7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
909 
Questions About Grapes 
Answered by Prof. F. E. Gladwin 
California Grapes in New York State 
Can the California grapes, such as 
Thompson’s Seedless, Muscat, etc., be 
grown in New York State? I under¬ 
stand that grapes do not need posts and 
wire to hold them from the ground in 
California. Please explain how grapes 
are grown there. c. w. M. 
Burdett, N. Y. 
Thompson’s Seedless probably will ma¬ 
ture in the Central Bake Region, but it 
is very doubtful that Muscat of Alex¬ 
andria will. All of the grapes of Vini- 
fera origin that are grown in California 
require covering with earth in the Fall 
to protect the buds and wood from ex¬ 
treme temperatures. 
The varieties grown in California are 
not usually put up on trellises, but rather 
they are trained to stakes G ft. or more 
in height. The vines are headed low, so 
that the trunk is from 6 in. to 18 in. in 
height. Short arms are grown on this 
head, from which the fruiting canes are 
obtained from year to year through 
judicious spurring. The canes and shoots 
are tied to the supporting stake near the 
top. For some varieties the wire trellis 
is employed, when a modified fan method 
of training is used. In their horizontal 
training, the arms are run along the low¬ 
er wire and on these numerous spurs are 
left from which the fruiting shoots de¬ 
velop. The latter are tied to the upper 
wires of the trellis as they grow in 
length. 
Bakator, Chasselas Rose, Chasselas 
Golden, Lignan Blanc, Muscat Hamburg, 
Rozaki, Blue Portuguese and Teinturier 
will probably ripen in most seasons about 
the upper end of Keuka Lake and not 
too far back from its shores. 
Terms in Grape Culture 
Will you inform me what the follow¬ 
ing terms mean, as applied to grapes and 
their culture: Rotundifolia, Vinifera, 
phylloxera, resistant? I read Mr. Gross’ 
contribution on pages 583, 584 and 5S5, 
apropos of inarching, but cannot seem to 
grasp how it is done. C. s. 
Elmhurst, N. Y. 
Rotundifolia is a species of wild grape 
found from the Potomac River south 
through Florida and Georgia to Eastern 
Texas. The wild plants carry clusters 
with few but large berries. As fast as 
the fruit ripens, the berries drop one by 
one. 
Vinifera is the grape species that in¬ 
cludes practically all the old world vari¬ 
eties, such as Muscat, Hamburg, Tokay. 
Malaga, Emperor, etc. 
Phylloxera or grape root-louse attacks 
the roots of several species of grapes, but 
the Vinifera species seems to be particu¬ 
larly subject to them. As a consequence 
varieties of this species are grafted on 
“resistants” or stocks of other species 
that resist the attacks of the louse. 
Where phylloxera abound it is futile to 
attempt the growing of Vinifera varieties 
except on resistant stocks. 
Inarching is the process of grafting 
two plants that are growing very close to¬ 
gether while each is still attached and 
growing on its own roots. Usually with 
the grape the plants to be grafted are 
planted side by side. The one may be a 
very weak-growing variety on its own 
roots, while the other, we will suppose, is 
very vigorous. With inarching of the 
grape the practice is done while the 
plants are quite young. To join the weak- 
growing variety (a) to a strong-growing 
one (b) it is necessary only to remove 
by a cut a portion of the bark on each at 
about the same height on the trunk or 
cane so that the two cut surfaces of “a” 
and “b” may be brought firmly together 
and tied in close contact. With the grape 
part of the one to be grafted should be 
approximately the same diameter as the 
other. The joined parts should then be 
bound with moistened sphagnum moss, 
held by a cloth bandage, or else wet saw¬ 
dust held in a like manner. The parts 
must be kept from drying too much, yet 
callus or knitting tissue of the grape will 
not form in the presence of an excess of 
moisture. An examination of the graft 
from time to time will give an indication 
of moisture condition. When the union 
is complete, the part below the union of 
the weak-growing sort is severed, thus 
leaving the buds of it supported by the 
stronger. The next season, if a good 
growth has been made by the scion, the 
stock is trimmed away, so that but the 
scion is left supported by the stock roots 
and trunk. 
It is now believed that bench-grafting 
on vigorous, resistant stocks is more de¬ 
sirable than inarching. The latter prac¬ 
tice brings the union considerably above 
the soil level, and if the trunk be broken 
below the union a renewal is out of the 
question. In vineyard practice it is very 
common to renew the trunk from time to 
time. Bench-grafted cuttings or roots 
when planted so that the union is below 
the normal soil level readily permit of a 
trunk renewal even to the ground. 
F. E. o. 
Black Rot on Grapes 
I have a nice Worden grapevine which 
for two years has set a fine crop of 
grapes, but when about half grown they 
turn black and either dry up or drop off, 
and in the Fall there are only a few left. 
Can you tell me what to do to prevent 
this? a. w. B. 
Torrington, Conn. 
It seems probable from the description 
of the trouble with this Worden that 
black rot is the cause of the “shelling,” 
or dropping of the berries. If we as¬ 
sume that such is the case the rot can be 
controlled by spraying with a 4-4-50 Bor¬ 
deaux mixture. Four pounds of copper 
sulphate is dissolved in 50 gallons of wa¬ 
ter and to this 4 lbs. of freshly hydrated 
lime is worked up into a thin paste and 
added to the water and copper sulphate. 
For a single vine two quarts of this mix¬ 
ture should be ample for a single spray¬ 
ing. and since it deteriorates on standing, 
only an amount should be made up at one 
time that can be used within a few 
hours. For this quantity seven-tenths of 
an ounce of copper sulphate and seven- 
tenths of an ounce of hydrated lime 
would be required. 
The first application should be made 
when the second or third leaf is appear¬ 
ing on the shoot in early Spring, the sec¬ 
ond just previous to blooming, while a 
third should be put on as soon as the 
fruit is well set. A fourth treatment 
may be necessary about three weeks 
la ter. 
Cesspool Contents for Manure 
Fertilizer of every kind is very high; 
few cows are kept here, and a lessening 
number of horses. I save every handful 
of leaves and rot them on compost pile. 
But in the cesspool is an abundant sup¬ 
ply of rich liquid fertilizer. How to util¬ 
ize it in an inoffensive way? A pailful 
around each rose bush in the Spring 
makes wonderful results. Using a pail 
tied to a pole, the difficulty is that it is 
difficult to get the thick black fertilizer 
at the bottom, and too much of the flush 
water on top fills up the pail. Can you 
tell me of any inexpensive device by 
which one can get the wealth of fertilizer 
from this source in a neat and effective 
way? j. b. L. 
We had this problem for years, until 
we arranged a drain away from the cess¬ 
pool. At intervals the pool had to be 
emptied. At first we used a pole and 
bucket, dipping up the contents. Then 
we found a large tin pump such as is 
often used by contractors in lifting water 
out of sewers or shallow wells. It is a 
cheap affair with a wooden plunger. We 
put the end down into the cesspool and 
stood over the top, lifting the contents up 
with a short handle. At first we pumped 
into barrels, hauling them to the garden, 
where the stuff was poured on the soil 
and plowed under. A better way is (o 
make a good-sized compost heap of leaves, 
old sods (or anything that will decay) 
and dump the pumpings from the cess¬ 
pool directly upon this heap. Work it 
over several times during the season, and 
you will have a good lot of manure. This 
is the least offensive way to handle it 
that we know of. If land plaster is scat¬ 
tered over the heap from time to time it 
will help. On the whole, we like this 
plan better than using the thick liquid 
as it comes from the cesspool. 
“Look—it glistens* 
Hold it—it’s heavy* Tap it—it rings*” 
Y OU tell fine glass with your eyes, hands, and 
ears. In the light, the bowl glistens with the 
rainbow’s colors. In your hand, it is heavier than 
the common glass bowl. When you strike it, you 
hear a clear, bell-like ring. 
Lead, that dull, unattractive metal, in the form of 
litharge and red-lead (oxides of lead) is responsible 
for the brilliance of fine glass. It also gives weight 
to glass. The piece of fine plain glass or cut glass you 
pick up may be anywhere from 20% to 50% lead. 
Although lead helps to make glass 
an object of admiration, it con¬ 
ceals itself so that there is no 
visible sign of its presence. It is 
in its more general use as paint 
that you can see it on every hand. 
On farm houses, barns, fences, 
any wooden or non-metallic sur¬ 
face, white-lead stands forth 
This man is giving the farm house white-lead 
protection against the attacks of the weather 
surfaces. Red-lead saves iron 
fences, iron and steel implements 
and machinery from rusting out 
instead of wearing out in service. 
Thousands of property owners 
today believe in the phrase,“ Save 
the surface and you save all.’* 
They realize that it is more eco¬ 
nomical to cover their property 
with white-lead and red-lead 
than to pay for the damage that 
the weather soon does to un¬ 
painted surfaces. 
A hundred pages of paint facts 
If you want to know how to save 
the surface of wood, masonry or 
metal on your farm with paint, 
write for our “Handy Book on 
Painting.” This book is filled 
with essential paint facts and for¬ 
mulas and will be sent free at 
your request. 
boldly, defying storms and sun¬ 
shine, air and moisture, in their 
attempts to start decay. On 
metal farm equipment, red-lead 
prevents rust from beginning its 
work of destruction. White-lead 
paint and red-lead paint are signs 
of freshness and cleanliness, of 
safety against weather attacks, of 
protection against loss of money 
invested in the property they cover. 
Save the cost of rot and rust 
Once upon a time wood was 
cheaper than paint. That was long 
ago. It is more economical todayto 
keephouse and barn surfaces thor¬ 
oughly protected with paint— 
white-lead paint—than to repair 
and replace rotted parts 
or to rebuild perhaps after 
the unprotected house or 
barn has crumbled under 
the attacks of the weather. 
People everywhere have 
proved the effectiveness 
and economy of pure red- 
, , cv.uuum.y ui puie leu- t - Save ^ 
lead protection for all metal a 
Producers of lead products 
Dutch Boy white-lead and Dutch 
Boy red-lead are the names of the 
pure white-lead and red-lead 
made and sold by National Lead 
Company. On every keg of these 
products is reproduced the pic¬ 
ture of the Dutch Boy Painter 
shown below. This trade-mark 
guarantees a product of the high¬ 
est quality. 
National Lead Company also 
makes lead products for practi¬ 
cally every purpose to which lead 
can be put in art, industry, and 
daily life. If you want informa¬ 
tion regarding any particular use 
of lead, write to us. 
NATIONAL 
LEAD COMPANY 
New York, 111 Broadway; Boston, 13t 
State Street; Buffalo, 110 Oak Street; 
Chicago, 900 West 18th Street; Cincin¬ 
nati, 059 Freeman Avenue; Cleveland, 
820 West Superior Avenue; St. Louis, 
722 Chestnut Street; San Francisco, 485 
California Street; Pittsburgh, National 
Lead & Oil Co. of Penna., 310 Fourth 
Avenue; Philadelphia, John T. Lewis 
& Bros. Co., 437 Chestnut Street. 
