WEEKLY. $1.00 PER YEAH 
Vol. LXXI. No. 4171. 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 5, 1912. 
THE LAKE ERIE VINEYARDS. 
Handling the Grape Crop. 
Every cityite who goes up in the Lake Erie dis¬ 
trict decides to have a vineyard of his own. It all 
looks so simple and easy. One woman who dis¬ 
cussed buying two acres was told that she would have 
to get up every morning at five and at the end of 
the third year there would be a frost and all the vines 
destroyed. 
“However,” said the 
vineyardist, with a twin¬ 
kle in his eye, “if you 
buy one acre you will 
have to get up half as 
early and there will be 
only half as much 
frost.” 
To have any success 
with a vineyard one 
must have at least 10 
acres and realize that it 
is a business just as 
much as any other farm¬ 
ing. The reason that the 
vineyards in the Lake 
Erie district are so suc¬ 
cessful is that the own¬ 
ers are men who have 
been experimenting with 
the grapes in that sec¬ 
tion for over 50 years. 
When one looks at the 
condition of the various 
vineyards in the same 
locality one realizes what 
amount of care is nec¬ 
essary. Vineyard land 
in this section ranges 
from $50 to $150 for vir¬ 
gin soil and from $250 
to $400 for vineyards 
under good cultivation. 
PLANTING AND 
CULTURE.—“It takes 
605 plants for an acre,” 
said James A. McDon¬ 
ald, president of the 
Lake Erie Vineyard and 
Fruit Co., “and we pay 
$10 to $15 a thousand 
for Concords, though an 
extra grade of roots can 
be had for $18. The 
vines should be set eight 
feet apart in a row and 
nine feet allowed be¬ 
tween the rows.” The 
vineyards must be kept 
clean, after the vines are 
ready for bearing, and 
they are generally hand plowed during the Spring 
and then horsehoed during the Summer. The first 
growth of the vine is about 12 to 18 inches long, and 
this is all cut away but a small part during the first 
Winter. The second Summer the vine should produce 
from two to six canes, each from six to 12 feet in 
length. In the Fall these are cut back to three feet 
and part of the canes cut away altogether. Well- 
braced posts are set at each end of every row and a 
strong stake between every third and fourth vine. The 
lower wire, a No. 9, is stretched tightly between the 
posts and stapled loosely to the stakes about 30 inches 
from the ground. The top wire, five feet from the 
ground, can be put up at the same time, but is not 
generally stretched until the next Spring. 
TRAINING.—The first year the vines are drawn 
to a vertical position and tied to the lower wire with 
grape twine. The work of “grape-tying” is generally 
done by women, the pay being from eight to 10 cents 
an hour and averaging $1.50 an acre. Corn and pota¬ 
toes are planted between the vines this first year, but 
the crop does not pay for the work in the vineyard. 
But at the third year the vines should pay for the 
work that year and no other crop is planted, letting 
all the strength of the soil go into the grapes. 
PRUNING.—The “trimming” of the vines is done 
by men some time during the Winter and early 
Spring. The cost is about $2.50 an acre. After the 
vines are in full bearing condition the “two-arm” sys¬ 
tem is used. There is one original stem from the 
ground to the lower wire, from which two arms ex¬ 
tend along the wire, one in each direction, meeting 
the arms from the next stem. This stem and its arms 
are never removed, and from these spring the canes 
which bear the grapes. In the Fall all the canes which 
have been bearing that season are cut away and two 
to four new canes, just long enough to reach the up¬ 
per wire, are left. It is much easier to pick the 
grapes if the vines do not go above the upper wire. 
Fertilizers or green crops must be used to keep the 
ground between the rows of vines in good condition, 
and many different kinds are used. The most popu¬ 
lar and undoubtedly the best crop is vetch. Like 
clover, it gives nitrogen to the soil when it is turned 
under and at the same 
time holds the snow. The 
grapevine has its pests, 
though a great deal is 
being done by the Agri¬ 
cultural Department and 
the farmers themselves 
to lessen the harm. 
SPRAYING.—“It is 
necessary to spray three 
times during the season,” 
said Mr. James A. Mc¬ 
Donald. “The work is 
done by a traction spray¬ 
er which is drawn by a 
team between the rows. 
The first spraying is 
done in the middle of 
April before the foliage 
comes out. For this we 
use Bordeaux Mixture. 
The second spraying 
comes from the 10th to 
the 20th of June. For 
100 gallons of mixture 
we use eight pounds of 
lime, eight pounds of 
blue vitriol and six 
pounds of arsenate of 
lead, this mixed in 
water. This amount will 
do for one acre. This 
spraying prevents mil¬ 
dew and rot and the ar¬ 
senate of lead is for the 
root-worm beetle. The 
third spraying comes in 
August.” 
The Government ex¬ 
perts are now experi¬ 
menting on a spray to 
destroy the leaf hopper. 
This little fly lives by 
the thousands on the un¬ 
der side of the grape 
leaves and in destroying 
them takes away all pro¬ 
tection from the sun for 
the grapes. This leaf 
hopper is like the thrips, 
which used to be found 
on the rose bushes. Some of the growers have tried 
holding the spray under the vines trying to get at 
the back of the leaves, but the experiment has not 
proved very successful as yet. 
THE HARVEST.—The grape season last year was 
from the last of September until November 4. Much 
depends on the condition of the market and the Lake 
Erie grapes are generally held until the Michigan and 
Ohio grapes are off the market. Concords are of 
course the great shipping grapes, though Niagara, 
Delaware and Catawba are grown. At grape picking 
time men and girls come from all parts of the coun- 
GRAPE PICKING IN THE LAKE ERIE DISTRICT. Fig. 422. 
