WEST HILL NURSERIES —FREDONIA, NEW YORK 
PLANTING 
These suggestions are largely for the home gardener. 
Commercial plantings are laid out and planted in a far 
different manner. To those who anticipate such a plant¬ 
ing, we will be pleased to suggest the best and most 
economical methods. Grape vines do best in well drained 
soil. Dig a hole wide and deep enough to receive roots 
of vine without crowding—about 18 to 24 inches 
across and 12 to 15 inches deep. Place vine in center of 
the hole and fill in around the roots with rich top-soil, 
at the same time raising the vine until the crown is 
level with ground. When roots are covered with earth, 
tramp it down firmly. Now is a good time to put in any 
fertilizer you have. Well rotted barnyard manure is best 
and Bone Meal next. Cover with a little more dirt and 
firm again. Never let your fertilizer come in direct con¬ 
tact with any tree, plant or vine you are setting. 
Now water each vine well with two or three pailfuls, 
allowing each pailful to soak away and when all water 
has disappeared, fill in hole with balance of soil but 
DO NOT FIRM. Top soil should be left loose as a 
mulch. When planting in rows, plant 8 feet apart each 
way. After planting cut top back to two or three buds. 
This allows the vine to use all its strength to grow 
strong fruiting canes for next year. 
PRUNING 
The object of pruning is to grow the greatest amount 
of fruit of the best quality, and at the same time canes 
enough, and no more, to produce an equally good crop 
next year. If grape vines are not sufficiently pruned they 
bear much more fruit than they are able to perfect. The 
result is they overbear, often to their permanent Injury. 
The fruit is so small, scraggly and late as to be next to 
useless, besides they fail to grow and ripen canes strong 
enough to bear a good crop the next season. By proper 
pruning you concentrate the vigor of the vine into a 
smaller number of canes and clusters, which it can per¬ 
fect. The berries and clusters grow large and ripen 
early, thus you secure a greater number of pounds of 
fruit to the vine (though less clusters) of much superior 
quality, and at the same time strong well-ripened canes 
for the next year’s bearing, and all this without any 
injury to the vine whatever. If vines do not grow strong 
enough, cultivate better, fertilize and trim close. If 
too strong and do not bear enough, give them more 
room, either by building the trellis higher or by cut¬ 
ting out every second or third vine. Prune the remain¬ 
ing ones longer so as to cover the space. Always remem¬ 
ber that the fruit is borne from buds on last season’s 
new canes. 
HOW TO PRUNE . 
There are several methods of training and each 
method requires different pruning. The Fan, Chautau¬ 
qua and KnifFen methods are those most in use. The 
Fan method is used largely when vines are planted near 
barns and fences. Select two or three new canes from 
near the ground. These canes, of course, to be of last 
year’s growth. Spread them out in fan shape and 
fasten to barn or fence. Trim these two or three canes 
back, so that about 30 buds remain. (30 buds are about 
right for a good healthy vine pruned by any method.) 
If vine is especially vigorous, more buds may be left; 
if weaker, less. The number of buds left per vine must 
be governed by the strength of the vine. 
The other methods are used where a wire trellis is 
wanted—especially when there are 10 or more vines to 
a row. The trellis is set up as follows: Use one inch 
angle iron or 4 to 5 inch wooden posts, about 7 to 8 
feet long. Drive them into ground about 18 to 24 
inches. Posts should be placed every 3 vines (about 24 
feet). Purchase the right amount of No. 9 steel wire and 
fasten two lines to posts. First wire 2 feet from ground 
and second wire 2 Yi feet above lower wire. 
THE CHAUTAUQUA METHOD 
Trim back the two canes, grown the first season; one 
to 3 buds, the other just long enough to tie up to bot¬ 
tom wire of trellis. During the second summer twist one 
growing cane each way around the bottom wire, thus 
forming an arm each way. The third spring tie up three 
or four new canes from these arms (as the strength of 
vine will permit) to the top wire. These are your fruiting 
canes. Do this each year. It usually happens that the vine 
grows more new fruiting canes than are desired for the 
following year. Hence some of these will have to be 
cut off close to the arms. However, it is a good practice 
to leave two or three spurs, of two or three buds each, in 
convenient places along these arms, to produce new 
wood for the following year. 
Do not let old wood accumulate on these arms. Arms 
may be renewed by using a young cane growing from 
near the old stem, twisting it around the lower wire 
once and tying it up to top wire. The whole vine may 
be renewed in a like manner, using a new cane starting 
from near the ground. Renewing old vines occasionally 
is a good practice. 
The Single Stem 4 arm KnifFen method is started in a 
like manner as in the Chautauqua method in forming 
arms on bottom wire. The next year a new cane grow¬ 
ing from below the lower wire on main stem is tied to 
top wire and two more arms are trained there. Each year 
all old wood is cut back to as near the original stem as 
possible and new arms run out and tied left and right on 
each wire. These fruiting arms should have 6 to 8 buds 
each, depending of course on the vigor of the vine. One 
not accustomed to grape pruning as above described, 
will find it difficult to prune away so much new growth, 
but you will be amply repaid, by so doing, with larger 
and more beautiful clusters as well as better ripened 
fruit. 
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT 
Due to the extensive acreage of vineyards in this belt 
there have been developed special tools for their care; 
cultivators, horse hoes, pruning and picking shears, 
tying wire and baskets. We can supply what you may 
want or refer you to where same can be purchased. 
We solicit your correspondence and gladly offer our 
expert knowledge about grapes, attained by many years 
of work with them. 
Suggested Varieties for 
Specific Purposes 
The following varieties are those best adapted 
for commercial use. Many of the others listed 
on the following pages are equally good and 
often better, but because of various reasons, are 
not grown commercially. 
(Varieties arranged alphabetically, not neces¬ 
sarily as to their relative value). 
TABLE and ROADSIDE MARKET 
Brighton, Caco, Concord, Diamond, Fredonia, 
Golden Muscat, Lucile, Niagara, Portland, Sher¬ 
idan, Worden. 
SHIPPING and WHOLESALE MARKETS 
Concord, Fredonia, Niagara. 
WINE PURPOSES 
Catawba, Clinton, Delaware, Elvira, Iona, Ives 
and Ontario. 
SWEET GRAPE JUICE 
Concord. 
FOR JELLY 
Catawba, Delaware, Sheridan, Urbana. 
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