to place of beginning without lapping. Turn across 
the corner at a right angle and go right beside your 
first track, and so continue, always crossing the line 
previously made, at each turning. When you arrive 
at file line joining the two remaining corners of plot, 
you are done. You have been over all the ground 
twice, but go once or twice around the border if there 
is a fence or anything to prevent driving clear to edge 
of plot, to finish it. Advantages over ordinary cross- 
harrowing are: Easy turns, only two full turns, the 
rest all half turns; the furrow is cut at an angle of 
45 degrees; harrow cannot run in ruts, as when going 
A GOOD LIVE STOCK PICTURE. Fig. 71. 
harrow, besides the Planet, Jr., orchard cultivator and 
weeders. The harrow which I use the most and which 
I think does the most thorough work is the double¬ 
action Cutaway. It is the two-horse size, and to this 
harrow we hitch four horses and then pull the levers 
in the last notch, so as to throw the harrow in the 
hardest angle. 1 he harder the angle the deeper the 
harrow will dig, and then with my weight on it, this 
harrow will pulverize, move and mix the soil most 
wonderfully. Where I like the Cutaway best is in the 
potato field after the potatoes are dug, when we fit 
the ground for wheat without plowing. Almost all 
other harrows will clog here with the potato vines, but 
this harrow just goes over them and cuts up so that 
other harrows can follow. Last year we fitted our 
wheat land finely, harrowing first with the Cutaway 
and second with the Planet, Jr., orchard 
cultivator, going over crosswise, and 
third and last time with the Cutaway 
again lengthwise. The Cutaway is also 
good forcultivating the Alfalfa. 
The Acme is a surface harrow, and 
the best place I like it is in the potato 
field after the potatoes are planted and 
before they are up. This harrow pulver¬ 
izes the surface soil exceedingly, and 
causes the weed seeds to sprout quickly, 
and in this way we can get rid of the 
bulk of the weeds before the potatoes 
are up. The Acme is also good for 
leveling the ground and for crushing the 
clods. It is the best harrow for making 
the weed seeds sprout. This harrow 
should be used in making the final seed 
bed for almost any crop, followed by 
the land roller when it is ready for the 
drill or the planter. 
The spring-tooth harrow has also 
good qualities; it digs and pulls some 
soil up to the surface to aerate it, 
and in this way mixes different layers 
of soil as does also the Cutaway. 
If I were to have only two of the 
three harrows, I could best do without the spring- 
tooth, although there are lots of farmers who 
use this one almost exclusively. The spike-tooth har¬ 
row is a good harrow to harrow the plowed sod 
ground, as it tears the sod and also thereby fills the 
crevices at the bottom of the furrows more or less. 
This tool is also good leveling the ground. However, 
it is the harrow which I use the least of all. That 
orchard cultivator is the best “digger” of all. Of 
course, I got it mostly for orchard work, but when 1 
have some real hard soil I get out the Planet, Jr. It 
digs it up rather roughly. I have two weeders, one 
which spreads from 2 l / 2 to seven feet. It is a walk¬ 
ing weeder. This is the best tool to go over the 
corn while it is small. It breaks the crust and pulls 
the weed sprouts. The 12-foot weeder is my favorite 
tool for potatoes. Twice a week I go over them with 
this one. _ c. R. bashore. 
Berks Co., Pa. 
