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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

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HOW TO MAKE
GRAPE CULTURE
PROFITABLE
IN CALIFORNIA

WITH EXPLANATION
OF CALIFORNIA
V I N E OR

ANAHEIM DISEASE

By H. HOOPS, Wrights, California

HOW TO MAKE

GRAPE CULTURE
PROFITABLE

IN

CALIFORNIA

WITH EXPLANATION OF CALIFORNIA
VINE OR ANAHEIM DISEASE

H. HOOPS

WRIGHTS, CAL.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1904, by H. Hoops, in the
office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington

PRESERVATION

COPY ADDED

ORIGINAL TO BE

RETAINED .M

'

M/

PREFACE.

In writing this booklet it is not my aim to give anything that
can be found in other works of ,a similar nature or the current agri-
cultural periodicals, but shall try to explain, as much as my poor
ability as a scribe allows me, the ideas and methods which have
proved valuable in my own viticultural practice.

Although in the choice and treatment of varieties of grapes my
suggestions pertain principally to coast regions of northern Califor-
nia ; I believe that viticulturists living in interior localities will be
assisted by them in the improvement of their own practices and in
the selection of better varieties adapted to their own local condi-
tions.

In regard to my explanation of the California vine disease
question, I shall let that part of the book speak for itself, and it
would be untimely for me to make any further comments on it. I
shall leave this to the intelligence and fairness of the California vine
growers to decide whether I ^a.m right or not in my conclusions.

Wrights, CaL, March 1, 1904. H. HOOPS.

CHAPTER I.

California Vine or Anaheim Disease — Its Cause and Nature.

This disease has been under my special observation for the last
five years. It may have been in this vicinity longer than that, but
if it was, I did not notice it. The varieties mostly affected are the
Muscat of Alexandria, Black Ferrara and Cornichon, and these only
in such places where the soil is rich the vines grew vigorously and
bore heavy crops. Where, for certain reasons, they did not grow
vigorous foliage or bear abundantly, whether the soil was poor or
rich, they have remained healthy so far. This seemingly would
prove the contention of some, that the heavy bearing of a vine is
the cause of the trouble. But Viniferas produce heavily also in
countries where the disease is unknown, besides vines have died
with it that did not bear at all.

After observing the disease closely for the last four or five
years, I believe, I do not make a mistake when I claim, that its
prime cause is the great change in the moisture contents of our
soils from wet in the spring to dry during the latter part of the
summer; as it occurs in California on irrigated lands as well as un-
irrigated. If the soil was always as wet as in the spring or always
as dry as during the latter part of the summer, no matter how small
the growth of the vines, there would not be this disease.

In order to prove this more clearly, I irrigated some Muscat
and Black Ferrara vines heavily during the fore part of June two
years ago, as well as last year, by soaking up the ground thoroughly
around them. The vines were about 15 years old and stood on
ground which had never been cultivated except the first ye^r or two
during their existence. The soil they grew on is a rich, deep, clayey
loam. As I left the trench unworked the water soon evaporated
and the ground was as dry as ever. Some of the vines had an attack
the first summer and the others this summer, while all the rest of
the vines on the same uncultivated ground, which were not irrigated,
are as healthy and thrifty as ever, in fact went through this last most
trying of all dry seasons in this locality better than any of my vines
on cultivated ground. This was because- the ground was dry al-
ready when they started growth in the spring and the change from
wet to dry, therefore not so great. I have made other observations
and conducted other experiments to prove this cause as asserted,
but it would lead off too far to explain them here.

I suppose the roots of most vines are similar to cuttings ; if cut-
tings have been kept too wet and then are exposed to the air, they
will dry out in a short time and be worthless ; but if they have been
kept in dry sand, they will endure exposure for a long time. Stand-
ing in a wet soil during the forepart of the vines' seasonal growth
leaves the roots with less power to resist dryness later on.

I guarantee that vines cultivated and irrigated both, as laid
down by myself in the chapter on preventive methods, will never
be attacked. On the other hand I guarantee to produce the disease
in a vineyard of a uniform clayey or loamy soil, where Viniferas on

131303

4 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

their own, California, Riparia or Rupestris roots are twelve or
more years old, but where at present no disease exists, by causing
the greatest possible difference through cultivation and irrigation
methods between moisture contents of soil during May and June,
so that the vine throws out immense foliage and sets a heavy crop,
and moisture contents of soil during July and August, within three
years from commencement'of treatment. This would be easy work
indeed, but I may be able to do the same thing with a five-year-old
vineyard, at least in some localities.

The greater the difference in the moisture contents of a soil be •
tween spring and fall, the greater the liability of the vines to at-
tack, not considering the slight resistance which some varieties of
Vinifera possess. Such is generally the case in all rich clayey or
loamy soils, as these have the greatest capacity for holding mois-
ture and at the same time offer the greatest facility for the complete
escape of moisture through capillary attraction. The vine on such
soils causes its own destruction by evaporating and depleting the
soil moisture through its excessive foliage and crop. Like a good
many, I have been under the impression that on rich ground the
moisture supply never gave out. Digging down once during August
and September in places where I knew the ground was heavil}
charged with moisture during spring and had been carefully culti-
vated and the vines made immense growth, I found the ground
just as dry or drier than in the poorer places, where the growth was
much smaller. The change from wet to dry was much greater on
the rich than on the poor ground and therefore the vines suc-
cumbed more quickly.

Different from countries with summer rains, a distinct differ-
ence must be made in California in regard to soils between the.
terms "rich" and "moist," and "poor" and "dry." A rich soil is gen-
erally wet or moist in the spring and by careful cultivation remains
moist if there is not much growing on it, but if any vines or
trees with large top-growth are drawing from its mois-
ture supply, it may become exceedingly dry. A poor soil
is not necessarily dry during the latter part of the sum
mer, unless it is shallow or clayey at the same time.
If it is loose, deep an4 mixed with gravel and small rocks,
which form an impediment to the rising of the moisture to the sur-
face, it generally remains much moister than richer soils. As vines
do not grow so exuberantly on such soils, the moisture supply is
not depleted. Very deep, coarse soils in valleys may become dry,
as the moisture sinks away out of reach of the roots and what is
left near the surface, is soon exhausted by the vines.

The trouble, of course, is greatly augmented by excessive bear-
ing of a vine and by irregular moisture contents of a soil from year
to year, very dry seasons following wet ones and vice versa. It is
simply a collapse, paralysis of the vital energy of the vine, brought
about as mentioned. It is not an infectious disease ; no vine will
take it from another. If the trouble was of such a nature, there would
not be any vines left, even in northern California, at this time, as the
disease has been found and identified already sixteen years ago in

CALIFORNIA VINE OR ANAHEIM DISEASE — CAUSE AND NATURE 5

0

parts of Napa and Sonoma counties by Professors Viala and Serib-
ner.

That in some localities whole vineyards have died in a short
time, is because in the first place the cause and the augmenting
factors mentioned, were very pronounced; in the second place the
vines stood on a uniform soil, made uniform growth and therefore
died off uniformly. On account of the richness and great uniformity
of all alluvial soils the trouble has been greatest in valleys. Mount-
ain soils are more "spotted," and for this reason the disease has ap-
peared only in spots so far, wherever conditions were most favor-
able.

It has been called by some the vine-top disease, also in some
of the earlier reports the statement is made, that the disease first
appears at the end of the canes. This is wrong ; tops and roots are
attacked simultaneously, although generally in a different degree.
If the roots were sound, there would be a bushy growth of healthy
suckers coming from its base. As it is, if these come at all, they
only come sparingly and sickly from the beginning. True, the
symptoms of the disease are first visible on the young foliage.

To ascertain this more clearly, I root-pruned during the winter
several vines, which had made vigorous growth the preceding sum-
mer, but which had shown signs of attack in yellow spots appear-
ing on their leaves, by digging a trench around them about three
feet deep and four feet from their bases. As the soil was shallow
but rich and the vines extended their roots horizontally in all di-
rections twenty feet and more, the root-pruning was thorough. I
also root-pruned some healthy vines in the same manner. Exam-
ining the roots of these vines the following summer I found the
young root-growth on the healthy ones strong and sound, but on the
attacked ones small and sickly, similar to the top-growth.

If we are anxious to give a name to the disease, I believe "Par-
alysis of the Grape Vine" is the most appropriate one. I shall point
out a few similarities between human paralysis and the California
vine disease : In both vital activity, which manifests itself in man
principally in voluntary motion, and in the grape vine in the growth
of new wood, is impaired, although without any outward sign on
the main body. In both the young are less subject to an attack than
the old. Like a human the vine sometimes is affected on one side
only, while the other side remains healthy at least for some time.
A predisposition to attack is increased in man by rich living, so
vines on rich ground are more susceptible to the disease than vines
on poor ground. In human paralysis there are different degrees of
attack, so vines are attacked differently, some more severely than
others.

It is a curious fact that cuttings taken from only slightly af-
fected vines will grow fairly well as long as the vines are young,
the soil moisture is not exhausted and so the cause of the disease
does not exist, but as soon as this appears again the vine has an-
other attack during the latter part of the summer and then fails to
make proper growth the following spring.

In grafting an old Muscat vine three years ago, which had suf-

6 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

fered a stroke on one side, to Cornichon, a much more resistant vari-
ety with me, I inserted a scion into the healthy portion of the stock.
The graft making but small growth the following two years, the
vine recovered. If this was a disease, permeating the vine from a
small beginning, recovery would have been impossible, considering
its fatal character otherwise.

The gist of the whole matter is, the Viniferas and several Amer-
ican species are not exactly adapted to California soil conditions, or
rather moisture conditions in the soil as they generally exist in cul-
tivated ground. They cannot adapt themselves at first to an excess
of moisture and bountiful supply of food and within a short time
afterwards to great dryness and scantiness of nourishment. The
vine not being a rational and economical being, during the forepart
of summer throws out a much stronger foliage and sets a much
heavier crop than it can support properly without injury to its vital-
ity, although at the time without any apparent distress. This ex-
ceedingly free and excessive growth of the Viniferas, and still more
so of Riparia and Rupestris, during the early summer constitutes
a second cause to the disease. We cannot lessen the moisture sup-
ply of the soil during the forepart of the vine's growth very well,
except by quitting irrigation at this time where this is practiced,
but we can avert the weakening of the vine during the latter part
of the summer through preventive methods. These will be neces-
sary, as the susceptibility of the Viniferas to attack by the disease
increases from year to year, so that in the future no locality will be
exempt from its ravages without their employment.

In conformity with my views the Lenoir has shown itself a re-
sistant. I shall state here, that whenever the word "resistant" is
used in this treatise, it means resistant to California vine disease,
unless otherwise stated. The Lenoir as is well known is adapted
to wet, heavy soils and also to dry ones, if these are clayey. It is a
hybrid of Vitis cinerea, adapted to heavy, wet soils, and a Vinifera
and Astivalis variety, best adapted to drier conditions.

The Champini also has outlived almost any other vine in the
Santa Clara Valley. It is a hybrid of V. candicans with Rupestris,
The former is adapted both to very wet and dry conditions. Al-
though the Champinis are generally recommended for "dry" soils
only, they certainly must also have some resistance against excess
of moisture, as they take considerably after Candicans. For this
reason vines like Riparia, Rupestris and Vinifera, not possessing
the wide range of adaptation to the great changes from wet to dry,
as the two vines mentioned, have succumbed.

It seems that such resistants can be obtained only by hybridiza-
tion and especially by hybridizing species, adapted to wet, with
some adapted to drier conditions. Certain it is, that by hybridiz-
ing varieties of different species, adapted to different climatic and
soil conditions, vines can be produced, possessing a much greater
power of adaptability than either one of the parents. But it is very
likely, that certain species, as the Cinerea, Cordifolia, Berlandieri
and especially the Candicans, have a great flexibility of adaptation
in themselves. Vines found wild on soils of a close or compact tex-

CALIFORNIA VINE OR ANAHEIM DISEASE — CAUSE AND NATURE 7

ture in countries, where drouths are not infrequent, must possess
this characteristic, while vines found wild on loose sandy or grav-
elly soils, where the extremes of wet and dry do not occur, are de-
void of the adaptability to such conditions. As we cannot use the
vines mentioned, on account of non-rooting of their cuttings, we
shall have to take recourse to their hybrids with Vinifera, Riparia
and others, which have not this fault.

There are two points in the general characteristics of Rupestris
St. George, which speak against its success in California viticul-
ture. The first and most important is, that it does not thrive in dry
shallow soils in France, although it is drouth-enduring in "dry" (?),
deep soils on account of its deep-rooting. This shows that its roots
in themselves are not resistant to dryness. The second point is that
in wet soils it is affected with root rot. We can see by this that it
has only a narrow adaptation. It is a hybrid of V. Monticola and
Rupestris or, as claimed by some, of the former and Riparia. It par-
takes of the characteristics of the pure Rupestris varieties, but has
the advantage over these in its thicker, more penetrating and ver-
tical roots, which enable it to get a quicker start in most any soils,
but especially compact ones.

The Riparia and Rupestris varieties should as a rule not be used
except where irrigation is possible, and even there I believe other
varieties will prove more valuable. I doubt that the Rupestris as
grafting stocks are more resistant against extreme dryness than the
Riparias ; I even doubt that they are as hardy against moisture
changes in the soil as the latter; only on account of their habit of
sending down their roots deeply into the substrata, where they gen-
erally find plenty of moisture in all countries with summer rains,
they are more drouth-enduring. But in California conditions are
different. As has been stated, in all soils of a compact nature, in-
cluding gravelly clays and loams, especially in valleys of an alluvial
formation, the diffusion of moisture through capillary attraction is
so even and uniform, that if these become dry two or three feet
below the surface, they are also dry fifteen or twenty feet further
down, providing there is no moisture near arising from ground
water. A vine sending down its roots deeply into such soils there-
fore has but little better show that a more shallow-rooting one. Of
course I do not want to be understood, that deep, penetrating roots
of a stock, whether these are laterals from horizontal main roots
as in the case of the Lenoir, or are vertical main roots as those of the
Champini, are not preferable in California in anv soil, as we can-
not always tell what is hidden under the surface. On the other
hand mountain soils, especially the deep, loose, gravelly ones, which
are generally underlaid by an impenetrable substratum, which does
not allow the seepage coming down the hillside to escape out oi:
reach of the roots, give most any kind of a vine a better chance.
Compact soils in mountains are more similar to valley conditions.

While the Riparias require a rich, moist soil, the Rupestris are
adapted to poor, moist gravelly or sandy soils. They cannot endure
continued dry or wet conditions, nor great changes from wet to dry.
The Rupestris St. George is similar to these latter, but as has been

8 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

stated, on account of its more penetrating roots takes a quicker start
and grows more vigorously. But any vine, which makes vigorous
top-growth, will soon exhaust the soil moisture in California, and
then if it has not an inherent resistance to dryness, will succumb.
My experience with the Rupestris St. George is, that it grows ex-
ceedingly well while young, but as soon as it receives a Vinifera
top, attains full size and exhausts the soil moisture, it begins to
show signs of distress. It may do fairly well on deep, loose, poor,
gravelly hillsides in localities with ample rainfall and careful culti-
vation, but even on such soils the Champini will grow and pay
much better.

I shall say here that the same cause may prevent the thrifty
growth of a vine or effect its death in some other manner; this
would be more the case on the poorer soils. For this reason also
Viniferas, grafted on Riparia or Rupestris, contrary to French ex-
perience, do not bear so well or produce as large grapes in Califor-
nia, as they do on their own roots. The fruit and leaves of a vine
sunburning badly, can also be traced back to this. It is not caused
entirely by the direct rays of the sun, as is supposed by most, but
indirectly and principally by the dryness of the soil. Whenever
some of the roots become distressed, it affects those grapes and
leaves, which are fed by them. The sunburning occurs on rich as
well as on dry ground for reasons, which can easily be seen from
explanations in other parts of this treatise. It may easily be de-
ducted from the above that not much can be expected from the
Riparia-Rupestris hybrids.

One of the principal differences in the characteristics of plants
of cold and those of tropical and semi-tropical countries is the great-
er or less amount of heat there is required to cause evaporation of
moisture through their foliage and so vital activity. Tropical plants
transplanted into cold countries would die for want of proper ex-
halation of moisture and sap circulation, and cold climate plants
transplanted into hot countries would die on account of a too
rapid evaporation of moisture through their leaves, but these latter
would last much longer under such conditions, if the soil contains
plenty of moisture, than if it is deficient in this. We see by this that
adaptation to certain climatic and soil conditions rests not only in
the roots of a plant but also in its foliage. For this reason top-
grafting resistants on non-resistants has been quite effective in sav-
ing Viniferas for a number of years ; for the same reason,' grafting
non-resistants on resistants has not been a complete success, at
least not in certain localities. But as some very fair results have
been obtained with grafting stocks like Lenoir, Champini and others
without any other precautionary measures, a much better showing
can certainly be made in the future, considering our better knowl-
edge of the matter.

PREVENTIVE METHODS OF CALIFORNIA VINE DISEASES 9

CHAPTER II.

Preventive Methods of California Vine Diseases.
1. Method. Selection of Proper Resistant Grafting-Stocks.

There are four requirements with which good resistant stocks
should comply : 1. Resistance to California vine disease or greatest
possible range of adaptation to the changes from wet to dry in the
soil; 2. Resistance to Phylloxera; 3. Adaptation to other climatic
and soil conditions; 4. Affinity and good general behavior after
grafting to Viniferas.

In order to overcome the weakness of the Vinifera top and as
any slight injury to the roots of a vine or tree may cause overbear-
ing, an augmenting factor to the disease, it is plain, that only graft-
ing stocks possessing the highest resistance against the Phylloxera
as well as the greatest flexibility of adaptation both to wet and dry
conditions of the soil, are perfectly safe. A resistance-coefficient of
16 is generally considered high enough for any soil, as it makes the
vine safe against any injury to its roots by the Phylloxera. This
does not say that a higher one is not preferable, providing the other
qualities of the stock in question are as good. I have been under the
impression for some time, that vines with thick fleshy roots are the
best for California conditions. Of two vines, having the same adapt-
ability, the one with the thickest roots will be the most dryness-en-
during. For this reason the Solonis, which has small roots but a
great adaptation to short changes from wet to dry and vice versa;
as is attested to by French experience and that of Mr. T. V. Mun-
son, does not last at all during our long, dry summers.

It does not matter materially, whether the main roots extend
themselves horizontally and the laterals run down deeply, or the
main roots approach a vertical direction. I believe, for rich, level
and irrigated lands I should prefer the former, as I think they will
give better results, and for loose gravelly soils the latter. In such
soils the moisture cannot rise to the surface by capillary attractions,
but settles down by gravity; the usefulness of a vine with very deep
vertical main roots is therefore apparent

New vines intended for stocks can be tested in the following
manner: On a piece of level, clayey ground, either shallow or of
an even texture to a great depth, some of the vines should be planted
along with some Lenoir, Vinifera- and Riparia-Berlandieri for com-
parison. They should be either rooted cutting-grafts, or if ungraft-
ed should receive a Vinifera top as soon as large enough for graft-
ing, as testing stocks with their own tops would be of no importance,
because they act quite differently after being grafted. In order to
accelerate the testing it is best to. plant the vines rather close, about
six feet each way. The plot should be well cultivated the first two
years in order to enable the vines to get a quick start. The third
year the ground should also be well cultivated up to the last rain ;
after that it should not be stirred any more, in order to let a crust
form on the surface. During June it should be irrigated about once
a week, to soak it up well with water and the irrigating furrows left

io How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

unstirred, to facilitate the escape of moisture after irrigation is dis-
continued about the last of June. No matter how the work is done,
it should be performed so, that the ground is excessively wet dur-
ing June and excessively dry during July and August. This last
point should be ascertained, as the young vines would use up but
very little moisture. The fourth and fifth year the experiment of the
third year should be repeated. After the fifth or sixth year some ot
the vine's should be taken up to see if any dead roots are present.

For vines intended for loose, gravelly soils on hillsides in the
coast region such a severe test as the above would not be necessary.
A piece of ground of gravelly clay could be selected for the testing
plot and then treated in a similar manner, but without irrigation.
The test as directed above is according to the climatic conditions
of my own locality, the Santa Cruz Mountains ; the same conducted
in some other places would need modifications. The vines should
not suffer so much during July, August and September, as to be en-
tirely stunted and so be unable to make vigorous growth the follow-
ing spring. A vine injured so much as not to do this, as is the case
when it is badly damaged by the Phylloxera, is not attacked by the
disease. To make sure, that a stock entirely overcomes the weak-
ness of its Vinifera-top and makes it perfectly immune from attack
by the disease, would take a long time, i. e. if healthy scions arc
taken for grafting. If such are not taken then the test would be in-
adequate. All we can do is to find a hardy root, which corrects as
much as possible the faulty tendencies of its Vinifera top, which are
excessive spring-growth and lagging activity during the latter part
of summer. In what degree this is accomplished can be seen in the
course of five or six years, if the above directions are followed.
Most anybody with an observing eye will be able to tell in a few
years, which will do and which will not. Those, which make the
most vigorous growth from the beginning are not necessarily the
best, in fact stocks which cause their Vinifera tops to make earlier
and more excessive spring-growth like Riparia and Rupestris do.
will also increase their susceptibility to the disease. The ideal stock
should cause its graft to make later and less vigorous growth dur-
ing spring and the leaves of the latter should not lose their healthy,
glossy appearance during July and August, nor the even ripening
of its fruit come to a standstill. The Lenoir and the Champini come
very near having such an effect on their Vinifera top. A perfect de-
velopment of the fruit is the best indicator of the hardiness of the
root of the vine or its adaptation to existing soil conditions.

A third and probably the quickest and most efficacious test, if
properly and carefully conducted, could be made by grafting on the
resistant stocks cuttings taken out of a vineyard in which a good
many vines have been killed off by the disease. These cuttings
should be taken from the remaining, apparently healthy vines pre-
ferably of varieties which succumb very slowly and gradually, but
surely, like the Muscat of Alexandria. They should be cut up in
scion lengths, then well mixed and grafted on the stocks to be tried.
Some vines like Lenoir, Champini and others, whose hardiness is
known, should be planted in the same plot for comparison. Such

SPECIES OF VITIS n

grafts generally, if the ground is worked as directed for the first
mentioned test, will show the disease in a few -years, no matter how
hardy the stocks, but it can easily be ascertained by this method,
what stock has the greatest beneficial influence on its Vinifera top.
I am inclined to think that it is best in California to plant hardy
resistants, which are free growers, ungrafted in the field and let
them go without grafting for three or four years and in localities,
where the disease has been very destructive or if Viniferas are want-
ed, which are very susceptible to the disease, even longer. In post-
poning the grafting, the vines are not weakened with a Vinifera top,
while very young, as the latter is apt to weaken most any stock,
which will be explained later. It is possible that certain hardy
resistants which are slow growers, are induced to quicker growth,
if they receive a Vinifera top while very young, as the more quickly
and freely growing Riparia and Rupestris stocks have this same ef-
fect on their grafts. In such cases it may be advantageous if a
quicker growth is desired, to make cutting-grafts or graft the vines
in the field while they are young. .

Species of Vitis, Valuable for Hybridizing in the Creation of New

Grafting-Stocks.

V. candicans or Mustang grape. This is considered the
hardiest of any American species and occurs according to
T. V. Munson, in lower as well as upper bottoms of upland ravines
on the "black waxy lands." Such soils are exceedingly wet while the
rains last, but become during a drouth exceedingly dry, much drier
than the more elevated, loose, gravelly soils, generally called dry.
In fact two of its hybrids, Champini and Elvicand (Cand. Riparia
Labrusca), have outlived any other vines, used as grafting stocks
on Mr. William Pfeffer's place in the Santa Clara Valley.

V. cinerea. This vine has thick, fleshy roots and occurs wild
on rich heavy soils, although also on rich sandy soils. From it its
progeny, the Lenoir, has undoubtedly inherited the greater portion
of its wide range of adaptation. I should like to ask those, who
claim the Lenoir to be a pure Vinifera, how they explain its great
resemblence to the Cinerea in leaf and root; also, where its resist-
ance to Phylloxera conies from. It would be the only Vinifera pos-
sessing this resistance.

V. cordifolia occurs on "the lower and higher bottoms of up-
land ravines." It has produced vines having the largest trunks of
any American species and has very thick, penetrating, highly Phyll-
oxera-resisting roots. The hybrids Riparia-Cordifolia-Rupestris
1068 and Solonis-Cordifolia-Rupestris 2024 may have some value
for California, but no attention must be paid to French experi-
menters' recommendations of vines for clays. The fact is that even
for our gravelly and sandy unirrigated lands we can use with safety
only vines which have stood the test on clays in countries with sum-
mer rains and only very few kinds of such. I don't think the two
hybrids mentioned are as well adapted to California clays as the

12 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

Lenoir is and can fill its place; still they may have great value for
soils which 'have been considered well suited for Riparia hereto-
fore. Most any vine, which thrives in clays, will do well also in
gravelly or sandy soils of rich or medium quality.

V. Berlandieri. This species occurs along the top of lime-
stone ridges as well as on creek bottoms of western Texas anci ad-
joining territories, but it is also found on compact soils. As this
is in a very dry region, its scope of adaptation probably approaches
more extreme dry than moist conditions. It is probably more
dryness-enduring than any other species of Vitis. The Riparia-Ber-
landieris are recommended to us by French experimenters as pos-
sessing the very qualities which will prove so valuable in California.
The Vinifera- and Rupestris-Berlandieris will very likely also have
very great value, especially for coarse gravelly soils or dry clayey
ridges and slopes in mountains, which never hold a great excess of
moisture. The above named four species have a great affinity in
grafting to the Viniferas, which is very important.

V. riparia. I am of the opinion that the roots of vines of this
species have a fairly good adaptability to moisture changes pro-
vided the soil does not become too dry, but on account of their
fineness, shallowness and lack of penetrating power, the Riparia
as grafting stock has, as a rule, not been a success on unirrigated
lands in California. Considering its value as a grafting stock in
other respects, Riparia hybrids therefore without the faults of the
pure varieties and all their good qualities should prove a success.

V. rupestris. This species has little adaptability; the pure
varieties therefore have no value for California. Hybrids possess-
ing their adaptability to poor soils and their deep, downward roots,
but stronger and hardier, would have usefulness for poor gravelly
soils. Very much misleading is in French writings on viticultural
topics the expression "dry soils," by which generally coarse grav-
elly soils are meant. True, deep gravelly soils, which are the only
ones that have been found to be well adapted to Rupestris in
France, are not excessively wet during a rainy spell, but neither
are they as dry in their lower depths at the end of a drouth as the
richer close-textured soils. The Rupestris occurs wild in the grav-
elly and rocky beds of "dry" runs and creeks, which contain no
water visible after springtime, but in a good many cases this has
simply sunk out of sight. Moisture arising from such water, with
occasional rains produce ideal conditions for this species.

V. californica. This, our own' native vine, whose great value
in this respect has been unwisely overlooked in late years. Its fault
of lack of proper resistance against Phylloxera and of sufficient
hardiness should be very small trouble to correct by proper hybrid-
ization with any of the four species ahead in this list. No vine of
purely American origin is superior to it in adaptation to our cli-
matic conditions and in easy rooting from cuttings. Riparias and
Rupestris, especially the latter, which is apt to give a treacherous
character even to a hybrid, could be dispensed with entirely, as the
Californica will do better than either of the two in most any soil,
poor or rich.

SELECTION OF HEALTHY CUTTINGS FOR SCIONS 13

t

V. vinifera.This last, but not least, on account of its large and
spreading roots and great adaptation to different soils; it also sup-
plies a greater affinity and homogeneousness to the stock with its
Vinifera top. The stronger the root system and the closer the rela-
tion between stock and graft, the better are the chances of suc-
cess. A hybrid like Aramon Rupestris No. II may give fairly good
results, where proper irrigation can be practiced, but I believe,
hardier stocks than this or Riparia will prove more profitable, as
less water will be required and a better quality of fruit obtained.

It is always safest to employ several different resistant stocks
for the same Vinifera variety with special reference, of course, to
their like or dislike of existing soil conditions and to their affinity
to intended grafts, as our experience in this line is too limited to
tell to a certainty, what stock will prove the most successful, and
so serious losses are avoided and in course of time a good deal of
practical knowledge is gained. All we can do at present is giving
the Viniferas a root, which is hardy against moisture changes in
the soil and resistant to Phylloxera. What stock will exercise the
greatest influence on the grafts in regard to good behavior and
longevity of vine, only time will tell. With proper grafting-stocks
and selection of healthy cuttings for scions, as will be ex-
plained immediately below this, better results should be
obtained than have been with the first importations from Europe,
not considering other preventive measures, which we can take.
The four species Candicans, Cineria, Cordifolia and Berlandieri
attain large size and have great vigor in their native home, but
make only a sluggish growth under California climatic conditions.
Their value is in hybridization with species which grow too freelv
during the forepart of summer. Those hybrids which take more
after the named species in their habit of growth, will very likely be
valuable for hot interior locations or places, where the California
vine disease has been very destructive, while hybrids, taking more
after Vinifera, Riparia, etc., will have the greatest value for cool,
moist coast mountain regions, or where vines like Petite Sirah,
Beclan and Cabernet are intended for grafts and have too little
vigor on their own roots.

2. Method. Selection of Healthy Cuttings for Scions.

This is probably the most serious part of the problem, as it will
be difficult in a good many parts of California to get such. The
disease does not come as suddenly with a good many varieties as
is generally supposed. The Muscat of Alexandria, for instance,
will bear heavy crops with me for years, after having sustained its
first attack. Others like Black Ferrara succumb more quickly.
Yellow or brown spots on the leaves during the latter part of the
summer are generally a sure symptom that the vine has suffered
an attack. With some varieties the leaves curl up and the spots
are very small. The fruit and the wood fails to mature and develop
properly, the berries being sour and of small size. The following
spring, according to the severity of the attack, the vine makes only
a small growth or none at all. If the attack was very light, the

14 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

growth may reach half dimensions, but in a year or two generally
another attack follows, which kills the vine. A predisposition
manifests itself in excessive crops, less in loss of vigor. As has
been previously stated, cuttings taken from only slightly affected
vines will grow fairly well for a few years,but soon succumb
The Viniferas growing for a number of years under favorable soil
conditions in California, a strong predisposition to the disease is
created or augmented in them, long before they are actually at-
tacked. Vines propagated from cuttings, taken from such appar-
ently healthy vines, will make satisfactory growth for several
years, but if conditions for the development of the disease become
more favorable again, will succumb much more quickly than the
mother vines, from which they originated. It is, therefore, very
unsafe, to take cuttings out of a vineyard, in which the disease has
appeared to any extent, and especially unsafe if such a vineyard
is old and located on alluvial soil in a valley, where the disease
has been very virrulent in other parts of it. It is very probable thai
the reason why in former years the disease has been less con-
spicuous, is because the first vines were propagated from perfectly
sound cuttings, imported from Europe or which came from young
perfectly healthy vines. A similar degeneration is met with in an-
nual plants, as some kinds of potatoes, wheat, etc., which, when
first introduced into a new locality, do exceedingly well, but after
their culture for 3 or 4 years degenerate and fail to give satisfactory
leturns. Propagation through cuttings is simply a prolongation
of the life of the old vine and young vines thus started commence
life with all the weakness and infirmities of the old mother vines.

It is a good plan to have a plot of vines simply for the purpose
of obtaining cuttings for new plantations. These vines should be
carefully irrigated according to directions given below. Care
should be taken that only sound vines are planted in such plots ;
they should be grafted on stocks which are known to be hardy.
Where cuttings are taken from a field it is safest to take them from
young vines from three to six years old. Cuttings taken from vines
on poor gravelly hillsides in cool localities with ample rainfall are
better than if taken from vines on rich ground of any description
or any locality. Instead of grafting resistants on old worthless
Viniferas for the procuring of strong cuttings, as the prevailing
custom is, they should be grafted only on young vigorous vines,
or still better, if such mother vines stand on their own roots or on
some other hardy stocks.

In localities where the disease has been very destructive it is
probably best to grow only such Viniferas, which in the past have
shown the greatest resistance to the trouble. These are according
to my experience those varieties which start growth late in the
spring, mature their fruit early, do not overbear nor make excessive
woodgrowth, as Petite Sirah, Beclan, Franken Reisling, Cabernet
and others. Of course there are vines like Tokay, Verdel, Gren-
ache and Carignan, that have shown a greater resistance, if stand-
ing on a favorable soil than smaller growers and smaller bearers,
probably on account of their stronger and more penetrating roots.

PROPER PREPARATION OF SOIL BEFORE PLANTING 15

p

But if the root given them is not as strong as their own, they may
succumb more quickly or at least will not prove so profitable. It
is rather difficult to tell at the present time, what Vinifera variety
is the most resistant to the disease, as this would depend on the
length of time a variety has been cultivated in California, whether
the first imported cuttings were propagated on their own roots or
grafted on some old Vinifera vines, on what soil and in what local-
ity the first vines, which furnished most of the cuttings for later
plantings, were grown, etc.

3. Method. Proper Preparation of the Soil Before Planting.

Before vines are planted the ground should be turned
over deeply, no matter how rich the soil. To run a
subsoiler in the furrow is an improvement to the old
method of simply plowing the ground; but even this
can be greatly improved by following the first plow
up with another plow in the same furrow instead of the subsoiler
and throwing the bottom soil up on top. The humus of which
there is a considerable amount left in most surface soils, should
be turned down as deeply as possible, in order to prevent com-
bustion of its organic matter, so disastrous in its effects during our
long dry summers, and the purely mineral ingredients of the sub-
soil turned up to the surface for exposure to the air, light and rains,
to dissolve their plant foods. While doing this work, if the top-
soil is devoid of humus, do not forget to put abundant organic mat-
ter in the form of green or stable manure, straw, etc., in the bottom
of the furrow and remember that this is the only chance you have
to cause any material good with such things in a vineyard grow-
ing under California conditions. Young vines planted on such
ground will extend their roots deeply, as they find nitrogen of
which they are in great need and the best of other ready plant
foods at a depth that will not easily get dry. If these foods are
near the surface, the vines will either have to do without them or
else their main roots will be very shallow and more exposed to
moisture changes. Such described work puts the physical condi-
tion of a soil at its best, which is according to the experience of the
best cultivators of the soil the most important.

The value of humus consists further not only in the fact that
it is the sole source of nitrogen in the soil, but also in the generation
of carbonic acid, so important in creating new and different com-
binations with mineral bases for plant foods directly and indirectly,
which would otherwise remain unavailable on account of their in-
solubility. This work as described has really but little to do with
the point in question, but I inserted it to make the following better
understood.

4. Method. Proper Cultivation.

With the exception of the first year, during which
they should receive good care in order to keep them
alive, young vines should have only the minimum mois-
ture allowance, absolutely necessary to keep them thrifty.
How much this is cannot be given in a certain rule, as it would

16 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

depend on the different soil and climatic conditions of different
localities. It may be said that excessive moisture during spring
should be avoided. After the late rains in the spring the ground
should be allowed to dry off well first before it is gone over with
the cultivator or harrow, and then of course it should be worked
thoroughly. Excessive soil moisture produces shallow and tender
roots and soft top-growth, scantiness of moisture makes deep,
hardy roots and tough top-growth. How well the moisture con-
tents of a soil in California can be regulated by more or less culti-
vation is not as well understood as it should be. Even the Riparia
can be hardened and made deep-rooting by such treatment.

By the time the vines are seven years old, they will be well
acquainted with all the vicissitudes of California soil conditions.
After that the moisture allowance should be increased gradually
from year to year, as their larger growth demands it. )t is about
as harmful to the health of the vines to hold excessive moisture ir.
a vineyard that previously has been neglected for one or more
years, as it is to neglect a vineyard that has had good care before.
The more uniform the moisture supply is one year after anothet,
the better it will be for the welfare of the vines. Very much mis--
calculated is also the practice of some who raise nursery stock in a
wet place with stagnant water near the surface. Such vines, espe-
cially if they are intended to go on dry ground, are worthless.

5. Method. Summer Pruning.

In order to prevent unnecessary woodgrowth and in
consequence exhaustion of soil moisture, it is well to
deprive the vine when it has attained an age of 6 or 7
years, of some of its foliage and stop its extending itself to its full-
est capacity. In doing this I top those canes, that come down to
the ground and trail along for some distance or which catch the
neighboring vines, by cutting them off where they- touch the
ground. This should be done before the canes become woody,
about two weeks before the vine gets its full growth, generally
with me about the first or second week in July. The vines will quit
growing then, but if done too early it will have no effect, as they
will throw out a lot of laterals and keep on growing. I know it
is generally advised against such work, but I believe it is much bet-
ter to check the vigor of a vine growing under California climatic
and soil conditions somewhat than to have it collapse later on ac-
count of too much ambition. If not too many canes are topped or
the work is done too late, I fail to see that it postpones the matur-
ing of the fruit any. Where simple pinching of the terminal buds
has the desired effect; as may be done with the smaller growers,
then this is certainly preferable.

In order to do this work effectively the winter-pruning should
be close and short. All suckers as well as some of the smaller
fruit-canes should be removed while they are small and can easily
be rubbed off. It is best to go over a vineyard several times during
the summer to do this and never should a large lot of strong suck-

THINNING OUT OLD VINEYARDS AND ROOT-PRUNING 17

ers be removed at one time, as this would check the growth of the
vine too much.

6. Method. Thinning Out Old Vineyards and Root-Pruning.

After the vines get about 15 years old and have quit extending
themselves, or as soon as, or still better, before the first signs of
the disease appear, I believe it best to thin out some of them, es-
pecially if they have been planted too close, as trees and vines gen-
erally are in California. This will give the remaining ones more
moisture during the latter part of summer and make the difference
between spring and fall moisture contents of soil less. These
should be root-pruned during the winter about half-ways between
the rows, which can easily be accomplished -by horse-power with
an implement, which could be devised for this purpose. On rich
ground, the only kind on which it would be necessary, the main
roots of Viniferas and of a good many American species are shal-
low, generally from 6 to 12 inches below the depth the plowing has
been done.

It is best to plant vines at a greater distance than they gener-
ally are. From 10 to 12 feet each way for valleys and from 9 to 10
feet for mountains is not too far. The distance should vary accord-
ing to the richness of the soil, the richer and compacter this is the
greater the distance. It does not matter much, whether the tri-
angular or the square form is used ; the number of vines to the acre
will tell, whether there are too many or not. On very rich sand\;
or clayey loams in cool, moist localities, vines, which ripen their
fruit late, should not have quite the maximum distance, as this
would retard the maturity of the fruit. As soon as such plantings
are about 10 or 12 years old root-pruning should be practiced oc-
casionally. As this has a dwarfing effect on vines or trees and de-
creases their vigor, its usefulness will be seen. Smaller vines and
more space to hold reserve moisture for their proper maintenance
is the object desired. If root-pruning is omitted, the vines will in
course of time occupy the whole of the ground and make condi-
tions as bad as ever. There are single vines in the world that
occupy from one-half to one acre of ground. On poor gravelly
soils where vines make but small growth, root-pruning is not
necessary, as the vines have not enough vigor to extend their roots
through the whole of the ground allotted to them, if planted far
enough apart in the first place. No apprehension need be felt that
they will not produce as heavy crops per acre as with closer plant-
ing. These will be just as large if not larger and a better quality
produced. Although this will not come quite as soon, vineyardists
will be amply reimbursed in the saving of labor and other expenses.

7. Method. Grafting Over of Old Vines.

Grafting over a whole block, or still better, a whole tract of
vines, especially to more resistant Viniferas, is sufficient to post-
pone the disease for several years, because for the first time, since
attaining full growth, as the grafts start later and their growth is
generally smaller, they have plenty of moisture during the latter

1 8 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

part of summer. It is needless to say that the vines at grafting
must be perfectly healthy.

Cutting down vines about an inch below the surface during
winter also has a salutary effect. It may be better in California
to do this towards spring, as the bleeding of the vines keeps back
the growth till the excess of moisture has disappeared from the soil.
This work should also be done in large tracts, as the moisture can
be held more uniformly in the ground than if done in small blocks.
It may also be that late pruning has a beneficial effect in this re-
spect as it decreases the vigor of the vines somewhat.

8. Method. Irrigation.

This is probably the best preventive of any, if properly applied,
but as it is generally practiced, i. e., filling up the ground with water
in the spring, when it is too wet already, it is apt to make matters
worse. Vines should not be irrigated, barring exceptional cases
irom this statement, till about two weeks after the bloom. As
irrigation during the summer creates shallow root-growth, this
must be kept alive and healthy by a repetition of the practice, at
least on heavy soils in some localities. Shallow root-growth can be
prevented by plowing deep furrows to let the water down into
the ^ubsoil and so avoid moistening of the surface. Care should
be takers not to cut any of the main roots during the summer, as
this would be apt to weaken the vine. It is self-evident that the
furrows should be well filled up with loose, dry soil, after the
ground is dry enough to do this properly. The water should al-
ways be applied in the same places. Young vines should not be
irrigated, unless it is impossible, as may be the case in some in-
terior localities, to keep them in healthy growing condition without
:t. In such cases it should be done early and not late.

The cause of the trouble may also be explained thus : The
climatic and soil conditions of California being both very favorable
during the forepart of the season, cause the vine to make excessive
and soft growth in root and top ; while the climatic conditions re-
main the same, the soil condition becomes very adverse later on.
So a good way to strengthen vines again, which are weak already in
this respect, would be to hold only a fair amount of moisture in the
soil with spring cultivation and then irrigate heavily and frequent-
ly later in the season, where this can be done. For reasons ob-
vious from the above young vines are seldom attacked, even if the
cuttings used for their propagation were taken from vines, in which
a predisposition to the disease was already strongly developed, be-
cause they have plenty of moisture during the latter part of the sea-
son, as they do not make sufficient growth to exhaust the moisture
supply.

All these preventive methods are given with regard to Vini-
feras on their own roots. Whether these, excepting proper irriga-
tion, would be of much avail for vines grafted on Rupestris, which
has a much weaker adaptation in this respect than the Vinifera
root has, I cannot tell.

Resume: In order to prevent the disease, be very careful in

SPRAYING THE VINES 19

•

the selection of healthy grafting wood, decrease the excessive vigor
of vine through choice of proper stocks, by summer-top and win-
ter-root pruning; make it drouth-enduring, by giving it a hardier,
more penetrating root and by diminishing its foliage somewhat,
where this is excessive. It is possible that in course of time graft-
ing-stocks will be found, which will make any other preventive
method, excepting the selection of healthy scions, unnecessary.
Where plenty of water is available, proper irrigation alone is suffi-
cient to prevent the disease.

All preventive methods should be commenced in time. No
diseased vine can be cured permanently; even a vine, which has
developed a strong predisposition to the disease is difficult to save,
unless a copious water supply for irrigation is at hand.

9. Method. Spraying the Vines.

In places where the conditions for the development of the dis-
ease are known to be very favorable and the two first mentioned
preventive measures have been neglected, or in order to save vines
which are very susceptible to the disease and show signs of weak-
ening, another preventive may be employed or rather experimented
with, viz : Spraying the vines with some liquid, preferably of a
whitish color, which covering part of the leaves would prevent ex-
cessive evaporation of moisture and sap. In an experimental way
I have found spraying with the Bordeaux mixture right after top-
ping of the vines quite effective in this regard, but a cheaper spray
may be just as beneficial. Some wild plants and shrubs with shiny,
glossy leaves, which in spite of shallow roots and large tops or
standing on solid beds of clay, are exceedingly drouth-enduring,
have come to my notice. This glossy appearance of the leaves,
which is most intense, the hotter the sun is, is undoubtedly caused
by the exudation of a gummy matter covering the leaves and pre-
venting a too rapid escape of moisture. The upper surface of tUe
leaves of Lenoir, Champini, Berlandieri and others presents a sim-
ilar appearance. Some species and varieties of Vitis, which are
known to be very hardy, but which do not possess glossy leaves,
undoubtedly have a drouth-resistant power in their foliage of
some other character. It is also possible that with some vines
such hardiness rests altogether in the peculiar structure of their
leaves and none in their roots, but the success that has been ob-
ta.'ned with Lenoir and Champini, points in the direction, where to
get our grafting stocks.

As an example of the anomaly, just mentioned, I may name
the Rupestris St. George, which seems to be much hardier before
than after grafting. Its strength lies in its top and its weakness in
its roots in spite of their great penetrating power. The weakness
of the Viniferas is in their foliage and their strength in their roots
at least in this respect. If we could create a Phylloxera-resistant
stock with the large and spreading roots of a Tokay, for instance,
but much hardier, we should have a valuable grafting stock. For
this reason the Lenoir, which has hardy thick roots and is a Vini-
fera-American hybrid, comes nearer being as ideaj a grafting stock,

20 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

at least for rich soils, as anything we have at present, if it only
had a higher resistance against the Phylloxera. It is not adapted
to poor gravelly soils as the Champini is. On account of its Rupest-
ris strain, this latter hybrid probably would be entirely safe only
on somewhat deep, well-drained gravelly soils, including poor grav-
elly clays and loams. It is very hardy on such soils in my own
locality and vines bear heavily on it. A mistake has been made in
the Santa Clara valley undoubtedly in the use of unsound grafting
wood and in planting it mostly on very compact soils, to which it is
not adapted. The Champinis occur wild mostly on soils similar to
those on which the wild Rupestris grow, but richer and in a drier
region and on much drier ground. A vine growing wild on a rich
soil, even if this is gravelly and mixed with small rocks, has a
greater range of adaptation to moisture changes than a vine occur-
ring on such soils which are almost devoid of humus and fine earth.

Aside from the hardiness of its roots the Lenoir has the ideal
form of root-system for rich, heavy soils, which hold excessive
moisture during spring and are apt to become dry later, in extend-
ing its main roots horizontally under the surface and its strong,
penetrating laterals down vertically to a great depth.

The resistance-coefficient of Lenoir is 12 and that of Champini
14, which have not been found adequate under the climatic condi-
tions of France. Which is the minimum resistance absolutely
safe under California conditions is still an open question. It is
known that Viniferas do not succumb as quickly here from the at-
tacks of the Phylloxera as they do in France, which may be ex-
plained by the fact, that decay of the roots, which causes the death
of the vines, does not proceed as rapidly in our soils during the
summer, as it does in countries with summer rains.

At what degree of resistance a vine is immune from an injury
to its roots by the Phylloxera in California, is a point which should
command thorough investigation in the near future as a matter of
the greatest importance. A stock with a somewhat low resistance
but a good adaptation to existing soil conditions, is much safer
than one with a high resistance against the Phylloxera, but without
the adaptation. Our past experience has shown, that this latter
is as important (if not more so) as the Phylloxera question, in fact
that the solution of one is valueless without the mastering of the
other. The Lenoir and the Champini are the safest known at pres-
ent for lands which cannot be properly irrigated and such soils as
have been designated for them in this treatise. The former is prob-
ably the best for table grapes and other heavy-bearing Viniferas
on any kind of land excepting the very poorest. Anybody desiring
to make plantings immediately should commence with these, but
at the same time try some of the other hybrids of the four hardy
species, and if some of them which have a higher resistance against
Phylloxera are found to be equally as good in regard to adaptation
to the existing soil conditions, these should be preferred for later
planting. What relation the nature of a soil has to the hardiness
of a vine can be seen most anywhere. In my own locality on a
rich, deep, sandy or clayey loam the Cornichon is very hardy and

SPRAYING THE VINES

21

the Tokay and Verdel are an easy prey to the disease, while on a
gravelly clay of medium quality the first named succumbs easily
and the other two vines are very hardy. In a somewhat rich, stiff
clay on my own place the Verdel is hardier than the Tokay, while
on a poor gravelly clay the latter is the hardiest. If there is so
much difference between varieties of the same species, it can easily
be seen, that a single resistant, that will do better than any other on
any kind of soil or in any locality, will never be found. It will al-
ways be necessary to employ different ones to get best results, es-
pecially in mountain districts where soils vary so much.

Figure I as given below shows the range of adaptation of
different species and of the two hybrids Lenor and Champini,
ungrafted, in regard to moisture changes in the soil. Grafted to
Viniferas it would become less, excepting Riparia, which probably
has a less drouth-resistant foliage than the Viniferas, as it occurs
wild only in cool places in the shade of trees, but even this would
become somewhat weakened after grafting on account of lack of
sufficient affinity (similar to Rupestris) and the heavy bearing of
the Vinifera-top.

FIG. i.

Dry

Slightly

Moist

Moist

Extremely
Moist

Wet

— c-

Berlandieri
Candicans
Californic a
Riparia
Rupertris
Champini
Vinifera
Lenoir
Cordifolia
x.Cinerea

Of course the lines in the diagram show the range of adapta-
tion only comparatively and approximately, as exactness would be
difficult. Not only the inherent adaptability of the stocks will have
to be considered, but also the form of root system, depth and nature

22 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

of soil, etc. For instance in deep wet loams and clays or soils with
groundwater a few feet below the surface a Vinifera may do very
well, but a Champini sending down its vertical main roots into very
wet soil or water would not succeed. A hybrid having a great
drouth-enduring capacity but shallow roots would fail in a deep
coarse gravel, where a Champini may prove successful. Even a
Rupestris St. George may do as well as a Vinifera in such soil, as
it has the advantage over the latter in its deep vertical roots, al-
though less range of adaptation. But it is always safest, if a stock
is chosen, which has adaptation to spare for a certain soil, than if
it is deficient or doubtful. It can also be seen from the diagram
that an improvement is possible on our two best known grafting
stocks, the Lenoir and the Champini. By hybridizing a Cinerea
or Cordifolia with a Candicans or Berlandieri and the progeny
again with a Vinifera or Californica, a hybrid may result having
a greater range of adaptation than the best we have at present.

FIG. 2

Dry . .

Slightly

Moist

Moist

Extremely
Moist

Wet

_

:

—

"—Shallow, poor gravelly clays

f Deep, poor, brittle gravelly
*~\ clays, mixed with broken
V. sand rock.

Deep, coarse gravels in val-
leys

f Deep, loose gravelly soils on
— ^ hillsides in Coast Moun-
\_ tains

»-

—

— ,

—

—

Rich sandy loams
Clay loams

»-

— '

—

—

—

—

S

Clays

Extremely heavy clays and
adobes

Fig. II shows the changes from wet to dry as they occur in
the different soils of vineyards in the coast regions of northern
California, or may occur, if land is not carefully cultivated or rain-
fall is insufficient or vines have excessive foliage. This also is given
only approximately and comparatively, as there are a thousand dif-
ferent combinations in the physical structure of our varied soils,
according to depth, admixture of humus, clay or other binding
material, broken sandrock, clayrock or granite, gravel or sand, etc.,

SOILS ADAPTED TO GRAPE CULTURE 23

p

which all have a greater or less influence on their capacity of hold-
ing moisture in the spring and of retaining it through the summer.
The more compact a soil is or if it is gravelly, the more fine earth
or clay is mixed with the gravel, the greater are apt to be the mois-
ture changes. In localities where the rainfall is scant, heavy clays
and loams may not be very wet during spring, or may be so onh
within a few feet of the surface, while below this they are com-
paratively dry. The great value of a vine, extending its main
roots horizontally under the surface, as the Lenoir does, is appar-
ent for such soils. From what has been said on the condition of
soils, on which wild species are found or on which cultivated vari-
eties have proved successful, it can be deduced that adaptation is
principally governed by the moisture changes occurring in the soil
3nd conditioned by the physical structure of the ia\ter, by climate
and cultivation. For this reason, adaptation, as taught by French
experts, has not realized for California, as moisture changes in
soils of the same physical structure are much greater with us than
they are in France.

As the planting of resistant direct bearers which undoubtedly
wculd avoid the trouble altogether, has been recommended i:»y
some, I shall say, that there is no vine of American origin at pres-
ent, which approaches in the least degree the peeiless qualities of
the Viniferas. Even with twice the expense of growing these, which
indeed is not necessary, they will pay" much better than any bear-
ing resistant. For this reason no effort should be spared to re-
tain them in localities where the disease has occurred w;th great-
est severilv, but which was caused mainly through ;gnorancc of its
true character.

CHAPTER III.

Soils, Adapted to Grape Culture and Preparatory Work for

Planting.

There are a great variety of soils in California and most any of
them, excepting rich bottom lands near the coast or other parts of
too moist and cold atmospheric conditions, or where groundwater
is too near the surface, can Be planted to the grape vine provided
the peculiar habits of the different varieties and grafting-s treks
are understood and the proper ones chosen. In this respect a good
many mistakes have been made in the past and some losses of
money incurred. In particular it may be said that brittle gravelh
clays of a reddish or brownish color mixed with broken sandrock
and situated on warm sloping hillsides, are the very best, as they
produce the highest quality of wine and table grapes, which is the
desideratum desired.

In regions near the coast shallow soils, on which the grapes
ripen better and whose impoverishment and drying out can be pre-
vented by plowing under plenty of green manure, which is gener-
ally abundant, are better than deep, rich ones. Lands being covered
with small brush as manzanitas, dwarf-oaks and other shrubs,
when in their wild state, is in such localities indicative of their
adaptation to grape culture. Where large trees are growing, the

24 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

.soil is gen* rally too rich and deep to be available for this pur-
pose, at least the services of an expert would be required to avoid
mistakes in the choice of varieties. In the more interior locations
a deeper soil is necessary, to maintain the vine properly and pro-
duce a good quality of fruit. Clays generally produce a higher
sugar and .firmer grapes than rich sandy loams.

In the preparation of the soil for vine planting, California
methods have in the past been so slack that great losses of money
or, as in some cases, even bankruptcy have been the consequence,
especially where vineyards were planted on steep hillsides of poor
gravelly soil. I shall not repeat anything here, that has been said
on tr.is subject in the chapter on preventive methods of the Califor-
nia vine disease, but shall only make a few completing remarks
with reference to mountain regions. Where vineyards have been
planted on hillsides, the neglect of properly securing the natural
richness of the surface of virgin soils, in preventing its washing by
winter rains or loss of organic matter through combustion by the
summer's heat, will make itself felt with greatest severity, when
these vineyards will have to be replanted on account of the de-
structive work of the Phylloxera. The only way such lands could
have been remunerative would have been to plow or dig trenches
about 3 feet deep and 2 wide horizontally along the slops and filling
them up with humus earth from above. Vines planted in such
trenches would have produced from 7 to 10 tons par acre, where
they yield oi'.'y 2 or 3 tons by the go-as-you-please method.

The grape vine is the most grateful cultivated plant we have.
Treat it well and intelligently and it will pay you back abundantly.
It is better to have 5 acres producing 35 tons of grapes, than 50
acres producing only 100 tons, especially when grapes are cheap.
The five-acre vineyard would have paid enough profits to set out
an acre or two more every year, as described above, while the fifty-
acre one depleted your pocket book in the first place and kept you
poor afterwards, all the income from it being required to pay
Asiatic labor, as has been the case in a good many instances.

In reconstituting vineyards destroyed by the Phylloxera or
from any other cause, on resistant stocks in places where the land
has been under cultivation for 10, 15 or more years, the work be-
comes much more difficult. It is best to work over all lands that
will wash or slide from winter rains by trenching as described, in-
stead of turning the whole of the ground over 20 inches or two feet
The better portions should be commenced with and the poorer and
steeper ones left for four or five years, to cover themselves with
natural vegetation, if this will grow; if not, some cultivated plants
which are valuable for green manuring, should be sowed and as-
sisted by cultivation. If leguminous plants will not succeed, any-
thing that will grow is better than nothing.

As has been stated, when doing such work, if the surface soil
is devoid of humus, do not forget to put plenty of organic matter
in the form of brush, dead prunings and vines, straw, stable and
green manure into the trenches. The first named should be put
in the bottom and the last named about 18 inches below the sur-

CHOICE OF VARIETIES OF GRAPES 25

face ; it is plain that fine earth should be well filled in around such
material and also that this should not be excessive. There is no
danger of souring the ground easily in a California vineyard, as sim-
ilar work is done in European countries, where decay on account of
summer rains goes on much quicker. A grapevine is not easily
affected by decaying organic substances in the soil, at least not the
right kind of a grafting stock. Humus is most important as no soil
is productive without it, however rich in mineral ingredients it may
be. It is almost an impossibility in California to cause any material
benefit to deep-rooting perennial plants, by simply plowing under
organic manures, not considering the great loss through combus-
tion by the sun's heat. The benefit derived is generally of a physi-
cal nature only, in that compact soils are made more mellow and
coarse gravelly ones denser and closer, and so both kinds more
retentive in holding moisture. Of course this is very important.

It might be claimed that such work does not pay in California
on account of high wages paid for labor. But considering that we
need not plant our vines three or four feet apart in order to get them
to ripen their fruit uniformly, it will not cost as much as work con-
ducted on such a plan in European countries. A little more re-
course to old world methods, seasoned down with a touch of Amer-
ican ingenuity in the use of proper implements, will make grape-
culture the most remunerative pursuit in the State.

The next best way to the above-described method would be to
dig deep and wide holes and then put a good amount of stable man-
ure, coarse or rotted, in their bottoms. This will enable the young
vine to get a quick start and get its roots down deep, so it does
not suffer from want of moisture and nourishment.

When it becomes necessary later, commercial mineral manures
can be applied by plowing under. As a rule such manures are
necessary in California only when the vines become old, provided
the land is worked over before planting, as described, and plowed
deeply afterwards, as according to Prof. Hilgard's investigations,
our soils are generally very rich in such ingredients to a great
depth, on account of absence of summer rains and so of leaching
of their valuable portions.

Stable manures intended for vineyard use should be kept dry
and piled up loosely under a shed, to prevent the formation and
escape of carbonate of ammonia. Mixing with land plaster or
humus earth, or sprinkling with diluted sulphuric acid, will assist
in this. It should not be left undisturbed very long but worked
over occasionally. If it dry-burns, which means the formation of
nitric acid, which is very volatile, the loss is still greater. In the
winter it is safest to haul it right on to the land, wliere it is intended
to go.

CHAPTER IV.

Choice of Varieties of Grapes.

This has been one of the most difficult problems confronting
the vine-grower in the past, and has led to numerous mistakes and

26 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

losses of money. The difficulty was greatly augmented by the
passing under wrong and several names of some of our best vari-
eties, which would have come undoubtedly sooner to greater prom-
inence, if this had not been the case. Also giving wines of poor-
grade varieties fine-sounding names, in order to enhance their
salableness, as is sometimes imagined, is a reprehensible practice,
which can only do harm. Some 30 or 40 years ago, when grape-
culture took the form of a more general occupation, a great mis-
take was made in presuming that the most famous wine-grape vari-
eties of Europe would also make the best wines in most any local-
ity of California. Although our climatic conditions are not so
varied as those of European countries where grape-culture is prac-
ticed, the fact has made itself felt, that it requires different varieties
for the different localities to produce best quality and largest quan-
tity, not considering our manifold soil conditions. Our past experi-
ence in this line will be of incalculable benefit to us, as the rehab-
ilitation of our vineyards on resistant stocks is somewhat more
expensive, and mistakes made now will be felt with much greater
severity than in former times. Without fear of contradiction, I
shall say that the highest quality, combined with from fair to good
quantity should be the most desired aim in viticultural pursuits.
To gain this object is not a difficult task at present, as we have
it in our hand with the proper selection of resistant grafting stocks,
to make choice varieties like the Petite Sirah, Beclan, Cabernet,
Sauvignon blanc and Red Veltliner bear much heavier crops than
they do on their own roots.

As the planting of white-wine varieties has been neglected in
late years and less localities are adapted to the production of first-
class white than of red wines, all lands well suited to them, should
be used for this purpose. All poor gravelly or sandy soils of the
coast mountain regions of northern California, excepting those in
very close proximity of the coast or where for other reasons too
moist atmospheric conditions prevail, where the more-rot-resistant
red varieties like Beclan, Cabernet, Tannat and Petite Sirah are
preferable, are best for white grapes, especially the early kinds
as Red Veltliner, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Johannisberg and
Franken Reisling. In more interior points where the acid of most
of these would be too low for a sound fermentation, other kinds
are probably better. In such places even richer soils may be used
for the planting of white varieties. All rich lands, especially in the
coast region, are best for the growing of red grapes. Some excep-
tions will be found to these rules and past experience where such
is at hand, is the best guide in this respect.

Dry wine varieties with a high acid in their fruit like Alicante
Bouschet, Gros Mansene and all Italian varieties, are best
adapted to warm interior points, as also the Valdepe-
nas, which in spite of a comparatively low acid has the ex-
ceptional quality of a perfect fermentation, while varieties with
medium to low acid like the Beclan, Cabernet, Tannat and Petite
Sirah are better for the cooler coast regions. Such latter vari-

CHOICE OF VARIETIES OF GRAPHS 27

eties with proper blends may be turned into good wines even in
the warmer localities, as also varieties with a high acid may be val-
uable in small quantities for blending purposes in the cooler re-
gions.

High tartaric acid contents of a grape in the fermenting tank
especially during hot weather, are conducive of a sound ferment-
ation in checking the development of secondary, injurious fer-
ments, but give a wine a harsh, rough taste if too much is present.
First-class white wine should contain about .06 per cent and red
wines about .05 per cent of tartaric acid, or rather, bitartrate of
potash (cream of tartar) as which it occurs in wines. Free tartaric
acid is generally not present, except where unripe grapes went into
the fermenting tank ; wines made thus have a very harsh flavor. A
wine fermenting its sugar contents out is not proof that the fer-
mentation has been conducted properly. Low-acid grapes like
Pinot, Meunier, Franken Riesling and Grenache, although they may
apparently go through fermentation all right, favor the development
of injurious bacteria, as acetic, lactic and tartaric, which cause, com-
mencing generally during the after-fermentation, a steady increase
of the general acid contents of the wine and finally spoil it. If the
fermentation took place during cold weather in a well-protected cel-
lar of an even temperature, such a condition need not be feared so
much as if it occurred during hot weather.

For this reason all best dry wines are made in cool countries
of grapes with a comparatively low or medium acid, which leaves
the wine with a smoother, pleasanter taste. In hot countries like
Italy, grapes must contain a high acid, besides high contents of
sugar, body and tannin, in order to give the wine a sound fermenta-
tion and good keeping qualities. Such obstacles have been over-
come at the present day, at least to some extent, with modern meth-
ods of pasteurization and filtration. Thin wines are also very much
subject to' injury from secondary ferments ; such wines should be
pasteurized.

Red wines intended for export or eastern shipments should con-
tain a higher percentage of tannin than would be palatable for im-
mediate or home consumption. The superfluous tannin will pre-
cipitate through the shaking of the wine in the casks, while in tran-
sit, and at the same time keep it in good condition and improve it.
While the wine remains in the cellar its development is accelerated
by a moderate amount of tannin and retarded by an excess of it.
The best tannin and color grape for California is the Tannat, with
the Alicante Bouschet for second place. Other varieties like Caber-
net, Petite Sirah, St. Macaine, Mondeuse and Valdepenas contain
good contents of tannin, in most localities enough for their own
safety.

The above remarks are not made to give any information con-
cerning winemaking, but to assist in the selection of proper varieties
for a particular locality and in regard to the purpose for which
grapes are wanted.

28 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

White- Wine Varieties for the Coast Region of Northern California.

Red Veltliner — Description : Vine very vigorous, with strong
spreading canes. Leaves large, deeply five-lobed, dark green and
rough above, lower side white woolly during forepart of summer.
Bunch medium, somewhat loose, pyramidal, with from small to
medium-sized pink-colored berries.

This variety has originally come from Austria, where it is es-
teemed, according to Babo and Mach, on account of the superiority
of its wine and good bearing qualities. From there it has been
brought into Germany, whe,re it is grown to a small extent and
known among common vineyardists as the large Traminer, because
its grapes have the same pink color as those of the Traminer. For
this reason it occurs in California also under both names ; but the
same color of the grapes of two varieties is no mark of relationship,
nor is a different color a good mark of non-relationship. If the above
description is compared with that of the Traminer by Prof. Hilgard
in his report on winegrapes, the great difference between the two
vines can easily be seen. The Traminer has no value for California,
as it is a shy bearer and produces a wine of poor keeping qualities.
Some Veltliner wine made in this locality (Santa Cruz Mountains)
from grapes grown on a poor gravelly soil by inexperienced wine-
makers and sold to an eastern dealer, has brought 30 and 40c a gal-.
Ion, when other wines did not bring one-half of that amount. A
blend of two-fifths Veltliner, two-fifths Franken Riesling and one-
fifth Johannisberg Riesling produces a wine of first-class quality.
This grape has a great value for the coast region, as it resists rot
better than any other early white-wine grape with long horizontal
canes, and bears heavily on all gravelly soils. In more interior places
it probably needs an addition of some other more acid variety, like
the Sauvignon blanc, in order to produce a wine of good keeping
qualities.

Sauvignon blanc. This is a somewhat shy bearer on its own
roots, but does better on resistants. It is confounded in this locality
a. good deal with the Muscadelle du Bordelais, which it resembles
very much in the appearance of the vine as well as the fruit. But
while the Muscadelle generally drops its fruit by coulure two sea-
sons out of three, the Sauvignon blanc very seldom does, where it
stands on a soil of medium or good quality. . This grape probably
has a greater general adaptation than any other Vinifera variety,
as it holds its acid well even in hot interior valleys. Its wine in
itself is somewhat rough, but is very valuable as a blend with wines
of less quality and lower acid and sugar. The vine is about as
nearly frost-proof as any variety can be, as it starts its growth very
late in the spring. It requires long horizontal canes to bear well.

Semillon. This has been the favorite white-wine variety in
California and is therefore so well known, that it is not necessary
to mention any of its characteristics. It is extremely liable to get
damaged by late spring frosts, as it starts its growth very early. Its
behavior on resistants, at least Riparia and Rupestris, is far from

RED WINE GRAPES 29

f

being satisfactory, but it may do better on some hardy Vinifera-
American hybrid.

Riesling Johannisberg. This is rather a shy bearer, and easily
fiosted in the spring. On a poor gravelly soil in the Santa Cruz
mountains it bears fairly well and makes a wine of fine quality.
This as well as any other Vinifera variety will undoubtedly do much
better on some hardy resistant than on Riparia or Rupestris or even
its own roots.

Sylvaner or Franken Riesling. This is an immense bearer in
this locality, if pruned with long horizontal canes, but should be
planted only on dry gravelly soils, as its grapes are much subject
to rot. Its wine by itself is not best quality, but a good wine can
be made of it, by blending in the fermenting tank with the Johannis-
berg Riseling or Sauvignon blanc and in some places even with the
Red Veltliner. It starts growth late in the spring and is seldom
hurt by frost.

Pinot Chardonay, from which the celebrated Chablis wines are
made in France. There are only a few vines of this variety planted
here, but which give promise of its value as a good bearer.

Sauvignon vert. This is similar to the Franken Riseling, an
immense bearer, and its fruitfulness is not impaired by frost, as it
bears on canes from adventitious shoots, if its first growth is cut
down. It should also be planted on dry gravelly soils only, as on
rich ground it has not sufficient sugar and makes then a thin in-
sipid wine. For some more interior places, like Napa county, a
greater value is claimed for it. It does well on resistants.

Green Hungarian. On dry gravelly soils with warm exposure
this makes a good, light, neutral wine, but does not ripen early
enough to be adapted to many coast locations. Different from the
other varieties mentioned, it can be stool-pruned and somewhat
short. It bears heavily.

Red Wine Grapes.

Petite Sirah. This and the Serine resemble one another some-
what, but have undoubtedly originated from two different seed-
lings, as the difference between the two varieties is too great to be
explainable any other way. The leaf of the Petite Sirah is somewhat
more deeply lobed and of a deeper green color than that of the
Serine. The first-named starts its growth later in the spring and its
leaves hang on later in the fall. It has also a larger bunch and sets
fruit much more profusely.

As the Petite Sirah occurs here, there is another variety mixed
with it, which has a small, generally loose bunch and large leaves,
covered with a heavy, cottony down on the lower surface. Thib
variety is worthless. The Petite Sirah is a most valuable grape, as
it bears heavily and produces one of the best red wines in the state.
It does exceedingly well on all kinds of resistants. I have been
told lately that it is the same grape, that was known in former years
as Pfeffer's Cabernet.

30 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

Beclan. This is probably the best grape for rich land, whether
sandy or clayey, in the coast region. It grows, bears and ripens its
fruit early, similarly to the foregoing. It also does well on resist-
ants and makes a fine wine, which has great value as a blend with
Cabernet.

Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a shy bearer on its own roots,
but does better on resistants. It is the most rot-resistant grape we
have and is therefore valuable in places with moist atmospheric
conditions. It requires long horizontal canes to bear well.

Tannat. This is also very resistant against rot and an im-
mense bearer. Its value as a tannin and color grape has been
stated. There are two varieties of it as it occurs here, which are
called in France T. male and T. femelle. The leaf of one is not quite
so deeply lobed as that of the other and its bunch not quite as large,
but closer; it is the better bearer of the two, but also more subject
to the California vine disease. It does poorly on Rupestris St.
George (the same as all other varieties on this stock) but bears im-
mensely on Riparia.

Alicante Bouschet. This occurs a good deal under the name of
Petit Bouschet, which is giving a bad name to a good grape, as the
latter is a much inferior variety. The former can be easily dis-
tinguished from the latter by its leaves, which are shiny on the up-
per side, with the edges turned back. The Petit Bouschet has
flat and more downy leaves. The Alicante Bouschet is an immense
bearer, but it is reported from France as not doing well on resist-
ants, but will probably behave more satisfactorily on some hardy
Vinifera-American hybrid.

Carignan. This is so well known, that it is not necessary to
mention its good qualities. It ripens later than the other red vari-
eties mentioned and does best on clays. It behaves well on resist-
ants.

Mondeuse. This makes a good wine and bears well in some
places, but in others its behavior is not so good in either respect
It does not seem to do well on pure American stocks. The Mon-
deuse and the Carignan are the two best of the ordinary varieties.

Valdepenas. This is best adapted to warm interior localities.
It has the reputation of fermenting high sugar contents out with-
out any trouble and makes a very superior wine.

Table Grapes.

Flame Tokay. This is the most prominent table variety, as it
bears heavily and its fruit brings the highest price in the markets,
provided it is of good quality. To produce such is sometimes diffi-
cult, as not all soils and locations will do this. It requires for its
perfect development a somewhat dry atmosphere; where this is
heavy and moist from ocean winds, it is not of a marketable char-
acter. In regard to soil it is best on a poor gravelly clay of a red-
dish or brown color ; if the soil is rich, it should not be deep.

If the vine is planted on rich ground, where it does not ripen
its fruit well, it should be trained to a high, large, spreading head

PRUNING, GRAFTING AND BUDDING 31

0

and pruned with a great number of canes of two and three buds.
Its young growing shoots will be shorter and more upright then,
its bunches smaller and looser and in consequence its berries more
evenly ripened and better colored. On very poor soils it should be
trained to a lower and closer head with fewer fruit canes.

Verdel. This produces its best product on a gravelly clay of
medium quality. On such a soil its fruit keeps longer and better
than that of any other variety. In the Santa Cruz mountains it is
generally one of the best paying varieties grown, as it bears im-
mense and regular crops. Where the ground is too rich for a per-
fect product, the quality and sugar contents of this can be im-
proved by a similar mode of pruning as that recommended for the
Tokay, but not quite so many canes need be left. It should only be
planted in places well protected from the north winds, as its young
canes in the spring break off very easily and its fruit is also dam-
aged quite often if vines are standing in an unprotected place.

Cornichon. This is the best table grape variety for rich
ground, especially a sandy loam. It is trained and pruned in all
kinds of manners, from a somewhat low and close head with few
half-long canes for poor ground to a high spreading head with nu-
merous short canes of three buds for very rich ground. For soils of
medium quality the best way of pruning is intermediate between
the two extremes described. It is a favorite grape for attack from
small birds, which bore holes into the ends of the berries and
sometimes cause ruin to a whole field. The shotgun remedy is the
best means of protection, as the birds generally are intelligent
enough to learn that it is best to stay away.

Emperor. This is a very fine, although thick-skinned grape,
of good marketable and keeping qualities. It requires also a soil of
good or medium quality with warm exposure, and is pruned simi-
lar to the foregoing. No first-class table grapes can be grown by any
other system than head pruning. Excessive vigor of a vine can bt,
overcome with a high spreading head and more fruit spurs, as welt
as with pruning by the Guyot system or extension to one side.

Muscat of Alexandria. This is coming into disfavor somewhat
in the coast region on account of its susceptibility to the California
vine disease and the easy rotting of its fruit, if caught by the early
fall rains. It should be planted only on such soils where it wifl
ripen its fruit early. Its liableness to coulure can be corrected by
pruning to three buds, canes extending upwards at an angle of
about 30 or 40 degrees, with a close head and few fruit canes, if on
poor ground and by careful suckering several times before the
bloom. The Muscat is a very sensitive vine; too much or too little
vigor, too much moisture in the ground or too little, as also a strong
north wind may cause coulure.

CHAPTER V.
Pruning, Grafting and Budding.

1. Pruning. There are numerous systems of pruning practiced

32 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

wherever the grape vine is grown. In general it may be said, that
the pruning must conform to the variety of grape, to the vigor and
size of the vine, to climatic and atmospheric conditions of the lo-
cality and to the demands of the market for the fruit. There are
some minor considerations, but I believe these are the principal
ones.

The quantity and quality of the crop is very much influenced
by the nature of the soil. On account of this a vine may have too
much or too little vigor, to bear properly. To maintain the proper
equilibrium between crop and woodgrowth, should be one of the
objects of pruning. The vigor of a vine can be lessened with higher
training, more spreading head and more numerous or longer fruit
canes. It can be increased by reversed methods from the above.
It is always best, especially on virgin soil, to start with a lower head
than appears necessary at the time for the production of greatest
quantity and best quality. A vine can be much more easily raised
up higher with short upright spurs, than lowered if it has been
raised up too high in the first place. In general, not enough differ
ence is made in the winter pruning of large vines and small ones, as
also in their training to a higher or lower head according to the
richness of the ground. Training a vine to a high and spreading
head on a poor soil, takes all its resources to nourish this, without it
being able to bear. On the other hand, where a vine has been
trained to a low head on rich ground, the woodgrowth is so im-
mense, that it robs the sap, which should properly go into, fruit.
This is more pronounced with some varieties than with others. The
same may be said of the manner, heads of vines are spread, more
or less. It is much better for the health and longevity of a vine,
if it has a little too much vigor and less fruit, than the reverse.

Excessive moisture as well as extreme dryness during the
time of development and ripening of the fruit may postpone its
maturing or cause inferiority of the same. The first generally does
not occur in California, except during the forepart of the season,
when it does its harm in causing unnecessary woodgrowth, injuri-
ous to the proper development of the fruit and the healthfulness
of the vine. For this reason, vines on poor gravelly hillsides in
mountain districts, where they do not grow excessively on account
of the poorness of the soil and in consequence later on do not suf-
fer for want of moisture, produce the firmest, sweetest and a good
many times the largest berries. Where vines are growing on rich
ground, heavily charged with moisture during spring, their am-
bition should be curbed by vigorous summer pruning as described
in Chapter II.

Too much old wood may prevent a vine from doing its best.
The arms of a vine should be renewed occasionally. The smaller
ones may be cut near the main body, but the large ones should
not be cut nearer than six inches from the trunk and should al-
ways have one or two canes of young growth at their extremity.
Large cut surfaces should be painted over.

Excessive crops may retard the maturing and the formation
of the necessary sugar contents of the fruit. Large trees standing

PRUNING, GRAFTING AND BUDDING 33

near vines, robbing the ground of moisture, whin the latter are in
great need of it, also prevents proper development of the sugar-
contents of the fruit. The sugar is highest, if vines on rich ground
are trained to a high spreading head and pruned with numerous
short fruit spurs and on poor ground to a low and close head with
few canes. On intermediate soils the pruning and training should
be between the two extremes.

Head or stool pruning is best adapted to California condi-
tions, as the ground can be more carefully worked and its moisture
contents better regulated. Varieties like Petite Sirah, Alicante
Bouschet, Beclan and others will bear just as well and more reg-
ularly by head-training and pruning to 4 or 5 buds, or even less in
some places, than by leaving long horizontal canes. It is best to
put varieties like Riesling, Cabernet, Sauvignon blanc, Semillan,
etc., which do not bear except with very long canes, horizontally
placed, on gravelly, loose soils, which are not so subject to drying
out and can be more easily worked; or they may be put on steep
hillsides, which can be conveniently worked only in one direction.
If the soil is very poor, it is best to train any of the varieties men-
tioned to a very low head, leave only one long cane and bend it
around in a bow, the tip end almost touching the ground, or thib
can be run into the ground 5 or 6 inches and the bow above tied to a
picket. This also gives the vine more stability against strong
winds.

2. Grafting. According to the size of the stocks there are
two principal methods of grafting, the common cleft graft and the
English cleft or tongue graft. Instead of the former, if stocks are
of sufficient size, the saw-in method, as I generally call it, may be
practiced. This mode of grafting is done by cutting across the
edge of the stump with a California pruning saw. The cut is
trimmed out on the sides with a sharp pruning or budding knife.
A shoemaker's leather knife, which has a narrow, thin blade and is
made of good material, is very handy for this purpose. The scion
is shaped by first cutting it in wedge form as in the common cleft
graft, and then making another slanting cut opposite the bud, from
the node down to the point, which should have about the thickness
of the width in the cut of the stock at its lower end. The two edges
on the cut of the scion are shaved down a little, so they do not
hinder in making a close fit. The scion is then inserted and driven
down with a small wooden mallet. It requires a good deal of prac-
tice to make this graft properly, but if this is acquired, it is quickly
and effectively done. The wood of the scion should press snugly
in its full length against the wood of the stock, in order to enable
the former to draw sap immediately. The inside of the bark of the
scion should fit against the inside of the bark of the stock in order
to make proper connection through the callousing of scion and
stock.

This graft has the advantage over the common cleft graft in
that the stock can be cut off just above a node, at which a connec-
tion is made much more easily than at an internode. If the bud on
the stock is in a smooth place, it can be cut out with the saw, and

34 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

the scion inserted in such a place generally grows without failure.
The slanting cuts on the scion should come up to the bud as near
as possible, so this rests closely against the stock. This graft can
be employed on stocks not much more than one-half inch in di-
ameter. Such small stocks would of course need a ligature. In ty-
ing grafts interspaces should be left between the windings, to leave
room for the callous.

On dry gravelly soils most anything will do for tying material,
but on wet heavy land bluestoned raffia is the best, in order to pre-
vent rotting of ligature and also decay of the .cut surfaces of both
scion and stock. Raffia is bluestoned by soaking it in a three per
cent solution of bluestone (4 ounces in a gallon of water) for 2-i
hours ; it is then hung up to dry. Before using it is washed thor-
oughly in running water, to remove the bluestone from its outside,
and is then kept moist and ready for use.

With the suckering of the grafts one should be very careful.
It is best not to disturb the grafts with the appearance of the first
suckers, but simply pinch these. After a while the earth may be
removed from around the grafts and all the suckers cut off, provid-
ed the scion has made a growth of one foot or more. If this is not
the case two or three suckers near the top of the stock should be
left and pinched again. Too severe suckering will easily kill the
graft or even the vine, as it is apt to cause souring of the sap.

Along in July or August all the grafts should be carefully ex-
amined, the tyings and the roots, that have started from the scions
cut off, and then well mounded up again, as the knitting of the scion
and the stock goes on better under ground than above.

Cuttings to be used as scions are best kept in boxes filled with
sand and placed in a cool place. The sand can be moist when the
cuttings are first put into it, but gradually as the sand dries out the
cuttings become "cured" and are then much less subject to drying
out, if used in the field and the ground should become very dry,
and also less subject to decay, if the ground should be very wet.
Cuttings to be used for propagation on their own roots are better
buried outside in a well drained place of gravelly or sandy soil.

3. Budding. This has not been given a fair and thorough trial
in California so far and it is therefore difficult to say at present,
what can be done in this line. As our atmosphere is much drier
during the summer than that of France, it probably will need some
modifications. How to select buds for budding and how to insert
them, has been well described by Prof. Twight in one of the State
University bulletins, which is sent to any one who asks for it.

CHAPTER VI.
Creation of New Hybrids for Grafting Stocks.

As has been stated, grafting-stocks of a much greater adapt-
ability to different soil and climatic conditions than the pure species
possess, can be obtained by crossing or hybridizing varieties be-
longing to different species. Crossing and hybridizing do not
mean exactly the same thing. A hybrid is obtained from a seed,

POLLENATION BY NATURE'S METHOD 35

0

the ovule of which had been fecundated by the pollen of a variety
belonging to a different species, while both parent varieties of a
cross are of the same species. More vigorous and hardier types are
produced by hybridizing than by crossing; for this reason it is of
greater value in the creation of new grafting-stocks.

To make the operation better understood it is necessary first
to give a short description of the flowers of different seedlings and
the process of fecundation. There are three kinds of flowers in
grapes :

1. The perfect, hermaphrodite, with well developed pistil and
stamens, capable of self-pollenation, Fig. 1. All Viniferas which
are cultivated have such flowers.

2. The practically pistillate flower with perfect pistil, but
weak recurved stamens, generally incapable of self-pollenation.
Fig. 2.

3. The staminate flower, with perfect stamens, but without
pistil. Fig. 3. Example : Rupestris St. George.

Only vines with either hermaphrodite or pistillate flowers, pos-
sessing a perfectly developed pistil, can bear fruit. But in most
cases the pistil does not develop into a grape/unless one or more of
its ovules have been fecundated by a pollen grain.

Pollenation by Nature's Method.

The pistil of a hermaphrodite flower may be pollenated by the
pollen of its own anthers, the enlarged upper portion of the stam-
ens, but with pistillate flowers generally only cross-pollenation is
efficacious, that is, the pollen must come from a different vine.
This latter is also with hermaphrodite flowers more effective and
consequential of better results. It seems to be Nature's preferred
method in producing new and more vigorous and valuable types in
plant life. Gentle winds and small winged insects, visiting the
flowers to gather nectar, are pollen distributors. Whenever a pollen
grain is deposited on the stigma, the enlarged upper portion of the
pistil, and this is in its receptive state, which is generally after a
flower has opened on a warm fair day at about 10 a. m., it begins
to germinate in the moist, gummy substance and send down its
threadlike roots in one of the minute tubes of the pistil, penetrating
the ovule cell-wall and intermingling its substance — protoplasm—
with the protoplasm of the ovule. The pistil holding such a fructi-
fied ovule at once begins to enlarge and in time becomes a mature
grape and the ovules develop seeds within.

As male vines have not a flower with pistil, it is clear, that

36 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

they cannot bear, but they are certainly of value or Nature would
not have developed them. Nature's tendency in its creative de-
signs for the reproduction of improved forms is apparent and so it
makes cross-pollenation imperative. Generally the most vigorous
and enduring offspring is produced by crossing vines with Distillate
or hermaphrodite flowers with some which have staminate flowers.

How to Hybridize if Parent Vines Bloom at the Same Time.

This is easiest, if the mother vine has weak recurved stamens.
The selected mother vine should be in the best of condition, re-
ceive good care and be irrigated several times during the latter part
of the summer. As soon as the flower clusters appear and if there
are very many of them, some should be cut off, so the vine is not
overburdened. The vine should be noticed daily, until some of the
buds on the flower-clusters begin to open. These should be clipped
off then and each cluster, which is to be operated on, enclosed in a
small sack of tissue paper or close-meshed gauze, so insects cannot
enter. The next day at about 10 a. m., if the weather is warm and
fair, visit the vine and if some flowers on the enclosed clusters have
opened, brush over these several times with a newly opened flower-
cluster, taken from the vine which is intended as male parent,
knocking off flower-caps and spilling pollen profusely all over the
cluster. If clusters used for pollenating are plenty, enclose one of
them in the sack, letting it rest on the cluster to be pollenated until
the next day, when with fresh clusters the operation is repeated.
Every day the vine must be visited, the newly opened flowers pol-
lenated until all the flowers have been operated on. If the clusters
are very large and close, some of the flowers should be cut out, so
the young grapes are not overcrowded. All the seeds borne by
the sacked clusters will be crossed or hybridized by the variety used
as male parent.

If this latter vine is growing right next to the vine with reflexed
stamens, all that is necessary is to train two arms, one of each vine,
along each other, and then enclose them with a light sheet of cloth
to keep out insects. Daily shake the arm of the pollenating vine,
which should be trained above the other, so pollen is spilled all over
the flower-clusters of the pistillate vine.

If the mother vine is a variety with hermaphrodite flowers, the
operation becomes more difficult. In this case at commencement of
flowering time all the open flowers of the cluster to be operated on,
are clipped off and then all caps just about ready to shed, are de-
tached with the point of a needle or pin, the anthers all hooked off
with a tiny hook, made by bending the point of a pin back at an
acute angle. The flowers thus prepared are then pollenated as
previously described. Great care should be taken to prevent pollen-
ation of the flowers by the pollen of their own anthers. For this
reason the vine must be visited every day at 9 or 10 a.m., and the
operation repeated as described. If any flowers are found opened,
it is best to clip them off, as it is also well to thin out some of the
buds on very large or close clusters. This facilitates the work and
causes the remaining ones to set with greater certainty.

IN REFERENCE TO POLLEN 37

t

How to Hybridize Vines Not Blooming at Same Time.

If the two vines to be crossed do not bloom at the same time,
then either the blooming of the earlier one must be retarded by cut-
ting off the first shoots in the spring or by pruning very late, and
the later one be made to bloom earlier by pruning very early in the
fall, or by saving pollen from the earlier to apply to the stigma of
the later.

How to Gather and Preserve Pollen.

At blooming time, as soon as most of the flowers have opened,
gather a supply of flowering clusters and carry them to a light room
without shaking or jarring. A new clean tin box about 3 inches
square and one inch deep is a good receptacle to preserve pollen in.
Take the gathered clusters by the stem and strike them gently into
the open box several times. Then clip off the open flowers into
the box, put the lid on and shake the box well, so all the pollen be-
comes dsilodged from the anthers. Take the lid off again and leave
the box stand on window sill for 20 or 30 minutes. Put the lid back
and shake once more, when on opening most of the pollen will be
seen sticking to the bottom, sides and top of the box. Winnow off
all the anthers, corollas and other particles, which may have fallen
into the box. Place the box open now on window sill for one or
two hours, when the pollen will be dry and in good keeping condi-
tion. Put on the cover again and paste over the seam a strip of
paper, to keep out air and small insects.

How to Apply Preserved Pollen.

When the flowers, to be operated on, have opened, properly
prepare them as described and then apply the pollen with a small
camel's hair or cat's tail hair pencil, moistened in pure water, to the
stigmas. Carefully sack the clusters after the operation, so insects
cannot carry in pollen from other vines.

How to Keep the Seeds.

As soon as the grapes on the pollenated clusters are fairly ripe,
they should be gathered, the seeds taken from them and dried in
a ventilated room. They should then be carefully wrapped and
kept in a cool, dry place.

In the above I have followed principally the directions, as given
by Mr. T. V. Munson of Denison, Texas, the noted originator of
numerous crosses and hybrids in one of the bulletins of the Texas
State Experiment Station.

Mr. Burbank's Method.

According to a writer in "The Pacific Tree and Vine," Mr.
Luther Burbank proceeds in the following manner in creating his
wonderful fruits and flowers :

"A supply of the fructifying pollen anthers is carefully gath-
ered from the desired plant parent, usually the day before it is to be
used, and carefully dried. When the proper degree of dryness has
been obtained, the pollen powder is secured by carefully shaking

38 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

the anthers over a watch crystal, until its surface is dusted with
pollen. The blooms of the seed parent, that is to receive the pollen,
have been previously prepared by removing about nine-tenths of
the bloom buds, when they began to show the petal color. This is
done for convenience in operating and to avoid overcrowding the
tree's capacity. Before the petals open, each of these buds is care-
fully cut into with a small sharp knifeblade in such a way that the
petals, a part of the sepals and all the attached anthers are removed
as the knife makes its circuit, leaving the pistils exposed but unin-
jured by the operation. The removal of the corolla balks the bees
and other honey-sucking insects, that are pollen distributors. Mr.
Burbank chooses for pollenation the time when the first hum of the
bees is heard in the trees, as this seems to be Nature's indicator, and
he finds all conditions then most favorable, and believes the pistil
is then in its most receptive state. His instrument for pollenation
is his finger tip, applied first to the dusted surface of the crystal
until enough pollen adheres, then quickly touched to the pistils of
the prepared blossoms one after another. These welcome the pollen
and the fructifying agency begins at once its journey to the ovule.
No matter what comes now ,the opportunity for outside pollen has
passed.

The seeds resulting from cross-pollenation are of course gath-
ered with great care, seedlings are grown and the closest watch is
kept upon characteristics and habits from germination onward.
The little seedling may disclose its combined parentage, or it may
give sign that it has drawn up something from the profound depths
of the converging streams of remote ancestry long before reaching
the blossoming or fruiting stage. These crossbred plants are again
crossbred, as the purpose of their master indicates, for he always
works to a definite purpose. And thus the wonderful processes go
on year after year. Sometimes thousands of specimens have to be
destroyed, yielding no results."

Planting the Seed.

The seed should be prepared about a week before sowing, by
soaking in hot, but not boiling water for about 2 hours, when the
cold water is poured off and another application of hot water given
it for 2 hours more. Then drain the water off and wrap the seed up
in a piece of course cloth and lay it in the sun during the day,
moistening the cloth, whenever it becomes dry. In the evening take
it into a warm room and leave it there during the night. The latter
part of February is a good time to sow the seed and it generally
takes from two to three weeks before it germinates.

The Seed-Bed.

Select for the seed-bed a piece of warm rich sandy soil, which
must be worked over deeply with plow or spade and then made
smooth with the rake. Sow in drills about three feet apart and
about one and a half inches deep. Cover with fine mellow soil
and smooth over again with rake. The seed-bed must be carefully

TESTING THE SEEDLINGS FOR RESISTENCE, ETC. 39

•

watched and kept clean from weeds by frequent hoeing and irri-
gated several times during the summer.

Testing the Seedlings for Resistance Against the Phylloxera.

In order not to waste time with vines, not resistant against the
Phylloxera, especially if a vine has been used as one of the parents,
which had only a slight resistance or none at all, pieces of roots
from a Vinifera variety covered with the insects should be buried
alongside the seedlings in June. Care should be taken, while doing
this, not to expose the insects to the sun or drying winds as this
might kill them. A moist sack wrapped around the roots, while
moving them, will prevent this.

The seedlings should be watched closely, their "roots examined
at least once a month during the summer and if the Phylloxera is
found feeding on them to any extent, the vines should be pulled up
as soon as noticed. The insect will always attack those plants first,
which have the least resistance in the lot. So if the seed-bed con-
tains vines, having a resistant-coefficient of 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, it will
l)e found principally on the seedlings having a resistance of 4, and
very few on any other. As soon as these are destroyed, it will at-
tack the plants, having a resistance of 6, and so on. Before this
habit of the insect was known, numerous mistakes were made in
France, in supposing low-resistant vines immune, which did not
prove so at all as soon as they were planted by themselves in a field.
A Lenoir, for instance, is not attacked at all as long as Californicas
or Viniferas are near, and a Californica appears perfectly immune,
if healthy Viniferas are growing near it. For this reason it is best
to leave the young vines in the same place for another year and con-
tinue the experiment in examining the roots carefully every month
during the summer and pulling up everything that seems good feed
for the insect. Along in September of the second year the roots of
the remaining seedlings should be carefully examined to see what
effect, if any, the attacks of the Phylloxera had on them, as no vine
is entirely free from its presence, however high its resistance.

At the end of the second year the young hybrids may be taken
up and then each one of them planted by itself a considerable dis-
tance from any other low-resistant vines. A good plan to follow is
to plant about one foot from every one of them a Rupestris St.
George (16) or a Champini (14) and then bury some phylloxerated
roots near them. If on examination during summer and fall the
Phylloxera has shown a preference for the roots of the seedlings, it
is plain, that their resistance is not as high as that of the accompany-
ing vines. If, on the other hand, the insect has preferred the roots
of the two vines mentioned, it is proof that the resistance of the
young hybrids is higher than that of the Champini or Rupestris St.
George.

On examining the roots of the vines during August, if swellings
on the small rootlets to any extent or still worse, if any at all on the
larger roots are observed, the seedlings should be rejected. Accord-
ing to Prof. Millardet's (of France) resistance scale, if 40 nodosities

40 How TO MAKE GRAPE CULTURE PROFITABLE IN CALIFORNIA

(swellings on the small rootlets) on 100 rootlets are present, the re-
sistance-coefficient of the vine is 16, the minimum one which is con-
sidered safe in France in most soils. If more are to be seen, the
resistance is lower, and if less, higher. If any swellings occur on
the larger roots (tuberosities), the resistance is below 15, and then
safe only in exceptional cases. The larger the nodosities and tuber-
osities are, the more quickly the roots will rot and the lower is the
resistance of the vine.

The next step to be taken is to ascertain whether the seedlings,
which have shown sufficient resistance against the Phylloxera, will
root readily from cuttings and graft well to Viniferas. In regard to
the latter quality, there will not be any trouble, if the species pre-
viously mentioned, are used for hybridization, as they all possess
this. In selecting parents for hybridizing purposes in general, it is
necessary that the several, qualities desired in their progeny, are the.
aggregate qualities of the former. No hybrids will have any value in
California, which have not one of the four hardy species, Candicans,
Berlandieri, Cordifolia and Cinarea, as one of their parents. In re-
gard to the resistance of a new hybrid to the California vine disease
or its adaptation to California soil conditions, the general aspect of
foliage and root systems, whether it takes more after one parent or
the other, is indicative of its strength in this respect, but it must
be remembered that the greatest range of adaptation is obtained by
hybridizing a vine adapted to wet conditions with one adapted to
the very driest. Numerous hybrids will have to be rejected even
in this respect before something is obtained, possessing the great-
est usefulness. Wonderful achievements are possible in this line, if
properly and intelligently followed up, and it may also not be out
of reach, to produce vines entirely equal to the best Viniferas in
regard to quantity and quality of the fruit, but with a much more
drouth-resistant foliage.

Press of The Pacific Tree and Vine, San Jose, Cal.

XJNIVEKSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBKABY,
BEBKELEY

20m-l,'22

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