UMASS/AMHERST 31EnbbDD^«;33'^53 UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY SB 389 P48 1876 tl^»^ "^ Ia OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE: A PRACTICAL TREATISE GARDEN AND VINEYARD CULTURE THE VINE, By JOHN P H I N. NEW YORK: THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY, 39 AND 41 CHAMBERS STREET. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMiiERST, MASS. L 1 ■> q Copyright, 1876, by Geo. E. Woodward & Co. PKEFACE The following work lias been undertaken, not so rnnch m tho hope of adding anything new to what is already known of the culture of the vine, as with a view to collect the scattered infor- mation which exists on the subject in periodicals and kindred works as well as amongst practical men, and to throw it into such a shape as may prove useful to the amateur and the vine- dresser. This being our object, we have endeavored to modify and adapt the practice and principles of others to our own climate and wants, and to simplify and explain the processes of the profes- sional gardener so that he who reads may practice. To this end we have in general avoided theoretical discussions, and have depended chiefly upon the practice of ourselves and others for the directions here laid down. For although we know that well established principles are the only sure foundation of all right practice, this is not the place for discussing the theoretical grounds upon Avhich these principles rest. A practical work should deal with facts and be a guide to action. As the garden culture of the vine, at least in the northern States, difters from that in the vineyard only in the more thorough preparation of the ground and the larger size of the plants, we have not formally divided the work into sections cor- responding to these two classes, as the principles which govern both are precisely alike. Where, however, some peculiar details of management apply to either we have inserted them in the section to which they properly belong — as under the subject of vine boedees and IV PREFACE. CAEE OF OLD YIXE3. A full account of the Oliio vineyards is given. In the execution of our work, we believe that where we liave had occasion to make use of the labors of others, due credit has always been given ; and we have also added a list of those books which we have most freely consulted, so that those who desire to make the culture of the grape a specialty may be directed to original sources of information. That the culture of the grape will ere long attain a position of which its present condition affords little idea, we have no doubt. Not only is it one of the most delicious and easily raised fruits, but it also gives quick returns, so that he who plants a vine has not to wait for the better portion of his lifetime ere he eats the fruit of it ; in three or four years it will yield aj2 ample vintage. CONTENTS. VAoa Prefaoe, iii Bibliographical Note, List of Works on, or relating to the Vine, . ix Chapter I. — Natural and Civil History of the Yinb. . 17 II.— Choice of Soil, 30 Situation, .36 Aspect, 39 Necessity for Protection from Wind and Storms, . 40 III. — Preparation of the Soil, ...... 60 Draining, 60 Trencliing, i • .55 Subsoil Ploughing, 65 Manuring, 69 Terracing, 60 Construction of Vine Borders for Gard?iLS. . . 65 IV. — Planting the Vines, .76 Time to Plant, 77 Choice of Plants— Distance Apart, . . . .79 Marking off the Ground, 80 Digging the Holes, 83 Taking up the Plants, 64 Setting them out, 86 Staking, 90 After-culture, . 91 V PAOB CniPTEKY. — Cake of Vines DuraxG the First, Second and Third Years, 92 Mulching, 95 Laterals, 96 Winter Protection, 97 Management during tlie Second Year, . . . 98 Management during the Third Season, . . .100 VI. — ^Maxagement of Feuiting Vines, 104 Winter Protection of the Fruiting Canes, . . . 105 Summer Pruning, 108 Thinning the Berries, 118 "Vn. — bCBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT OF THE ViNE, . . . 120 VJII. — Theory and Practice of Pruning and Training as APPLIED TO the GrAPE ViNE, 127 IX Construction of Walls, Trellises, Etc., . . 158, Effect of Walls, 159 X.— Propagation of the Vine, 175 Layering, 175 Cuttings, 180 Eyes, 18G Grafting, 187 Budding, 194 Seed — Hybridi.'iation, 196 XI. — Manures and their Application to the Vine, . 202 Sources of Manures, 203 Effects on the Vine, 209 Liquid Manure, Mode of Producing and Principles of its Application, 215 XII. — Diseases and Insects, 225 CONTENTS. VI 1 PACK Chapter XIII.— Methods of Hastening the Matdkity of the - Gbape, 231 Hand Glasses, 231 Wall Glasses, 232 Eeversing the Bunches, 234 Einging or Girdling, 234 XXV.—Care of Old Vines, 241 XV. — To Preserve Grapes 247 The Ohio Vineyard System, 250 THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. PAOb Extracts from Letters from Mr. Jefferson, late President of the United States, 2M Manufacture of Wine in the South of England, 250 Manufacture of Wine by Mr. Long worth and others, .... S-jS BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CCLTURE, The subjoined list contains all the principal works whic?i have been consulted in the preparation of the following treatise. Having made the study of the subject a specialty, \ye have been at considerable pains to collect all the works relating to vine culture of which we could find any account, and although there are several important omissions in the list given below% yet it is believed that their place is tolerably well supplied by those of which titles are given. As our ::ttention has been chiefly directed to open air culture, we have intentionally omitted some excellent English works. The French, however, possess soii.o valuable treatises which we regret having been unable to obtaii!, and a still greater source of regret -has been that we have been unable to use the many fine works possessed by the Germans. It Avas suggested that this list be prefaced with a short article on the bibliography of grape culture, or at least that the j)e«u- liar features of the works mentioned be indicated. But we found ourselves incompetent to the former, and the latter would have occupied a space disproportionate to its importance in a })rac- tical treatise. It is hoped, however, that the list given wall not prove useless to those who desire to extend their inquiries be- yond the narrow limits of the present work, and from the assist- ance which we ourselves have frequently derived from similar catalogues, we feel confident that this hope is not ill founded. It may be added, in conclusion, that many works have been con- sulted and used of which no mention is made, simply from the remoteness of their general bearing upon the subject. Thus the figure of tlie oidium is taken from Pouillet's "Traite de XU BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GRAPE CULTURE. Physique," and is, we believe, the only thing in all the three vo- lumes of that work which at all relates to vine culture. Having no desire to preftice our Avork with a mere catalogue of our private library (as we have seen done more than once), no work has been mentioned which it will not repay the reader to consult. On the general subject of the "Theory of Horti- culture," Lindley's work has been our guide and our standard, and for our chemical facts and principles we have relied upon the work of Graelin, published by the Cavendish Society of London, in twelve volumes, as we have always found it most full and reliable. But in selecting a course of reading with a view to advance his knowledge of grape culture, the student must bear in mind that so varied, complex and intimately connected are all the operations of nature, that the facts which have a bearing upon any portion of them, are to be found in books which professedly treat of the most diverse subjects. Chemistry and mechanics are alike important ; the principles which govern the relations of heat, light, and electricity, exert a more or less important influence on all vegetation, and he who would be fully master of the subject, must aim at an extent of knowledge only to be found in the widest range of scientific reading and experiment. Abercrombie, .John, Practical Gardener. London. Adlum, John, Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America. Wash- ington, 1S2S. Allen, J. F., Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Grape. New York, 1S.>8. ■ the same, Boston, 1849. American Cyclopaedia. New York, 1858, continued. American Pomological Society, Transactions 1852. 1854, 185G, 1858. r>arry. Sir Ed., Observations on Vvlnes. 4to. London, 1775. Barry, P., Fruit Garden. Ne\y York, 1855. Bernay, A. J., Household Chemistry. London, 1854. Blodgett, Lorin, Climatology of the United States. Philadelphia, 1857. ' Bordeaux Wine and Liquor Dealer's Guide. New York, 1851. Boussingault, J. B., Rural Economy. London, 1855. Bradley, R., Survey of Ancient Husbandry and Gardening. London. 1725. BIBLIOGKAriiY OF GliAPE CULTUIIE. XIU Bridgemau, Thomas, Young Gardener's Assistant. New York, 1857. ]}rown, J. D,, Sylva Americana. Boston, 1832. Trees of America. New York, 1851. Field Book of Mai^res. New York, 1855. Bucliannan, II., Culture of the Grape and Wine Making. Cincinnati, 185^ Buist, R., Management of the Grape Vine. New York, 1856. Busby, James, Visit to Vineyards of France and Spain.- New York, 1835. Carnell, P. P., Treatise on Family Vfina Making. London, 1814. Carpenter, W. B., Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Liquors. Philadcjp^iia, 1855. Chaptal, C, Traite sur la Vigne ct I'Art de faire Yin. 2 vols., Paris, IfiOl. The same, translated in Philosophical Magazine. Chemistry applied to Agriculture. Hartford, 1854. Chorlton, Wm., American Grape Grower's Guide. New York, 1858. The Cold Grapery. New York, 1853. Cole, S. W., American Fruit Book. Boston, 1849. Coleman, Henry, European Agriculture. Boston. Country Gentleman. Albany {x^'^iblishcd vjeekly). Dana, S. L., Muck Manual. New York, 1856. Davy, Sir H.. Agricultural Chemistry. London, 1827. Davy, John, Ionian Islands. London, 1842. De Bow, J. B. D., Industrial Resources of South and West. New Oi- lcans, 1852. Review. New Orleans. Decandolle, N. P., Physiologic Vegotale. 3 vols. Paris, 1832. . Dempsey, G. D., On the Drainage of Districts and Lands. London, 1854. Don, George, General System of Gardening and Botany. 4 vols., 4to., London, 1838. Donaldson, Treatise on Clay Lands and Loamy Soiis. London, 1S54. Donovan, Michael, Treatise on Domestic Economy and Wine JIaking London, 1830. Downing, A. J., Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. New York, 1853. • the same, revised by C. Downing. New York, 1857. Dii Breuil. Cours Elementaire d'Arboriculture. Paris, 1857. Elliot, F. R., Fruit Book. New York, 1854. Western Fruit Book. New York, 1859. Ellis, Robert, Chemistry of Creation. London, 1850. Encyclopoedia Americana. Philadelphia, 1834. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8th edition, Edinburgh, 1852-60, English Cyclopaedia. London, 1854. XIV BIBLIOGEAPiJY OF GRAPE CULTURE. Fent-wanger, Lewis. Fermented Liquors. New York, 1858. Fitch, Asa, Report on the Insects of the State of New York. Flint, C, Agriculture of Massachusetts. Boston, 1858. Floy, M., Guide to Orchard and Fruit Okirden. New York, 1852. Forsyth, Wm., Culture and Management of Fruit Trees. London, 1802. French, Art of Distillation and Manufacture of Liquors. London, 1657. Gardener's Chronicle. 19 vols., London, 1841, continued. Gardener's Monthly. Philadelphia. 1859, continued. Gardener's Monthly Volume. London, 1849. Genesee Farmer. Rochester, N. Y. {published monthly.) Gmelin, Leopold, Handbook of Chemistry. 12 vols., London, 1848-58. Graham, Thomas, Elements of Chemistry. 2 vols., London, 1858. Gray, Asa, Manual of Botany. New York, 1858. Systematic and Structural Botany. New York, 1858. Guide to Importers and Purchasers of Wines, with a Topographical Ac- count of all the known Vineyards in the World. London, 1828. Hannan, John, Economy of Waste Manures. London, 1844. Harris, Joseph, Rural Annual, 1857, 8, 9. Rochester, N Y. Harris, T. W., Report on the Insects o^ Massachusetts injurious to Vege- tation. Cambridge, 1841. Hoare, Clement, Treatise on the Grape Vine. New York, 1850. Homans, J. S., Cyclopaedia of Commerce. New York, 1858. Hooker, Journal of Botany. 4 vols., London. Horticulturist, 184G-1859. Hovcy, C. M., IMagazine of Horticulture. Jacques, Geo., Practical Treatise on Fruit Trees. Worcester. 1849. Johnson, Geo. W., The Gardener. 3 vols., London, 1849. Dictionary of Modern Gardening, edited bv Landreth. Philadelphia, 1857. Principles of Practical Gardening. London, 1845. Johnston, James F. W., Lectures on the Applications of Chemistry and Geology to Agriculture. New York, 1858. Chemistry of Common Life. 2 vols., New York, 1855. Notes on America. 2 vols., Boston, 18 — . Johnson, S. W., The Culture of the Vine. New Brunswick, N. J., 180G. JuUien, Topographie de tons les Vignobles connus. Paris, 1816. Kendrick, Wm., New American Orchardist. Boston, 1848. Kollar, v., Treatise on Insects injurious to Faimers and Gardeners. Lon don, 1840. Ladrey, M. C, Chimie appliqnee a la Viticulture et a4^ffinologie<_'' f ^s, 1857. \q^ ^&>. S^^ Liebig, J., Complete Works. Philadelphia, l1^<^ VV ^\ Letters on Modern Agriculture. N^^f)a^k, 1859^6^, CP \ Liebig and Kopp, Annual Report on the Frogress^^^O^omi&tryit^ the B allied Sciences. London, 1847-1850. ^*s^-^ 4 V^/ Lindlej. Theory and Practice of Horticulture. 2d edition,"Tj9iidon, lSii#r the same, edited by A. J. Downing. New York, 1852. Loudon J. C, EncjclopsBdia of Gardening. London, 1850. Gardener's Magazine. 16 vols. Manures, Practical Treatise on. Society for Diffusion of Useful Know- ledge. London, 1830. McCuUoch, Remarks on the Art of Making Wine. London, 1817. Mcintosh, Charles, Book of the Garden. 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1855. McMahon, Bernard, American Gardener's Calendar. Philadelphia, 1859. the same, Philadelphia, 1806. McMullen, Thomas, Hand-book of Wines. New York, 1853. Meteornlogical Observations made in the State of New York from 1826 to 1850. Albany, 1855. Meteorological Register, State of New York. Miller, Philip, Gardener's Dictionary. Large folio, 1759. the same, 4 vols., folio, 1S07. Morewood, Samuel. Essay on Meliorating Liquors. Loudon, 1824. Mulder, C. J., Chemistry of Wine. London, 1857. Chemistry of Animal and Vegetable Physiology. Edin- burgh, 1849. Miijtp.'ati, Sheridan, Chemistry applied to Arts and Manufactures. Glas- gow, 1858. N:itural History of the State of New York. 3 9 volumes, Albany. Nt.iI, Patrick, Practical Fruit, Flower and Kitchen Gardener's Coon- pi:.iiion. New York, 1856. 2s c»rlhern Fruit Culturist. Odart, Comte, Ampelographie Universelle. Paris. 1854. Manuel de Vignerou. Patent O.Tioo Reports. Washington, D. C, 1837-1858. Pareira, Jonathan, Treatise on Food and Diet. London, 1844. ViX'Lor,^ Nouveau Systfeme de Culture de la Vigne. Paris. Philosophical Magazine (Tilloch's). 97 vols, London, 1798, continued. Pr.ucc, W. R., Treatise on the Vine. New York, 1830. Treatise on Horticulture. New York, 1828. Pomological Manual. New York, 1832. XVI BIULIOGKAPIIY 01- GPcAFE CULTUEE. Quarterly Journal of Science and Art. 30 volumes, London, 1S1G1830. Eedding, Cyrus. History and Descriptioa of Modern AYines. Loudon, 1S51. Reemelin, C, Vine Dresser's Manual. New York, 1S5G. Register of Pairal Affairs. Albany, L. Tucker, 1855-1859. Rendu, Ampelograpbie Frangaise. Paris, 1857. Rural New Yorker (weekly). Rocliester, N. Y. Sclicnck, P. A., Gardener's Text Book. Boston, 1852. Scliow, J. F., Earth, Plants and Man. London, 1852. Silliman, B., American Journal of Science and Art. 'New Haven, Ct., 1819-1858. Smeed, Wine Merchant's Tdanual. London, 1828. Skinner, John S., Journal of Agriculture. 3 volumes, New York, 1848. Spec^hly, William, Treatise on the Culture of the Vine, and the forma- tion of Vineyards. 4to., London, 1790. — the same, Svc, 1821. Solly, Edward, Rural Chemistry. Pliiladelphia, 1852. Somerville, Mary, Physical Geography. Philadelphia, lc53. Stockhard, Julius C, Chemical Field Lectures. Londoc, 1S58, Spoon(*r, Alden, The Cultivation of American Gr^pe Vir.s?. Brooklyn, 184G. Thayer, Albert, Principles of Agricultuvo. Loudon, 1-S45. Thomas, J. J.," Fruit Culturist. Buffiilo, N. Y., lSi7. the same. New York, 1857., Transactions American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia, 1789. Transactions of Society for Encouragement of Arls and Manufactures. London, 1783-1850. Transactions of New York Agricultural Society. Albany, 18-42-lS.>8, Transactions of New York Institute. Albany, 1S41-1858. Transactions of Royal Ilorticiiltural Society of London. S'Vclis. 1£?.4- 1840. Tucker, L., Register of Rural Affairs. Albany, 1S55-1859. Tnll. Jethro. Horse Hoeing Husbandry. London 1820. Ure, Andrew, DIctioiis.ry of Arts, Manufactures and Mines. New York 1857. Dictioiiary of Chemistry. Edinburgh, 1324. Watson, American Home Garden. New York, 1859. Webster, Enc.yclopsedia of Domestic Economy. New York, IS56. OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. CHAPTER I. NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTOEY OF TUE VINE, Peofane liistoiy readies not back to the time when man first planted a vineyard and made wine, and when we leave the sacred records, its first culture is shrouded in allegories, myths and fables. I7io native country of the vine cannot be Vv'ell ascer- tauic-d. It occurs wild in Greece, Italy and even in the south of France. In Mingrelia, Georgia and the regions between Caucasus and Ararat and Taurus, it flourishes in extreme vigor and great abundance. And that it is indigenous to America, also, there can be no doubt, the apociyphal stories about its intro- duction by Sir W. Ilaleigli to the contrary notwitii- standing. Records of its culture are found in most of the poems and sculptures of antiquity. Tlie shield of 17 IS OFE27 Alii GliAPE CULTUHE. Achilles represented a vine-gatliering, aud Herodotus and Tlieoplirastiis speak of the culture of the vine in Egypt; and on the verj oldest Greek tombs are found pictures representing the vine harvest. Plinj enters fullj into the natural history oi the vice, and describes a variety ^-ith berries shaped like llie finger,"'^ while the second book of Yirgil's Georgics forms no mean treatise on practical viticulture. The generic name of the vine {vitis) is derived, ac- cording to some authors, fiom the Latin mncire to bind ; according to others it comes from mere^ to bend, alluding to the flexibility of its branches. Both these * Most of the autbors who iiave noticed this variety, suppose it to have been lost, but we have received from John Kolber, Esq., of New York, slips of a vine imported by him from Hungary, the fruit of which Is described as being an inch and a half long and half au ir^jh in diameter — a form wliich might easily be described by an imagina- tive writer as rt-f^tmbliug a finger. In fact the native name is Ktckis^ csocs or Goals U^ * * -X- * "It is worthy of record, among the results of Mr. Tudor's culture, that two years after the principal plantation of his fruit trees was made, he carried oft' tlie second prize for pears at the annual exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, among dozens of zealous competitors, and with the fruit most care- fully grown in that vicinity." Of the necessity for shelter under circumstances far less desperate than those at ]S"ahant, no good horti- SOIL, SITCJATIOX AND ASPECT. 43 culturist has any doubt. Even tlie oak-tree lias been proved by a well directed series of experiments, to be benefited by shelter in the comparatively mild climate of England. Eor the rationale of the evil effects of wind on plants in general, we must refer the reader toXindley's " Theory and Practice of Hor- ticulture." The following cases are detailed by Hoare : '' Many instances might be circumstantially de- tailed of the injurious effects of w^ind upon established vines during tlieir summer's growth ; two, however, of recent occurrence will perhaps suffice. " On the eleventh of June, 1 833, a strong wind sprang iip early in the morning from the west, and increased in force till noon, when it blew quite a gale and continued to do so throughout the day. It slack- ened a little during the night, and gradually de- creased in violence the next day, dying entirely away in the evening. "The effects of this Avind on a vine of the White Muscadine sort, trained on a wall having a western aspect, were carefully observed. It had on a full crop of fruit and a good supply of fine young bearing shoots, and was altogether in a most thriving condi- tion. Such, however, were the injurious effects of the wind in dissipating all the accumulated secretions of the foliage, and then closing, almost hermetically, its pores, and thereby totally deranging the vita' 44 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. functions of tlie plant, that although in the height of the growing season, not the slightest appearance of renewed vegetation could be discerned in any part of its leaves, shoots or fruit, until the third day of July, or twenty-two days afterward. It never pro- duced another inch of good bearing wood throughout the remainder of the season, but lingered in a very weak and sickly condition ; and the fruit which had been previously estimated at ninety pounds' weiglit,' did not exceed fiftj'-iivc jjounds when gathered, and tliat of a very inferior description in point of flavor and size of berry. Its leaves, also, having been thus crippled, were shed prematurely a month before their natural time, and hence the deficiency in the flavor and size of the grapes. " The other instance, which happened shortly after- ward, is still more decisive. On the 3vOth of August following, about eight o'clock in the evening, a strong wind began to blow from the soutlnvest, accompanied wdth heavy rain. At nine it blew violently, and con- tinued to do so until noon the next day. It then slackened, and then veering to the northwest, died away some time during the following night. " The full force of this wind fell on a remarkably fine black Hamburg vine, trained on a wall having a southwestern aspect, and its efiects were therefore proportionately destructive. Many of the principal BOILj SITUATION AND ASPECT. 45 brandies were torn so completely from their fasten- ings that then* extremities swept the ground. The bunches of fruit were knocked about, and portions of them, as well as single berries, lay scattered on the ground in every direction. On the fruit, however, that survived the wreck, the effects of the wind were remarkable. It must be stated that the wall on which the vine is trained, is ten feet high, and is so situated that to the height of about three feet from the ground the wind had but little power over it, its force being broken by an outer wall standing at a little distance off in front of it. On the lower part of the wall so protected, the grapes not having been much injured, began to" change their color and ripen about the twentieth of September, and on the twelftli of October every berry was perfectly matured, while all those that remained on the vine above three feet from the ground, were, on the first of Il^ovember, as green and hard as on the thirtieth of August, when the high wind occurred. Shortly afterward these began to change their color, and ultimately ripened tolerably well by the first week in December. Tims, solely through the effects of a strong wind, there were to be seen at the same time, on the same branches of this vine, and within nine inches of each other, bunches of grapes, the lov\"ermost of vrhicli were perfectly ripe, while the uppermost were qiiite •16 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. green and hard, and not v.dtliin seven weeks of reacli- ing tlie same state of maturity. '' These facts, which might be multiplied indefinitely, suflSlciently show the injurious effects of strong winds, and the necessity of protecting vines as much as pos- sible from their destructive consequences." But although there can be no doubt as to the evil effects of wind storms, it must be borne in mind that ventilation, and even motion, are essential to the health and growth of the vine. Experiments made by Andrew Knight, show that young trees tied to stakes so as to prevent all motion, do not increase in size as much as those left to the free action of wind. Hence, perhaps, one reason why wire is to be preferred to w^ood for the cross slats of trellises. In the northern States, however, w^e in general have wind enough for all useful purposes. But in view of these facts, we would rest content with shelter out- side of the vineyard, and unless in very exposed situ- ations we would not deem it advisable to place either trees or fences amongst the vines. But while we can guard against wind and storms by belts of woods or high fences, there are other in- fluences which we cannot thus alter. Chiefly among these is the exposure of the sun's rays. Exposure is, in general, derived from one or both of two causes. First, the inclination of the ground, SOIL, SITLFATION- AXD ASPECT. 47 and, secondly, its openness and freedom from over- fcjliadowing influences. A wall is a good illustration of the latter — the north side having a northern expo- sure, and causing fruit planted against it to ripen at a much later period than that planted on the south side, which has a southern exposure. The little raised mounds or flower-beds, to be found in every garden, exhibit the influence exerted by the inclina- tion of the earth — the vegetation on the south side being usually some days earlier than that on the north. For vineyards, the best exposure is undoubtedly a southern one, slightly inclined toward the east, or at least fully protected from the west, and also from the early morning rays. " It has often been observed that woods or thick trees, buildings, high, broad fences, or steep hills, on the east side of jjeach orchards, protect the crop. Hence the erroneous opinion, that it is the east winds which do the dam- age. It is the sunshine upon the frozen buds which destroys them; hence a clouded sky, after a clear frosty night, by preventing sudden thawing, some- times saves a crop. Covering trees of rare kinds with mats, to shade them from the morning sun, afrer an intensely frosty night, might sometimes be highly beneficial." (Thomas.) In this connection, it may be proper to consider 18 OPEN Am GRAPE CULTUEE. the best direction for the trelhses on which the vines are trained. "We have often seen a north and south direction advised under the idea that the vines thus receive the sun's rajs for a longer time. But the evils attached to this plan are great and insurmount- able. In the first place, the vines receive the full force of the early morning sun which, striking the young leaves while still cold, and it may be partially frozen, is productive of the most injurious effects. Then as the day progresses toward noon, the vines are so shaded as not to receive the amount of heat, which they would gladly enjoy at that time, while toward evening again their excitability is greatly increased and is kept up until the last moment, instead of the exciting influence being quietly withdrawn as it ought to be. But if we give our trellis a direction from east to w^est, instead of from north to south, the vines will expose but a small surface to the first rays of the sun which will thus warm them gradually, until it attains its meridian splendor, when it will exert ' .sfull power and then gradually decline until e^ ening, when everything will gradually cool down. Sudden changes are thus avoided, and the full powei of the Bun is secured in the ripening of the grapes. Intimately connected with the foregoing subjects, are the laws which regulate the inilueuco o^ tempe- SOlTv 6ITUATI0N AND ASPECT. ill rature upon vegetation. These aij stated by M. De Candolle, as follows : 1. All otliei* things being equal, the power of each plant and of each part of a j)lant, to resist extremes of temperature is in the inverse ratio of the quan- tity of water they contain. 2. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- perature is directly in proportion to the viscidity of their fluids. 3. The poAv^-i" of plants to resist cold is in the inverse ratio of the rapidity with whicli their fluids circulate. 4. The liability to freeze, of the fluids contained in plants, is greater in proportion to the size of the cells. 5. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- perature is in a direct proportion to the quantity of confined air whicli tlie structure of their org-ans irive them the means of retaining in the more delicate parts. 6. The power of plants to resist extremes of tem- perature is in direct proportion to the capability which the roots possess of absorbing sap less exposed to the external influence of the atmosphere and the sun. From this it will be obvious that all rank growth and succulent vegetation should be avoided wliere the desired object is to obtain hardy vines. 50 OVliN AIK GRAPE CULTUBE. CHAPTEE ni. PEEPAEA.TIOX OF THE SOIL AND FORMATION OF VINE BORDERS. Having selected a proper site for a vinejarcl, tho next step will be to prepare the soil for the reception of tlie young vines. It is rarely if ever that ground can be found in a condition fit to plant a vineyard without thorough and extensive improvements, and unless it be in j)roper order our hopes of success will end in failure and disappointment. In our remarks on soil it w^as stated that one abso- lute necessity is a dry subsoil. 'No other good cpiali- ties can compensate for the want of this, and in most cases it is only to be obtained by thorough dra{7iing. The first great evil obviated by thorough draining is the existence of stagnant water beneath the sur- face. It is a saying amongst vine-dressers that " the vine cannot bear wet feet." And nothino; can be more true. If the roots be exposed to stagnant water thev w^ill become diseased and die ofi', thus ffivins" rise to weak and ill-ripened though sometinies succu lent growth, and hence causing the vine to suffer from Pr^EPARATION OF THE SOIL. 51 the attacks of disease and insects. The grapes, loo, will not ripen well, but will remain sour and ill -fla- vored. M. Gasparin gives the following observations with regard to the influence which a dry or a moist soil exerts upon the grape : " Other things being equal, we obtain grapes which contain much sugar and lit- tle acid from vines grown in a dry soil ; more free acid in a moist soil, and much acid, albumen and mucilage with little sugar in a soil which is absolu- tely wet." Another advantage consists in tlie fact that well- drained land always possesses a higher temj)erature than that which is wet. This difference amounts to 10° to 12° Fah. and is accounted for by the rapid absorption of heat by the w^ater as it becomes con- verted into vapor. During this process, too, it is pro- bable that the nascent vapor robs the earth of a por- tion of the ammonia and gases which it would have separated from the water and retained if it had acted as a filter and the water had passed off by the drains. But however this may be, its effect on temperature is such that Johnson regards thorough draining as equal to a change of climate. But not only does draining enable the soil to filter all the water which descends upon it, retaining its ammonia, gases and even salts ; it is probable that by 52 OPE]^ AIK GH.U'E CDLTUKE. these means tlic excrementitious matters cliscliarged bj plants, as well as other noxious bodies are washed out of tiie subsoil or decomposed by contact with the air which penetrates along with the water. In the case of oxide of iron it is probable that a very beneficial effect results from its conversion from the protoxide to the peroxide by means of this influence. But a chan^-e in the chemical constitution and o action of the soil is not the only effect of this opera- tion ; a no less marked alteration is produced in its mechanical character — heavy lands being rendered light, porous and permeable to the roots of tender plants. It is unnecessary here to give minute directions for performing such a well-known operation, so we shall merely refer our readers to some of the numerous treatises on that subject. An excellent article on the theory and practice of draining will be found in the " Rural Annual " for 1S59 published at the office of the " Genesee Farmer,'' Rochester, N. Y. "We may state, however, that in laying drains for a vineyard, it should be borne in mind that after the vines are planted it will be almost impossible to get at the drains in case of accident, without serious detriment to the plants. It will, therefore, be well to construct them in tlie most substantial manner and also to arrange them so that they Vv'ill not lie inmie- PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 53 diately under any of the rows of vines. If tliey are hetwcen tlie rows it will not be so difficult to get at tliem as if tliej lay directly beneath the plants. The next great requisite in a soil for the culture of the vine is depth. Ordinary soils of from eight to ten inches are by no means deep enough. Twenty inches is the least depth to be relied upon, and, if very favorable results are desired, it should be made three feet. The subsoil to this depth should be thoroughly loosened, and, unless its quality is very inferior, it may be well to mix it with the surface soil — adding at the same time a good supply of manure or compost. We are aware that some horti- culturists object to bringing up the subsoil, but wo incline to the belief that if it is of such a character as to produce much injury, the site is unfit for a vine- yard. When the subsoil is light (except it be pure sand) no harm can result. If it be pure sand, how- ever, it had better remain where it is unless a suffi- ciency of clay can be found to mix with it. If, on the other hand, it be so clayey as to hermetically seal up the vine borders, we should prefer to let it remain under. But, if possible, a site should be selected where a good de]3th of tolerable soil may be obtained cither naturally or by proper effort. The advantages incident to depth in ordinary cases consist in the roots being placed alike beyond tho 54 OPEN AIE GEAPE CULTUKE. extreme heat of summer and the severe cold of win- ter. Consequently they do not sniFer from drought, and are able at once to enter upon their duties in the BjDring. For table grapes, we doubt whether the soil can be too deep or rich — not meaning by the latter term, however, saturated with icndecomposed organic mat- ter. But observation leads us to doubt the propriety of carrying these features to an extreme in tlie case of closely-trimmed vines cultiv^ated for wine. It is true that the Western autliors (Remelin, Bucliannan, etc. — some of them Europeans) advocate this depth and richness. But, if our memory does not deceive us, some of Mr. Lono-worth's tenants who have not pursued the most tliorough system of cultivation have occasionally escaped evils to wdiich their more sTcillfid and hard-working bretln-en have been ex- posed. And perhaps a solution of tliis mystery may be found above, notwithstanding Mr. Longworth naively tells us that he cannot believe that nature ever favors the indolent. Our own experience in this particular department is not sufficient to warrant us in pronouncing a decided opinion on the subject; but the principles of physiology would lead us to be- lieve that if the roots of vines are planted in a deep and rich soil the branches must be allowed corres- ponding elbow room. If we desire to keep a vigorous PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 55 plant down we must starve and curtail its roots as well as use the pruning-knife on its brandies. There are two methods of deepening a soil, viz : by the subsoil plough and by trenching with the spade. Both these operations are too well known to require a minute description, though in regard to the latter there are so many and such contradictory directions given in books that we may be pardoned a few re- marks in relation thereto. In order properly to trench a piece of ground the directions given by Loudon are as explicit and judi- cious as possible. " Trenching is a mode of pulveriz. ing and mixing the soil, or of pulverizing and chang- ing its surface to a greater depth than can be done by the spade alone. For trenching with a view to pulverizing and changing the surface, a trench is formed like the furrow in digging, but two or more times w^der and deeper; the plot or piece to be trenched is next marked off with the line into parallel strips of this width ; and beginning at one of these, the operator digs or picks the surface stratum, and throws it in the bottom of the trench. Having com- pleted with the shovel the removal of the surfjice stratum, a second, third or fourth, according to the depth of the soil and other circumstances, is removed in the same way; and thus, when the operation is completed, the j^osition of the different strata is 56 OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE. exactly the reveree of what they were before. In trenching with a view to mixture and pulverization, all that is necessary is to open, at one corner of the plot, a trench or excavation of the desired depth, 3 or 4 feet broad, and 6 or 8 feet long. Then proceed to £11 the excavation from one end by working out a similar one. In this way proceed across the piece to be trenched, and then return, and so on in parallel courses to the end of the plot, observing that the face or position of the moved soil in the trench must always be that of a slope, in order tliat whatever is thrown there may be mixed and not deposited in regular layers as in the other case. To eifect this most completely, the operator should always stand in the bottom of the trench, and first picking down and mixing the materials, from the solid side, should next take them up with the shovel, and throw them on the slope or face of the moved soil, keeping a dis- tinct space of two or three feet between them. For want of attention to this, in trenching new soils for gardens and plantations, it may be truly said that half the benefit derivable from the operation is lost." A more expeditious method of mixing the soil, and one which v^aries bub slightly from the ordinary system, consists in cutting down the bank in succes- sive sections so as to produce theoretically a series of layers of soil and subcoil, but in reality a most inti- PJREPAllATIOX OF THE SOIL. 57 mate iinxturc of the two. This is best accomplished by opening a very wide trench — say from fonr to six feet wide. Then th.row the top spit off a bank of the same width into the bottom of the trench so as to insure the burial of all insects, seeds, and weeds ; cut a width of from six to fifteen inches of the remaining por- tion of the bank completely down to the bottom, and spread the soil so obtained in a thin layer over the sj^it formerly thrown in. Then cut down another six to fifteen inches in the same manner, proceeding thus nntil the whole bank has been cut down and used to fill up the trench. It will now be found that, with the exception of the extreme top spit which is placed at the bottom for very good reasons, the whole soil is sufiiciently mixed for all practical pnrposes. Another mode of trenching — called bastard trench- ing— is thus described by a writer in the " Gardener's Chronicle :" " Open a trench two feet and a half, or a yard wide, one full spit and the shovelling deep, and wdieel the soil from it to where it is intended to finish the piece ; then put in the dung and dig it in with the bottom spit in the trench ; then fill up this trench with the top spit, etc., of the second, treating it in like manner, and so on. The advantages of this plan of working the soil are, the good soil is retained at the top — an important consideration wdiere the soil is poor or bad; the bottom soil is enriched and 58 OPEN AlK GE.VrE CULTURE. loosened for the penetration and nourisliment of the roots, and allowing them to descend deeper, they are not so liable to suffer from drought in summer; strong soil is rendered callable of absorbing more moisture, and yet remains drier at the surface by the water passing down more raj^idly to tlie subsoil, and it insures a more thorouo-h shiftins: of the soil." A method which we have sometimes adopted, and which we think a saving of labor under some circum- stances, is as follows : A F B E C D. J Fig. 1. Let fig. 1. represent the plot of ground to be trenched. Divide it into two equal parts by the line a h, and instead of wheeling the soil out of a r to the rear of the plot, sim2:)ly throw that from a out in front. PKEPxVKATION OF TIIK SOIL. 59 There can, of course, be no more dilHcultj in linvd- ing room for it there than there would be in obtain- ing a phice for it in the rear. Then dig down tlie bank b, and with it fill the trench a. b is now a trench which may be filled from c ; c may be filled from D ; d from e ; e from f ; and the filling of f with the soil which was at first thrown out of a, will make all even. The wheeling of the soil, which is no inconsiderable item, is thus saved. It is evident, however, that this plan is adapted only to small, or at least narrow plots. All the foregoing operations prove most beneficial when performed in the fall. At that time the soil should not be finely pulverized, but left in as rough a state as possible so as to expose it thoroughly to the action of the winter's frost and snow. It should be also well mixed with a good dressing of well decom- posed stable manure, and any of those matters men- tioned in Chapter XL By these means, the ground w^ill be thoroughly enriched by spring, and will not consist of eartn mixed with fermenting masses of manure, than which jiothing can be more injurious to young plants. In the following spring the land should be raked or har- rowed, so as to obtain a level surface of finely pulver- ized soil, and if it should be lightly forked over it would be none the worse for it. 60 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. Teekaces. — From our directions for the selection of a vineyard site, it will be seen tliat we prefer a gen- tle slope to the south or southeast. If this slope does not exceed an angle of eight degrees, or a rise of one foot in seven, it will be unnecessary to adopt any peculiar system of arrangement. For a rise of one in four it will be necessary merely to make very slight terraces, the borders being made eight feet wide and half tlie descent being taken uj) by the slope given to them, will leave but twelve inches of a ter- race, which may be easily secured by a row of sods, boards or stones, or even the earth beaten hard and kept carefidly dressed up. But when the inclination of the ground much exceeds this amount, it becomes necessary to form regular terraces which is best done as follows : Find out the actual sloj)e or inclination of the ground, wliich is easily done by taking an eight-foot Fig. 2. board, and after laying one edge on the ground and levelling the board, iind the length of the perpendi- rKEI'AKATION OF THE SOIL. 61 ciilar which touclics the surface beneath the other end. Thus a c?5 tig. 2, being the surface of the hill, and c the eight feet board with the level resting upon it, e <:7, will be the rise in eight feet and e c7, less the slope given to the border will be the height of each step or terrace. Having found this, the next step is to cut a perpendicular face half the height of the pro- posed terrace at the foot of the hill and against it to build a wall as high as may be required. This is best formed of dry stone, though the bank is sometimes left witli a good deal of slope, and sodded, the sods being pinned to the face of the bank with stakes until the roots have penetrated sufficient]}^ to hold. The sods for this purpose should not be cut square, but dia- mond form, so that the face of the bank would pre- sent the appearance shown in fig. 3. But sods are \\\ \ \\\ /////// \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Fig. S, objectionable from the fact that they not only keep the air moist in the vicinity of the vines, but also abstract a good deal of nutriment from the soil, and unless kept neatly mown present a \Qvy bad appear- GJ OPEN" ATB GKAPE CULTURE. ance. In default of good stone we think tliat sun- dried brick would make a very good wall. The earth of which they are made should be mixed with etraw, well worked and made into blocks. It is probable that in well-drained terraces such walls would last well if protected with a coping of boards or straw secured with good clay in the man- ner shown in fig. 4, so as to shed the rain. Figure 4, Having built this wall, the next step is to fill up behind it, and level oflf a border of suitable width — say 6 or 8 feet. To do this it will be necessary to cut down a perpendicular face the same height as before, when another wall must be built, and the same pro- cess repeated. A writer in the third volume of the " Gardener's Magazine" proposes to train the vines on trellises niEPAKMION OF THE SOIL. 63 lying' on the surface of the slopes as slion^n in figure 5. Trained in tliis manner, grapes are said to have Figure 5. ripened well in England. We would ]3refer the vertical trellis, however, and give the illustration, more to show what has been proposed than as an example to be followed. So many times have we seen it proposed to incline trellises and train vines horizontally, that we cannot refrain from quoting Lindley's remarks upon this point. " That trainins: a tree over the face of a wall will protect the blossoms from cold must be apparent, when we consider the severe effect of excessive era- poration upon the tender parts. A merely low temperature will produce but little comparative in- jury in a still air, because the more essential parts of the flower are very much guarded by the bracts, calyx and petals, wliicli overlie them, and, more- over, because radiation will be intercepted by the 64 OPKX AIK GEAPE C ULTUEE. Lranclics tliemselves, placed one above the other, so that none but the uppermost branches which radiate into space will feel its full effects; but when a cokl wind is constantly passing tlirough the branches and among the flowers, the perspiration — against which no sufficient guard is provided by nature — becomes so rapid as to increase the amount of cold consider- ably, besides abstracting more aqueous matter than a plant can safely part with. To prevent this being one of the great objects of training trees, it is incon- ceivable how any one should have recommended such devices as those mentioned in the ' Horticultural Transactions,' II. Appendix, p. 8., of training trees upon a horizontal plane; the only effect of which w^ould be to expose a tree as much as possible to the effect of that radiation which it is tlie very purpose of training to guard against." All terraces should be well drained, and the drains are best arranged by having a series of cross drains parallel t(5 the terrace, as seen in section fig. 4 and 5, and emptying into a main drain which descends the hill. These drains should be placed as in the figures, taking care to leave the ground under the wall solid and undisturbed. In forming terraces for vine cul- ture it is necessary to exercise care and judgment, so as not to bury the good soil and leave the poor soil for the vines to grow in. FORMATION OF VlNE liOKDERS. (J5 YiNE Borders. — The formation of vine borders in gardens is a subject upon which the student will find no lack of information, almost every successful gardener attributing the superiority of his grapes to some peculiarity in the construction of his borders, and innumerable have been the paper conflicts waged, between the advocates of carrion, asphalte, ventilated borders, etc., etc., and their opponents. The "car- rion" controversy has probably caused the shedding of more ink than any of the others, the ultraists on both sides being probably in the wrong. But, after all, we regard the construction of proper vino borders as no very difficult affair, and shall first give our own views in the matter and afterward quote those of other authors. Of course in borders, as in other cases, it is neces- sary that the bottom be as dry as possible. This being provided for, if the soil is a light mellow gar- den mold, we would rest content with trenching it thoroughly, and adding liberal supplies of litter, well decomposed manure, woollen rags, and especially bones ; * and if in the bottom of each trench a good * In the ordinary course of agriculture, where " quick returns," if not "small profits" are an important element of success, bones when used as manure cannot be too thoronglily pulverized. Indeed, it is often profitable to reduce them to the most active form — that of a solu- tion— b/ means of acids. But for reasons to be hereafter stated one 66 OPEN Alli GEAPE CULTUKE. layer of brickbats, lime rubbish, and oyster sliells be laid, it will prove an advantage. A border prepared in this simple manner ^Yill give good satisfaction imder any circumstances. If the soil be heavy we would also make liberal additions of sandy loam or saw-dust. But if the location of the border is such that it can- not be well drained, we would remove all the soil to the depth of 18 inches over the entire extent of the border and fill up at least 12 inches of the space witb stones, brickbats, etc. Over this we would spread a thin layer of straw or brush, and after building a wall round the border 18 to 30 inches high, we would fill in with a rich soil resembling in composition, that described above. The earth on the outside might be banked up to the wall, and either sodded, or merely beaten solid. In all such cases, it is evident that from the narrow limits to whicli we are in general confined, the soil ought to be of the richest kind ; and as it is nearly impossible to renew it after the vines are once started, this richness should be derived from materials calcu- great advantage to be derived from the use of bones in vine borders is the length of time during wliich they continue to act, and, there- fore, the largest and most sohd should be selected and used without being crushed or broken. This is no argument, however, against thr additional use of bone dust. FOEMATION OF YINE BORDERS. G7 laud to give more tlmn a mere temporary impetus to ( ae plants. The nature and action of manures ■^vill form the subject of a future chapter, but we may here statD that bones, hair, woollen rags, leatlier clippings and similar matters are by far the most suitable. For the purpose of giving porosity to tlie soil, as well as furnishing nutriment to the plants, nothing will be found to equal chopped straw. Ghaff, or sawdust comes next in order, and from experiments which we have made on the subject, we do not think the value of the latter is half appreciated. To dead animals, either whole or divided, we have never found any objection, provided they wxre not placed in direct con- tact with the roots of the plant. 'No danger is to be apprehended of the vine seeking them to its own detriment. But this more properly pertains to the subject of manures. We will now give the manner in which the most celebrated gra]3e growers construct their borders. Miller (1769) recommends good mellow soil with- out any addition. Speechly (1790) states in his work : "As the vines in the hot-house at "Welbeck have been remarkably fruitful and vigorous, I shall beg leave to recom- mend the same kind of compost mold which I make use of there, viz. one-fourth part of garden mold, (a strong loam) ; one-fourth of the svv-ard or turf from G8 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURK. a pasture where tlie soil is a sandy loam ; one-fourth of the sweepings and scrapings of pavements and hard roads ; one-eighth of rotten cow and stable yard dung mixed ; and one-eighth of vegetable mold from re- duced and decayed oak leaves. These are the several and respective proportions. The sward should be laid in a heap till the grass roots are in a state of decay, and then turned over and broken with a spade ; let it then be put to the other materials, and. the whole worked together^ till the separate parts become well and uniformly mixed and incorporated. As the vegetable mold from decayed leaves can- not always be obtained, by reason that the leaves require two years before they become sufficiently putrid and reduced, it therefore may sometimes be necessary to substitute some other ingredient in lieu of this part of the compost ; wherefore it may not be inexpedient to point out the proper succedanea. E-otten wood reduced to a fine mold, such as is often found under fagot stacks ; the scraping of the ground in old woods, where the trees grow thick togettier; mold out of hollow trees, and sawdust reduced to a fine mold, provided it be not from wood of a resinous kind, are in part of a similar nature with veo-etable mold from decaved leaves, but are neither so rich nor so powerful, because the vegetable mold receives a power by its fermentation. FOEMATION OF VINE BORDERS. 69 Abercrouibie directs the top slip of Scaiidy loam irom an upland pasture, one-third part ; unexhausted brown loam from a garden, one-fourth part; scrapings of roads free from claj", one-sixth part ; vegetable mold or old tan, or rotten stable dung, one-eighth part; shell marl, or mild lime, one-twelfth part. His bor- ders he recommends to be from three to five feet in depth, and where practicable, not less than four feet wide within the house, and not less than ten feet wide without. The vine borders atWislu.,^ House, Lanarkshire, in a cold and wet locality, are thus formed : Breadth, 12 feet, depth of soil 18 inches, imder which is laid a foot of hard clinkers, bj w^ay of drainage. The soil used is that natural to the garden, which had for years been under pasture, and is a remarkably strong, rich brick-clayey loam, with no other preparation than the addition of a moderate supply of stable ma- nure. In this soil the best grapes ever produced in Scotland have been grown for the last three years. A writer in the " Gardener's Chronicle" (1843, page 825) prepares his borders thus : The soil most suita- ble for a vine border is the surface spit from a field of an old fertile loam pasture ; tliis should be collected some time before it is required, mixed with a good proportion of cow dung, and the whole turned over at intervals, three or four times, and exposed to the 70 OPEN ATR GRAPE CULTURE. action of the Aveather. Li preparing the border, the old earth should be cleared away from the whole space, to the depth of about two and a half feet, and a main drain cut parallel with the length of the bor- der, at its extreme onter edge. This should be at least two feet lower than the bottom of the border, whether laid with concrete, chalk or brichs, and tlie bottom of the border should have a gentle inclination from the back to the drain. To render this drainage more effectual, cut small drains, placing drain tiles at their bottoms, at con- venient, distances, to run in a slanting direction from the back of the border into the main drain, the latter being six inches below them. A few turfs should be laid over the tile drains with the grassy side down ; the fresh soil may then be filled in, taking care to keep the roughest part near the bottom. Three cubic yards of compost are enough for each vine ; this will admit of the border being ten feet wide, or with forty-eight cubic feet, you may form it only six feet wide in the first instance, and add six feet more as the vines extend. Koberts, the great advocate for carrion, gives the following description of his border : " The compost and manures I most recommend, and which I made use of, are two parts the parings of a piece of old pasture land, a strong loam laid up one year (or till FORMATION OF VIXE BOKDEKS. Yl tlie sward is half decomposed), in the form of a potato hod, close covered in with soil, and never turned ; one part, the turf with four inches of the soil, of a looser texture laid up for the same period, and not turned, as before ; an eighth part scrapings of the highways formed from limestone, or other hard material ; and the other eighth part, half decomposed horse or cow dmiii:. I am not an advocate for turnino^ over and mixing the materials promiscuously together,- as, by often turning, the compost becomes too solid, losing a great portion of its fertilizing j^i'operty by such re- peated intermixture ; and nnless it be of a very sandy, loose texture, the border wdll, in a few years, become ijnpervious both to water and to atmospheric air, which are of incalculable benefit to the growth of the vine. I would recommend the autumn, if the weather be dry, to prepare to fill in your border. "A month previous to fillingyour border, provide a quantity of carrion, cattle dying by accident, disease, etc., which I am sorry to say, has, of late years, been too common an occurrence. If you have col- lected it some time before hand, have it cut into small pieces and laid np in soil till the time of using. It emits a very nauseous efiluvia, but this must be borne, for this is the pccbulum to produce the nectar of Bacchus. When all is ready, and tiie weather favor- able, proceed at one end of your border, wheeling in 72 OPEN AIR GRArE CULTURE. and mixing the materials in proportion as tliey stand to each other in my previous directions, on no account breaking the materials in mixing, but turn them in as rough as possible, adding one good sized horse or cow carcass to every ten or twelve square yards, nsing caution, and not bringing it to the surface of the border within one foot as its assistance is not wanted the first year. What I have here recommended is my practice adopted at this place, the result of wliich, I dare presume to say, has surprised all, both gentle- men and practical gardeners, who have witnessed it." Fiske Allen, one of the best American culturists of the vine under glass, constructs his borders thus : '' If the soil is very poor, or unsuitable for the pur- j)ose, so as to require to be removed entirely, then a compost prepared thus is recommended ; one-half to be the top soil of an old pasture, one-quarter to be bone, or some other strong manure ; one-eighth oyster shells, or Time and brick rubbish ; one-eighth rotten manure; these articles thrown together in a heap, and so to remain until decomposed and amalga- mated, when they should be j)laced in the border and thrown loosely togetlier. My borders having the most slaughter-house manure, or whole bones of ani- mals in their composition still continue, as they ever have done, to produce the best fruit and the largest crops. FCEMATION OF VINE BORDERS. 73 " It is unnecessaiy to attempt to give rules for every kind of soil. One must use bis o^vn judgment, and Uiake Lis border to consist, as near as can be, of tlie above ingredients. lie must bear in mind tliat, if bis soil is a stiff clajej loam, be must add freely of Bucb materials as will llgliten and give permeability to it. If tlie soil is iigbt, sandy or gravelly, witli tlio manuio sliould be added a proportion of clay or clayey loam. Tbe ricli alluvion soil, abounding in our western and soutliwestern States, will not require any of tbese strong manures. If any tiling is requi- site to improve tbem, it must be sliells, cliarcoal, leaves, small stones, or gravel — sucli materials as will loosen tbe soil." But tliat tlie reader may not be discouraged by these extravagant demands we quote tlie following f; Dm Hoare : "Bat if viiies could not be planted witli any pros- pect of success In any other situations tlian in bor- ders set apart for tliat purpose, but a very small quan- tity of grapes could be grown, compared with what tbe country is capable of producing. Innumerable instances occur throughout the country, and espe- cially in towns and their suburban districts, in which walls, cottages, houses, and various descriptions of brick and stone erections present very favorable aspects for the training of vines, but which nevertlic- 74 OPEN Alii GKAPE CULTL'KE. less are so situated locally, as to possess little or no soil at all on tlie surface adjoining tlieir sites; the ground being either paved with, bricks or stone, or per- haps trodden so hard, as to be apparently incapable of yielding sustenance to any vegetable production. " In all such cases, however, if the ground adjoining the site of the wall or building be opened to the extent of eighteen inches square, and as many deep, it will be sufficient to admit the roots of a vounsj vine, which must be pruned to suit that space. If a wider and deeper space can be made, it will of course be better ; but if not, that will do. After the sides and bottom have been loosened as much as possible, the vine may be ])lanted and the hole filled up with two-thirds of rich loamy earth, and one-third of road scrapings, previously mixed well together, and if necessary tlie surface covering, whether of stone, briclv, or otherwise, may be restored again to its for- mer state, provided a space about six inches square be left open for the stem to swell in during its future growth. Vines planted in such situations, will in gene- ral do well, altliough their growth will not be so rapid as when planted under more favorable circumstances. '' la all cases where vines are planted against any description of buildings, their roots push as soon as possible under the foundations, being attracted thi- ther by the warm air which is there generated ; and FOEMATfON OF VINE EOEDEES. 75 sucli situations being also diy, from the excavations wliicli liave been made, offer to the roots the same protection from excessive moisture, as the substratum of a well-prepared border. The same may be observed of vines planted against walls, the founda- tions of which possess similar advantages, although in a more limited degree. Hence the fact may be inferred that vines j)lanted in such situations, without any j^revious preparation of the soil, will frequently grow as luxuriantly, and produce as fine grapes as those planted in rich and w^ell-prepared borders. " Indeed, it is hardly possible to plant a vine in any situation in which it will not thrive, provided its roots can by any means push themselves into a dry place, and the aspect be such as to afford to its branches a sufficient portion of the sun's rays to elaborate the juices of the plant. " The trutli is, that the roots of the vine possess an extraordinary jDower of adapting themselves to any situation in which they may be planted, provided it be a dry one. "They will ramble in every direction in search of food, and extract nourishment from sources apparently the most barren. In short, they are the best caterers that can possibly be imagined, for tliey will grow, and even thrive luxuriantly, where almost every des- cription of plant or tree would inevitably starve." 7 '3 OrEN AIE GRAPE CULTURE CHAPTEE lY. TL ANTING. Proper Age of Yines for Planting. — "Where young vines have been raised from cuttings, in the open ground, two years old probably is the best age to select for planting out. Plants one year from the cutting have rarely made sufficient roots to bear transplanting well, and at a greater age than two years the roots are so long that they generally receive much mutilation in taking up — thus losing their most fibrous and valuable part, viz., that at the ex- tremities. Of course older vines, carefully taken up and as carefully planted, will come into bearing in shorter time than younger plants, and thus give more satisfactory results where expense is no objection. But where a large number of vines are to be set out, two-year old plants, as above stated, or one-year old plants raised from eyes in the spring, and grown all summer in the open air, have decided advantages on the score both of economy and ease of planting. Indeed, we should prefer plain cuttings, planted two to each stake, to one-year old vines raised from ciit- TLANTING. 77 tiDgs in the open ground. Plants raised from eyes in pots, early in spring, and transferred in summer to their final location, do very well. Proper Season for Planting. — ^The proper season for planting depends much upon local circumstances — soil and climate being chiefly to be considered. In a few instances, were the soil is light and the climate mild, it may do to risk fall planting, but under all ordinary circumstances we should advise this opera- tion to be deferred till pretty late in the spring, and this advice is founded upon the uniformly favorable results which have attended this plan in our own experience, as opposed to frequent want of success at other times. Plants set out even early in the fall rarely outstrip those planted in the following spring, and when autumn planting is delayed much beyond the fall of the leaf, the plants frequently fail if the winters are severe. The reason of this probably depends upon the fact that the roots of all plants when vegetation is active, are enabled to resist adverse influences which would prove fatal to them when dormant. Thus the vine when growing will revel in a degree of moisture which would destroy it, or at least prove very injuri- ous during the winter months. Now the roots of all trees are more or less injured by transplanting, and 'rS OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTUEE. incipient decay is apt to supervene unless the vitality of tlie plant is sufficient to withstand it. K this should occur when the plant is dormant, there is no influence at work to resist the evil. But if such injuries should be inflicted in spring, when vegeta- tion is just commencing, they are quickly and readily repaired. With care vines may be transplanted even when their leaves are well developed ; but under such cir- cumstances the vine, from its great evaporative powers, makes a heavy draft upon the roots and is rather impatient of removal after vegetation has made some progress. We have had the best success, however, when the plant was set out so late in the spring that the buds were starthig, but just before they were fully burst. About this time the soil is getting gradually w^armer, and although it does not reach a sufficiently high temperature to induce the formation of roots in cuttings before June or July, still it is warm enough to allow of the healthy action of the roots in a grow- ing plant. In the above cases the vines were set out immedi- ately after being dug up. "Where it is necessary to transport them any distance, it would undoubtedly be better to take them up earlier, before the sap begins to move. They need not be planted for some 4me, but may be merely heeled in, as it is called, PLANTING. Ty that is, placed in a shallow trench and well coshered with dry soil. A covering of straw or leaves in addi- tion will do no harm if the mice do not make it a harbor. Distance Apaet. — ^Tlie distance apart at which vines should be planted will, of course, depend not only upon the variety, but upon the object for which they are set out. In Europe they are placed at all distances from 30 inches to 30 feet. In the Ohio vineyards, where they are usually fastened to stakes, the plants are placed about four or five feet apart ; but in the northern States, where vines are trained upon trellises, we should prefer to set them out in rows 6 feet apart, and the vines standing 7 or 8 feet apart in the rows. This distance enables us to keep the vines close enough and short enough for all practical pur- poses, while it does not require more time to cover the trellis than is absolutely necessary to bring the . vine into proper order for bearing. The rows are also sufficiently far apart to allow of horse labor being used — a considerable saving being thus effected. The number of vines required to plant an acre will • be seen from the following table, which has often been published, but which it may be well to insert here. 80 OPEN AIB GEAPE CULTURE. PLANTS TO THE ACRE. PLANTS TO THE AORB. 3X3 requires 4,840 8 X 7 requires 788 4x3 (C 3,630 8 X 8 a 680 4x4 ii 2,722 9 X 7 a 691 5x4 a 2,178 9 X 8 u 605 5x5 u 1,742 9 X 9 (( 537 6x5 a 1,452 10 X 7 u 622 e X Q u 1,210 10 X 8 u 544 7 X 6 a 1,023 10 X 9 ii 484 7x7 u 888 10 X 10 ii 435 Marking off the Ground. — ^Wliere vines are set out at from 4 to 6 feet apart and trained to stakes, the following directions, taken from the "American Philosophical Transactions," and frequently quoted (generally without credit), are as good as any : " Yonr squares being laid out, and having con- cluded how far your vines shall stand every way from one another, in which every man is to please himself, you stretch a line of proper length, and stitch small pieces of red, blue, green, or any other colored cloth, at such distance from each other as you mean to plant the vines. I will suppose 8 feet, ' because upon the most mature deliberation, I think that the best distance for vines to stand in this coun- try, as I shall afterward show more fully. The line being ready, stretch it along the head or upper part PLANTING. 81 of your square, so that a rag appears at eacli corner, drive down a stake at every rag. This done, move your line down to the lower side of the square, which is opposite to the first, and stretch your line along that, having a rag at each corner, and drive down a stake at every rag. Then turn your line the other way up and down, and fasten your line to the upper and lower outside stakes, so that a rag be at each stake, and drive down a stake at every rag, and so on from stake to stake, till the whole be completed. If you have been careful not to disturb or move the line, when you drove down the stakes, and have driven them all on the same side of the line, your square will be uniform, and the stakes near the ground will range exactly every way." AVhere the vines are trained to trellises, it is not essential that they should be straight both ways as when tied to stakes, it being necessary that the trel- lises be parallel and equi-distant only. ' To make them so, a very good plan is as follows : Prepare a rod, -Q-g. 6, a few inches more than twenty feet long, and having a small hole (a) bored through one end, then bore a similar hole (c) twelve feet from the first ; one (h), 16 feet from the first ; and one {cl) 20 feet from the first. Having decided upon the direction of the first row and divided it into spaces corresponding to the distance the plants are to 4* S2 OPEN AIR GPwAPE CULTUEE. stand from each otlier, drive in stakes a a at eacli end, and measuring off 16 feet, drive in otlier two, B B. The heads of these shouki be made level with Fig. c. the surface of the ground, and headless nails should then be driven into them — the two nails (a and b) at each end being exactly 16 feet apart. Now place the rod on one of the outside stakes, so that the nail will pass through the first hole (a). and drive a peg into the hole in the rod 12 feet from the end. With this peg mark a curve {e)^ and then placing the end {a) of the rod on the stake b, mark another curve [d) cross- ing the first by means of a pin passing through the hole {d). A line (a d), drawn from a through the cross- ing of these curves will be perfectly square with the PLANTING. 8.3 first row. Divide tlie lines (a d) into spaces equal to the widtli of tlie rows, and the lines joining the cor- responding divisions will be the proper lines of the trellises. As nianj stakes or poles, 6 or 8 feet long, should be provided as there are vines,, and these should be set at the points where the vines are to be placed before the holes are dug. Tliese stakes will serve during the first two years and will save the tear and wear of trellises as well as the interest on the investment, besides relieving some of the hurry incident to the work of the first spring, which is always more press- ing than that of any succeeding one. Digging the Holes. — In digging the holes it will be well to take up the stakes one at a time, and after digging the hole to replace the stake, driving it slightly into the soil at the bottom. By so doing the centres of the holes, or at least the points where the stems of the vines should come, will be easily kept, whereas if all the stakes were removed before disr- ging the holes, it would be troublesome to get them exactly right again. The insertion of the stake^ before planting the vine, not only aids us in this, but prevents the possibility of injuring the roots by driv- ing a sharp stake through them, a thing which ia often done. The holes should be dua: from 12 to 24 84 OPE^q" AIR GKAPE CULTURE. inches deep and about 3 feet in diameter, or as wide as the distance to which the roots extend. Taking up the Plaints. — ^When plants are pur- chased, this operation is generally left to the nursery- man who not unfrequently commits it to men who care very little how it is done so that they get the plants out of the ground. But when we reflect that a small amount of care in taking up a plant will often cause a diiFerence of a year or more in its sub- sequent growth, it will be evident that the labor, time and consequent interest on capital which will be ulti- mately saved by devoting a little attention to this matter will more than pay for the few extra minutes required. In taking uj) a vine, or any plant, it is well to remember that the most efiicient portion of the roots is that which lies at the extreme ends — those minute fibres or spongioles which have been aptly termed the mouths of the plant. In old vines, where the roots extend to a great distance, these fibres are gene- rally left in the soil, and the plant presents but a few smooth, fibreless, cord-like roots from which spongi- oles must be emitted ere the plant can derive any nourishment from them. But in young plants the roots have not yet extend- ed so far as to prevent their being easily taken up PLANTING. 85 without any great loss, and here we have one reason why we prefer young plants to old ones. A con- sideration of this fact will also lead us to follow out each root to its termination and so secure all the fibres possible. Where the plants have been started in sandy, friable soil this is not a laborious task, but where the soil is clayey and plastic, it is often a w^ork of considerable difficulty. In any case, however, the purchaser should see that the roots are taken up as completely and entirely as possible, and it will also be well to prune all that are bruised, broken, or diseased — taking such injured parts off with a clean cut. As these injuries can never be so well seen, or so well remedied as when the plant is newly taken up, this is the best time to attend to them; and this forms another reason why the purchaser should, if possible, give this matter hi? personal supervision. They should then be dipped in puddle made of good garden soil, stirred up with water ; clay is frequently used for this purpose, and so is cow dung, but very injudiciously. The former is too tough and hard and prevents the formation of young roots, while the latter (as it is commonly used) is caustic and destructive to the tender fibres. "We have tried all three substances and are confident that nothing will be found equal to good common soil. If the nursery in which the plants have been raised 86 ope:t Am grape cultuke. is on tlie same premises as tlie vineyard, the vines may be either rolled up in coarse sacking, or, a few being taken up at a time, they may be plunged in a pail or tub filled with puddle. But if they are to be sent to a distance, they should be packed in damp (not moist) moss (sphagnum) or good clean straw, and either made into light bundles or firmly packed in boxes. The vines having been carefully taken up and the holes properly prepared to receive them, the next step is to set them out, and in doing this the follow- ing points require special attention : 1 . That the roots be disposed in their new location as nearly as possible in the same position that they occupied before their removal. 2. That some fine, friable, mellow mold be placed in immediate contact with the roots. 3. ~ That no fresh manure or decomposing organic matter be allowed to come in direct contact with the plant under any circumstances whatever. 4. That the soil be firmly packed about the roots, no air spaces being left. In doing this, however, do not tread down the plant with your whole weight, as you will thus be very apt to tear ofif some of the roots, but work the soil in with your hand or a pointed stick. In general it vv^ill be well to insert the plants a little deeper in the soil than they were previously, PLANTING. 87 as, owing to tlie mutilation which of necessity takes phice, a greater draught is made npon the roots for moisture than they can support when thus shortened, if thev are placed near the surface. But this point requires the exercise of discretion, and a good sub- stitute for deeper planting Avill be thorough mulch- ing. As roots always spring from a bud or joint, and rarely from the internode or portion between the buds, the mode of propagation by w^hich the plant has been produced will exert considerable influence upon the modus ojyevandi of setting it out. v-A overtakes its companion and outstrips it. This prin- ciple is well exemplified in the rampant growth of those suckers Avliich spring from old vines near the ground. They will frequently grow twenty or thirty feet in a season, while the strongest shoots at the niUXIXG GEAPE VINES. 131 extremities of tlic old brandies do not exceed from five to eiglit. Upon these ])rinciple5 is founded tlie rule wliicli directs ns to cut back j)l^i^ts wliicli have made a weak growth, or have become old, gnarled and hard, so that they may throw up strong, vigorous shoots. III. The sap supplied by the roots must be elabo- rated by the leaves, before it is fitted for the forma- tion of wood or fruit, and the development of the roots is in direct proportion to the increase of leaves. From this, it follows : 1st. That it is injurious to remove the leaves from the plant, with a view to ripen the fruit by the admission of sun and air (this point has been fully discussed, page 110, et seq). 2. That during the first two years' growth of the plants, the production of leaves sliorJd be encouraged as much as possible, so as to aid in the development of roots. Hence the plants should be carefully tied up, so as to preserve the leaves clean, active and unin- jured, and abundant light and air should be furnished, so that they may be able to perform their part with efficiency. This being tli^ case, it may be asked why we advise the stopping of the laterals which certainly form leaves, and hence must increase the growth of t,he roots. Two reasons may be given for the ^^ractice either of which are ample. The first is that it is not the leaves, ^76'?^ se^ which do good, but their action on 132 OP]N Ain GKAPE CULTLTwE. ihe sap, to effect wliicli, tliej must be supplied Avitli air and liglit. ISTow, if tlie leaves on the laterals are allowed to grow, they crowd the foliage at the base of the plant, so that many of the leaves are partially shaded, while if these laterals are prevented from growing, the sap which would be absorbed by them goes to the elongation and enlargement of the main stem, by which the leaves are disposed over a greater surface and consequently maintain a more vigorous action. And, as during the first two years at least, the production of canes well rijjened in their whole length, is no object, seeing that they are all to be cut away at the winter pruning, the vines should not be stopped, but should be allowed to grow to the end of the season. For as the roots rcpiirc a certain degree of warmth to enable them to grow, and as the earth is in the best condition as regards temperature, just at the close of the growing season, it is best to main- tain a vigorous action in the roots at that time— a time when they can make the most of it. The second reason is, that the sap, as before stated, flows most vigorously through stout, free-growing shoots. K"ow, by removing the laterals, we increase the vigor of the main stem as well as its size, and hence not only obtain an enlarged, but a more suitable channel for the sap to flow in. The consc. quence is, that a well trained shoot will far exceed the PRUNING GEAPE VINES. 133 aggregate of tlie same shoot and its laterals, if it be neglected during its growth. lY. The more the sap is impeded in its course, the less vigorous will be the shoots produced, but the greater the tendency to bear fruit. This is exempli- fied in the pear-tree, where the branches are bent in order to produce fruit buds, and also in the common practice of bending the canes of the vine into bows and spirals, so that the buds may burst equally and produce fruit. Y. Whatever tends to diminish the vigor of the shoots and to force the sap into the fruit, enlarges the size and improves the flavor of the latter. Upon this law depends the practice of summer pruning, which has been fully discussed in a j)revions chapter. And as it is necessary not only to diminish the vigor of the shoots, but to force the sap thereby saved into the fruit, the object of destroying all fruit- less shoots (in bearing vines) is obvious, as well as the necessity of attending to the health of the roots. Such are the general principles which should regu- late the proper pruning, of all trees; thougli they have been expressed chiefly with reference to the vine. In pruning with a view to the production of fruit, however, it is necessary to know the peculiar fruit-beai'ing habit of the plant under consideration. Thus upon the peach, fruit is always borne upon tho 134 OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE. last year's slioots ; the pear bears its fruit upon spurs which, have been fonnecl durii]g the previous year, upon old wood, and the fruit of the vine is always borne upon shoots of the current year, these slioots proceeding from either last year's shoots, or wood, which is mucli older. The last assertion is one which conflicts wdth the statements of most of our pomolo- gists, and therefore it is incumbent upon us to give some evidence of its truth. Thus, Barry says: " It must be observed, that the grape vine pro- duces its fruit on shoots of the current year produced from eyes on the previous year's wood." Du Breuil is more positive, and states that shoots which accidentally spring from old wood never pro- duce grapes. His words are : " Dans la vigne, les grappes sont attachees sur des bourgeons naissant sur les sarments formes pendant I'ete precedent. Les bourgeons d^veloppes accidentellement sur le vieux bois ne portent jamais des grappes." We were rather surprised at this assertion, as it appeared to contradict our own observation. But lest it might be that the shoots which we had in view, had been produced by the remains of last year's rubbed out buds, v\'e carefully watched a piece of old wood during one season, so as to assure ourselves that no buds had sprung from it between certam marked points. Xext season the head of this old PKUNING GFuAPE VrNTES. 135 vine was pruned so severely as to cause several shoots to issue from the previously barren ^vood. Two of these bore fruit. In performing this experiment, we kept carefully in view the difficulties attendant upon bringing it to a successful result, and although we succeeded in getting fruit from only two out of nine shoots, still, this was suflicient to establish the j)oint. In perform- ing it, care will be necessary to prune with sufficient severity to force the buds out of the barren wood, and yet to leave sufficient head to draw up the sap and prevent the too vigorous growth of the shoots after they are formed ; otherwise the blossoms may change to tendrils. This experiment does not sug^ gest any newer or better mode of pruning the vine, but it throws new liglxt upon the laws which govern the formation of fruit buds, and exemplifies the fact that they are formed where the vital forces of the vine are so balanced that there is suflicient victor and material to form fruit, and yet not so much rampant growth as to rob the blossoms of their necessary nutriment and convert them into tendrils. That they are so convertible, every cultivator is aware, for it often happens that the hopes of the unskillful vine-dresser are disappointed — his fine show of blossom buds, turning out Tiotliiug but ten- drils. 136 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. We believe the converse of this was first shown by Knight, from whose papers we make the following extract : " Every bunch of grapes commences its formation as a tendril, and it is always within the power of every cultivator to occasion it to remain a tendril. The blossoms are all additions, the forma- tion of which is always dependent upon other agents ; and if any considerable part of the leaves be taken off the branch prematurely, or if the vine be not sub- jected to the influence of the requisite degree of heat and light, the tendrils will permanently retain their primary form and office ; and it is very frequently observable, when much of the foliage of fruit-trees has been destroyed, by insects, or when the previous season has been cold and wet, that blossoms are not formed at all, or are feeble and imperfect, and consequently abortive. • • • • "The tendrils of the vine, in its internal organiza- tion, is apparently similar to the young succulent shoot and leaf stalk of the same plant, it is abun- dantly pi"ovided with vessels, or passages for the sap, and it is alike capable of feeding a succulent shoot or a leaf when grafted upon it. It appears, therefore, not improbable, that a considerable quantity of the moving fluid of the plant passes through its tendrils ; and that there is a close connection between its vas- cular structure and its motions." PEUNING GKAPE VINES. irj7 The various systems of vine j)i'i-^i^iiig wliicli have been founded upon these general principles, may be classilied according to tbe part of the vine from wliich the fruit buds are produced. Thus, if we suppose a Fig. 2C. to be a shoot of last year ; b a spur two years old, and c a branch three years old, then we may by judicious pruning obtain fruit, first from the plump buds a a on the young cane a ; secondly from the buds l o near its base ; thirdly from the buds e which will be found at its junction with the spur b ; and fourthly from buds situated at /*, that is at the junction of the spur B with the branch c. In the latter case, how- ever, if the spur b is old and has borne several shoots like A it will require some skill and very favorable 138 • OPEN AIK GEAPE CULTUEE. circumstances to procure fruit from the buds at f. But if B be always kept short, and no shoots be al- lowed except from its base, no difficulty of this kind will arise. FolloY\'ing this arrangement, then, wo have: I. The long-rod renewal system. II. The long-s]3ur system. III. The short, or secondary-spur system. lY. The close-cut, or primary spur system. This system of classification we believe to be the only true one, although we are not aware that it has been adopted by any preceding author. Each of these four systems is not only distinct, but it may be adapted to almost any system of training, while none of them can be well combined in the same vine, un- le^^s the power of tlie roots is greatly in excess over tlie extent of the branches. Suppose, for example, on a vine with a well balanced head, a few long rods are left. ISTo buds will start from the base of the spurs. But if all parts are treated alike, the eyes will break equally and in general will be all fruilful. The fiicility with which this principle may be explained and enforced is greatly increased by a clear and sys- tematic classification, such as we have given above, and most authors have been aware of the importance of such a classification ; but if the reader will com- pare the attempts of Loudon, who depends in his pEmrmG geape vines. 139 classification, not only upon tlie system of pruning, but of training; of Mclntosli, whose three systems arc " the spur," " the long-rod," and '' the irregular " forms; of McPhail, who has the "fruit-tree method;" " the spurring-in system" and " the long-rod sytem ;" of Yon Babo, who has "head pruning," "limb prun- ing," "frame pruning," and several sub-varieties named after the localities in wliicli they have been adopted ; and most of our American authors, who have simply the renewal and spur methods, with that given above, we think he cannot but give his preference to the latter. And as all systems of pruning with which we have ever met may be easily referred to one or the other of our four classes, we will describe them in detail and give a few illustrations of each, as derived from the practice of our best growers. I. The long rod or renewal system is generally attributed to Clement Hoare, who adopted it in his "Practical treatise on the Cultivation of the Yine," and as he has not seen fit to give the credit of it to prior authors, most of his readers have awarded it to him. But it is substantially the " new method " of Switzer; the alternate system of Speedily, and the " new and experimentally proved superior method" of Kecht. It is certainly very old, though it is still commonly called the " new method." The system which we have adopted as the best for 140 OPEX AIR GKAFE CULTURE. vinejarcls and gardens in the northern States ivhere our native vines are cultivated is substantially the system exphiined by Hoare. The system pursued in Ohio and in many European vineyards, is also a modification of the long-rod system, but as we pro- pose to give a full account of Ohio vine culture amongst our examples of American vineyard prac- tice, we need not dwell upon it here. The following are a few of the most elegible modi- fications which have been proposed : Mr. John Mearns, in the Horticultural Transactions, (vol. iv.) describes a system which is not only well adapted to the hot-house culture of the vine, but is one of the best with which we are acquainted where it is desired to fruit quickly, a great variety of grape vines in a small place. This method is as follows : " My method of managing vines is in some respects different from any other with which I am acquainted ; by it 1 have never failed, for the last eleven years, to obtain invariably the same luxuriant crops, although I have never allowed above one-third of the bunches which showed themselves to remain on the vine ; and eacli succeeding crop has been as uniform as if the branches had been placed, artificially, over the whole roof. I have no doubt but, under the same treat ment, the vines will continue to be equally produc- tive for any length of time. Tlic shoots arc so vigor- PKUNma GJKAPE VINES. 14:1 ous tliat their girtli is, generally, at tlie end of the season, from an incli and a half to an incli and three quarters. The branches, in their most luxuriant growth, never appear in any confusion, even to those who are but little skilled in the cultivation of grapes, and the method is so simple, that it may be described with the assistance of figures, so as to be perfectly com- prehended by any person in the least acquainted with the natni'e of the vine. I have never deviated from it since I planted the vines in the spring of 1S06. " My vines were planted two feet and a half apart, and being watered to settle the earth round their balls, I headed them down to within a foot of the soil, as here represented. Fig. 27. "I only allowed one shoot to proceed from each plant the first year ; rubbing off all the others before they had completely burst into leaf, the uppermost be- ing the one I retained. In the course of the summer I watered them w^ith soft pond water, as I found they wanted it, and frequently with drain ings from the farm-yard, and with soap suds, when I could procure any. " During the first summer, the vines made quite as 142 OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE. much progress as I could have expected, aud theii different degrees of vigor were nearly in proportion to the state of the roots when planted. When tho leaves had fallen in the end of the year, I cut thera down to the second or third eye, when they had thie appearance. (Fig. 28.) Fig. 28. *' In the beginning of the succeeding February, I ex- cited them gradually into action by a little fire heat, and when the buds were ready to burst I rubbed all off but the two finest on each plant ; tlie strongest of these I intended to furnish bearing wood for the lower half of the roof for the following year. The most feeble of the two was cut down to the second or third eye, at the end of the season, and at the same time the strongest shoot was reduced to eight feet, being the length of the lower half of the rafter. Whilst they were growing during the second sum- mer, I kept the shoots regularly trained upward, di- vesting them of tendrils and laterals. I only allowed the strono-est of the two leadins; shoots to run about three, four or five joints beyond the middle of th:j PEXmiNG GKAPE VINES. 143 roof (wliere I intended to cut them at tlicir winter pruning), according to the vigor of the different shoots ; and then I pinched off their tops, in order to strengthen the ejes for the ensuing season. The weaker shoots I only suffered to run about three four, or live feet, according to their strength, and I then pinched off their tops, never allowing them to push above two or three eyes from the same place, during the remainder of the season, without pinching them back ; and then retaining only a single eye, unless I found it necessary, in consequence of the vigor of the Ori OA O^ O Rg. 29. vine. I kept the laterals stopped back also to the first leaf. At the fall of the loiif, I cut the Icsulini^ slioots 14:4: OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE. at the middle of the rafter, and the lower one at the the eye, as is here rej)resented. (Fig. 28.) "The preceding sketch represents four separate vine-j)lants, at the end of the second season after they had been planted, when the strongest shoot had been headed down to the middle of the rafter d, and the weakest shoot to c. In the third season, I carefully preserved the upper- most shoot from the end of my bearing branch at d, as a leader to furnish the upper part of the rafter with bearing wood for the next year; and I also trained upward the leading shoot from the bottom spur c, which I intended should become the bearing branch for the lower half of the roof in the follow- ing season. I w^as careful that none of the tops of these leaders should meet with accident, till they had reached their destination for the season — that was about three or four joints beyond wdiere they were intended to be cut down, to the winter pruning. All the buds on the bottom spur c, were rubbed off, except the leading one. As I bore in mind the neces- sity of a bottom spur to produce a succession shoot from the bottom in the following year, which was necessary to the regularity of the system I contem- plated, I selected one of the most convenient buds for my purpose, from the bottom of the old stems, all of which were now putting out several buds ; but I ?^TJNENTG GEAPE YINES, .145 suffered none except the selected one, to remain long after it had made its appearance. The management of the young shoots of the year was, in this and the following seasons, the same as I have before detailed. " In the ariumn of this, the third season, the lower half of the house was furnished with a crop of ripe grapes upon, the wood of tlie preceding year, and parallel to it on each vine grew a yonng shoot, intended to bear the lower crop the next year ; whilst the up]3er half of the house had single shoots trained from the end of the bearing wood, which shoots were also to bear a crop the next year ; and besides these, a third shoot on each vine had been trained from the bottom bud, wdiich I had not removed, and which were about four feet in length, having been treated as the weaker shoots in the second year's management, which I Iiave described, and to which they were similar. Wlieu this half crop was gathered and the leaves had dropped, I cut off the top leaders level with the uppermost wire of the house to which they were tied, and the lower leaders level with the middle of the roof (the top and bottom leaders, or bearing wood for the next sea- son, being each eight feet long), and the bottom or weak shoot, above described, was cut down to the Becond or third eye, as the lower shoot had been cut in the preceding winter. All the spurs of the lowe^ 7 MO OPEN AIR GRArE OCLTUKE, Fig. 30. rKHTNmG GKAPE VINES. 147 part of tlie slioot, wliicli had now reached the top of the house and had borne the crop of grapes, were cut clean out. Tlie following was the appearance of the same four vines, after they had been pruned in the third winter, when they were in a state to pro- duce their full crop in the following season. (Fig. 30.) In the fourth summer a full cro]3 was produced both in the upper and lower half of the house ; the longer shoot d bore its bunches on the upper half of its length, and it was not suffered to extend itself by a leading shoot ; the shorter slioot c bore its bunches on its whole length, and extended itself by a leading shoot to the top of the house ; the sj^ur e was suffered to become a shoot, extending a few joints beyond half the length of the rafter, and from the bottom of the old Avood a weaker shoot, as before, was trained, to become the foundation of the lower shoot of the next season. In the pruning season, d, which had become the longest branch in the previous winter, was entirely cut away from the bottom ; the shorter branch c, which had now become the longest, was stripped of its spurs on its lower half of the old wood, and its upper half was left for bearing ; the extended B])ur E, became the lower bearing branch, and the weak shoot f (Fig. 31.) at the bottom, was reduced to a spur, to furnish the lower wood for the next year. The following figure represents the plants aftct iiS OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTDKE. Hit. 81. PRUNING GEAPE VINES. 149 being primed tlie fourth season, the sides being reversed. ^Yith this alternation of pruning, the system has been continued to the present time, and may con- tinue as long as it shall be desirable to have the house in bearing. During the last four years, I have stopped the bearing branches at the bunch, instead of the next joint above it, which is the usual practice; for I found that the fruit did equally well and it divested the branch of an incumbrance, while it allowed a much larger 23ortion of light to come into the house, together with a more free circulation of air among the fruit and young wood. 1 l)lind all the eyes on each fruit spur as soon as they push, except the uppermost, which I retain to draw up the sap to nourish the fruit. I never suffer them to push above a joint or two, before I pinch them back, always cautiously retaining an eye. By constant stopping, the eyes soon increase to a large cluster, when I frequently find it expedient to pinch out a great part of them with my finger nails, unless I see danger of its exciting my next year's fruiting eyes to burst prematurely. I am 2)articularly cau- tious that nothing shall happen to injure the leaf that accompanies the bunch, for if that is lost, the fruit, of course, will come to nothing. 150 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTL'Rl-:. During the summer I inspect the vines regularly every morning ; seeing that the ends of my leaders Fiff. 32. are in their proper places, and not obstructed ; pick- ing ofl" tendrils and stopping the laterals above the Fi-. 33 first leaf, on my next year's hearing wood, tying down fruit spurs carefully, and stopping any shoot that may have spi-ung frr.^u tlic ends of tlieui ; as PRUNING GEAPE VINES. 151 well as other shoots that may come out from the pre viously stopped laterals. Fig. 32 shows a simj)le method of training wines to a trellis formed of light stakes or a couple of Fig. at wires. If trained on the plan shown in Fig 33 neither stakes nor trellises will be required. II. The long-spur system is that upon u'hich old vines are trained, and consists in cutting tlic yonng 152 OPEN ALR GKAPE CULTUEE. wood the previous year, back to three or four eyes, all weak shoots and dead wood bemg removed. Sir J. Paxton, in the " Gardener's Chronicle " for 1842, gives the following directions for pruning vines on the spur system. The cut there given (Fig. 34) has been often reproduced, but in general it has been so reduced that the character of the shoots is not clearly seen : " It represents a portion of the vine 'when pruned in autumn, on the spur system, w^ith short rods of five or six eyes each, left at convenient intervals on the oldest branches throughout the vine. The per- pendicular main shoots sliould not be less than two feet apart, and when pruning them no useless eyes should be left, that is, no eye should be allowed to remain but where a shoot is desired in the following season. By attending to this, the vine will not have to develop (as is usually the case), an immense quan^ tity of superfluous branches ; and although the oj)e- ration may appear a tedious one at the time of prun- ing, an immense saving of labor and time may be effected at a busier period in the spring, and the quantity of fruit may be easier regulated in propor- tion to the strength of the vine. If this is attended to, nothing will be required in the summer but securing the young fruit-bearing shoots to the wall, and shortening them to one joint above the bunch PEUNING GEAPE VINES. * 153 as soon as the fruit is set, excejDtiiig the leading shoots, which should not be stopped until the lower part is ripened ; otlierwise the main eyes for the next season may be induced to grow prematurely. In autumn the young wood from the spurs is shortened back to one, or at most, to two eyes, and the terminal shoots in proportion to their strength ; but for the strongest wood, from eight to twelve eyes will be found as many as will break well. " When commencing to train a young vine in this manner, the side branches should not be brought to the horizontal position at first, but lowered gradually as the number of suitable branches for upright stems are obtained ; by this means they acquire strength fixster than if trained horizontally at first." It is obvious that this system is nearly the same as the long rod, or renewal system — the difierence being that instead of taking several of the upper buds on each young cane, we use only one and have a great many canes or spurs. The only real advantage to be derived from it (so far as we are able to judge), and that upon which its distinctive features is founded, is that the buds from wdiich the next year's crop is to be obtained arc always well ripened. AYe would, therefore, prefer it to the first system, Avhere the vines are tender, or the climate unfavorable, and deem it of suflicient impor- 154 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. tance to give in detail a method of treating the spurs years. during a series of Fig. 35. Tig. 35 (a) shows a portion of a young cane which may either form part of the vertical branches on a trellis, or the single stem of a young vine. The first season of fruiting, the tendrils should be cut oft' and the buds thinned to from six to ten inches apart, depending upon the vigor of the variety ; and so that they will be alternately oii difterent sides of the cane, thus leaving the buds on each side from 12 to 20 ^^^-^^^7 Fig. 30. inches apart. Xot more than four or five buds should be left on a cane dnrino- the first season. rilU:NING GEAPE YINi;S. 15> At the close of tlie first season, after tlie leaves have fallen, tlie cane will present tlie appearance f shown in Fig. 36. Here a is the main cane; n is the Blioot produced by the buds on Fig. 35 ; and c is a bud at the base of this shoot. Prune the shoot b to one plump bud, as shown in the figure and allow the bud c to pusli and form a shoot ; stopping it, however, as soon as it has made a few leaves. Fig. 37. Next season we will have tlie shoot d, (Fig. 37) witl several nice, plump buds, and the old spur b, with it. shoot wlilch bore fruit last year. Cut t> back to one or two eyes, and cut b away entirely. The buds on i will push and bear fruit, and a bud will, no doubt, push from the base to form the spur for next year. Fig. 38 shows the next winter pruning. From this description, it is obvious that we must, each year, have eyes to produce, not only fruit, but a 156 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. young cane, wliicli will form the spur for next year. If we depend for tliis spur n^^on last year's fruiting shoots, our sj)nr will soon become so long, and our vine so encumbered with old wood as to be quite unmanageable, unless we adopt the system to be next described : III. Here we depend for our fruit upon buds 2:)ro- ceeding from the base of last year's fruiting shoot, this fruiting shoot being borne upon a spur attached to the mahi branch. This is the system of pruning adopted at Thomery, and as no good description of it is be found in any American publication with which we are acquainted, we give the very full and lucid account by M. Dubreuil — a translation of which may be f,)und at the close of the volume. ly. In the sliort-spur, or Thomery system, the fruit-bearing shoot proceeds from a spur on the main TKUNING GEAPE VINES. 157 brancli, "wliicli although short, is still a spur. Theory, however, would lead us to su23pose that it might just as well proceed from the juuction of last year's fruit-bearing shoot with the main branch. 15S OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTUiiE. CHAPTEE IX. WALLS AND TRELLISES THEIR INFLUENCE AND CON- STRUCTION. Although the influence of the various forms of walls, trellises and stakes upon the growth and matu- rity of the vine depends somewhat upon the system of pruning and training pursued in connection with them, still, it cannot be doubted but that their forms and the materials of which they are made also exert an influence which is by no means to be disregarded. In this country, walls devoted to the culture of the vine have not been used to a sufficient extent, to aflord reliable data as to the benefit to be derived from them. Many single vines, however, are trained on the ends of houses and along board fences, and from a careful examination of several such examples, we are inclined to believe that in exposed situations the erection of cheap walls would pay well, even in vine- yards. When vines are judiciously trained in front of brick walls and at a few inches^ distance from them, the grapes uniformly ripen sooner than those on WALLS AND TEELLISES 159 exposed trellises. Tlie wood also is more perfectly matured, and tliis, during a succession of years, exerts a considerable and favorable influence on the vine. The effect of walls doubtless depends upon two causes, one being the higher temperature produced by the radiation from the surface of the solid wall, and the other being the protection from wind and storms which such a structure affords. That the latter point is one of material importance, we are well satisfied, for however essential ventilation may be to the healthy growth of the vine, all violent winds and cold blasts are to be studiously avoided. A strikino; instance of this is to be seen in the o-ar- den of a gentleman of this city. Several vines are there trained along the east side of a high board fence, and although the same judicious and systematic care is given to all parts of the vines, yet the finest fruit is uniformly found a foot or two below the top of the fence. 'Now when we remember that on all open trellises the finest grapes are found at the top, since all trees produce the best fruit at the extremities of the branches, we must attribute no mean effect to the protection afforded by the fence, since the boards of which it is composed can scarcely be supposed to retain and radiate much heat, and its height (about eight feet) is not sufiicient to include the limit to which vines may be judiciously carried. 160 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. " The actual temperature to wliicli a tree trained upon a wall facing tlie sun is exposed is much higher than that of the surrounding air, not only because it receives a larger amount of the direct solar rays, but because v^f the heat received by the surrounding eartli, reflected from it and absorbed by Ihe wall itself. Under sucli circumstances the secretions of the plant are more fully elaborated than in a more shady and colder situation, and by aid of the greater heat and dryness in front of a south wall, the period of maturity is much advanced. In this way we suc- ceed in procuring a Mediterranean or Persian sum- mer in these northern latitudes. " "When the excellence of fruit depends upon its sweetness, the quality is exceedingly improved by such an exposure to the sun ; for it is found that the quantity of sugar elaborated in a fruit is obtained by an alteration of the gummy, mucilaginous, and gela- tinous matters previously formed in it, and the quan tity of those matters will be in proportion to the amount of light to which the tree, if healthy, has been exposed. Hence the greater sweetness of plums, pears, etc., raised on walls from those grown on standards. It has been already stated that an increase of heat has been sought for on walls by blackening them, and we are assured in the ' Horti- cultural Transactions ' (III. 330) that, in the cultiva- WALLS AND TEELLTSKS. IGl tion of the grape, tliis lias been attended with tlie best effects. But, unless when trees are young, the wall ought to be covered with foliage during the sum- mer, and the blackened surface would scarcely a and in the spring the expansion of tlie flowers wouiu be hastened by it, which is no advantage in cold, late springs, because of the greater liability of early flowers to perish from cold. That a blackened surface does produce a beneficial effect upon trees trained over it is, however, probable, although not by hastening the maturation of the fruit ; it is by raising the temperature of the wall in autumn, when the leaves are falling, and the darkened surface becomes uncovered, that the advantages are perceived by a better completion of the process of growth, the result of whicli is the ripening the wood. This is indeed the view taken of it by Mr. Harrison, who found the practice necessary, in order to obtain crops of pears in late seasons at Wortley, in Yorkshire (see ' Hort. Trans.' III. 330 and YI. 453.) It liardly need be added tliat the effect of blackening will be in propor- tion to the thinness of the training and vice versa." — Lindley. The articles referred to by Lindley, being short and practical, it may be well to transcribe them. Ilonry Dawes writes thus to Sir Joseph Banks : " I take the liberty of communicating to you my remarks 162 OPEN Am GKAPE CTJLTUEE. on a garden wall, on wliicli I have been making experiments at Slongli. It faces tlie south, and against it, about tlie middle, a joung grape vine is trained. Two jears ago I covered a portion of tbe Avail witli thick black paint. The vine was divided into two equal parts, one half was trained on the painted, and the other on the plain wall. The sea- son was so unfavorable last year, that scarcely any out-door grapes came to perfection ; but those in the blackened part of the wall were much finer than those on the plain j^art. This year the success of my expe- riment has been complete. The weight of fine grapes gatiiered from the blackened part of the wall Avas 20 lbs. 10 oz., while the plain part yielded only 7 lbs. 1 oz., being little more than one-third of the other. The fruit on the blackened part of the Avail Avas also much finer, the bunches Avere larger and ripened better than on the otlier lialf ; the wood of the vine was likcAvise stronger and more covered Avith leaves on the blackened part. '' It is a generally knoAAm fact, that a black, unpo- lished surface absorbs more rapidly than other colors the sun's rays, and tliereby becomes sooner heated. It is equally Avell knoAvn that surfaces Avhich absorb heat more quickly, part Avitli it more easily Avhen the source of lieat is AvithdraAvn, and cool quicker. In the summer time, Avhen the days are long, the Avall WALLS AND TEELLTSES. 163 will be more intensely heated nnder tlie blackened surface, and tlieniglit (or time of cooliiig) being short, it may not have returned to the temperature of the air, before it is again subjected to an increase of heat. If the time of cooling were long enough, that part of the wall under the blackened surface, might become actually cooler than the part not blackened, and thus the extremes of heat and cold be greater than when the wall was left with its usual surface. In the sum- mer time, however, the wall is not only more in- tensely heated, but probably retains a great j)ortion of the heat during the night. " Horticulturists will decide which of these two causes is efficient in producing the effect I have stated, or whether both may not cooperate ; it is not for me to presume to do so, though I should be inclined to think, that in this climate, the intensity had more influence than the uniformity." Chas. Harrison, gardener at Wortlej' Hall, York- shire, gives the following directions for blackening walls : " When the leaves have fallen in the autumn, I take the earliest opportunity to loosen the tree from the wall and to prune them ; the wall is then colored with coal-tar, mixing with every gallon of the tar one pint of linseed oil, in order to prevent it having a shining surface when dry. It is more necessary to 1G4: OPEN" Am GRAPE CULTURE. make this addition in tlie hotter parts of tlie kingdom than it is here, but even here it is essential in hot Bumniers, for when the snn shines strongly on the wall with a shining black surface it has appeared to me to scorch those shoots which touch the wall ; but this does not haj)pen when the color is rentlered opaque by the mixture of the oil as recommended. If the wall has not been previously colored, I give it a second coat as soon as the first is dry. In laying on the color care is taken that the liquid is not sprinkled upon the trees, for it would close up the pores of the wood and consequently do injury. "After the w^all is colored I allow the trees to remain loose from the wall until the coal tar has set (unless strong winds prevail, in which case I secure the main limbs and branches to the wall), in order that the shoots may not be damaged by coming in contact with it before it is dry. When the v/all has become moderately dry, I nail the trees to it. A wall of sound bricks will not require recoloring more than once in ten years. Coal tar being very cheap, a wall of considerable extent may be colored for a trifling sum. Any dark-colored paint will answer the same purpose, but it is far more expen- sive, and requires renewal more frequently. " The dark color, absorbing the rays of the sun, the wall acquires at least ten degrees of heat more than WALLS AND TEELLISE3. 165 the walls not colored, as directed ; tlius affording great assistance ni maturing the bnds upon fruit-hear- ing shoots, so that the trees may be productive. In cold and wet seasons, without such aid, I should not have been able to obtain ripe buds upon fruit-trees under my care. This I have had ample proof of by the unfruitfiilness of those trees which are against walls not colored, af the same time that trees against colored walls were abundantly fruitful. The wall being colored is also a preventive of insects harboring in it and also tends to keep it dry. " The growth of young trees is much promoted by the coloring and they are sooner brought to a suppjly of fruitful buds." In all cases in which vines are trained in fi-ont of walls or fences, it is important that a space of from six to twelve inches be left between the wall and the trellis to which they are fastenedo If trained directly to the wall, the vine will not only be subject to mil- dew, l)ut ventilation will be materially interrupted. The bunches also, are liable to injury when lying against the surface of the wall. Walls may, of course, be constructed of any mate- rial, brick, stone or concrete. Brick is probably the most suitable material, though, as plain walls can be rapidly and cheaply built of concrete, it is piobable that it might pay to erect them on an extensive scale 163 OPEX AIR GRAPE CULTURE. in some parts of tlie coimtiy. In tlie celebrated Thomeiy vineyards, tlie walls are built of claj witli a cap of tliatcli. It is probable t'^iat walls built of well made sun-burnt bricks would last a long time and answer a good purpose if properly protected by a cap or eave of board or straw. But, for all practical purposes, our reliance for vine- yard training, in tlie present state of our experience, must be upon properly arranged trellises. AVe will, tlierefore, give wliat we consider the best mode of con- structing them. If the vines have been planted two years previously at distances of eight feet in the rows and the rows six fe«t apart, the first step to the erection of the trellises is to set up a post between each vine and slightly in advance of the rows, so as to facilitate bending the vines for winter protection."^ These posts may be of such size and material as the vine dresser may jDro- cure. Cedar, chestnut, locust or oak make the best, and a good size is four inches deep (across the rows) and three inches thick. They should stand from seven to nine feet out of the ground and be sunk not less than two and a half feet — if three feet, all the better. The two posts at the ends of the rows must be placed so tiiat they cannot be dravrn inward. Yarious de- vices for effecting this are shown in Figs. 39 and 40. * See page lOY. WALLS AND TRELLISES. 167 One consisting simply of a piece of plank nailed across the post so as to afford a broad surface to lie against the earth. The other is secured by a brace. . 1 iile is left in tlio clay o])po&ite 188 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. the eje of the scion, for its development. In graft- ing the vine in this manner when the bud (Z*) on the stock is developed, it is allowed to grow for ten or fourteen days, after w^hich it is cut oif, leaving only one bnd and one leaf near its base to draw up sa}) to the scion till it be fairly united to the stoclc. The time of grafting is when the stock is about to break into leaf, or when it has made shoots with four or five leaves. By this time the sap has begun to flow freely, so that there is no danger of the stock sufi'er- ing from bleeding; though, if vines are in good health and the w^ood thoroughly ripened, all the bleeding that takes place does little injury." Root-grafting the vine is also frequently practised. For this purpose, saddle-grafting is most suitable, the scion being properly secured to the stock with waxed cloth or paper. Lindley, in the " Gardener's Chronicle," states that the great secret of success in grafting the vine is to keep the scion dormant until the stock has so far developed its leaves and slioots as to be beyond the reach of danger from bleeding. His directions are as follows : " Shorten the branch or shoot at the winter prun- ing, to the most eligible place for inserting the graft. The graft should be kept in sufficiently moist soil till the time of performing the operation, and for a week PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 189 previous in tlie same temperature as tliat in which the vines to be operated upon are growing. When such portions of the latter as are shortened for receiv- ing the grafts have made a bit of shoot, graft as you would other fruit-trees, taking care, however, to pre- serve the shoot at the top in claying, and till the buds on the scions have pushed, then shorten it back. Inarching may be performed at any time after the vines have started, so far as not to bleed." Speechly, however, names the middle of March as the best time for grafting the vine in the open air ; and his directions are so lucid that we offer no ajjo- logy for quoting them : " In general, vines should be grafted about three weeks before they begin to break into bud. "Upon small stocks, not more than one inch in diameter, cleft grafting will be found the most pro- per; but upon larger stocks, whip grafting is to be preferred. " In both methods, much care should be taken in fitting the scion and stock together, and the operation should be performed with great exactness. ""Wlien the stock and scion are well fitted the graft should be fastened with the strands of bass matting, and should then be covered with clay in the usual way. " Yines do not harmonize with so much freedom as IjO open air grape CtJLT[JEE. coram oner fruit ; for though the scion will sometimes begin to push in a few wrecks, yet it will frequently remain in a dormant state for two or three months ; and during this period it will be necessary to strip the stock of all the shoots it may ]3roduce, as soon as they appear ; and, in order to preserve the scion in a vegetative state, it will be necessary to keep the clay moderately moist, which may easily be effected by wrapping it round with moistened moss, and keeping the moss constantly sprinkled wdtli water. " When the scion has made shoots five or six inches long, the clay and bandage should be carefully taken ofi*; and the clay may be removed without injuring the graft, when it is in a moist state. " Yines will frequently prove successful by both the above-mentioned methods, but still the most eligible w^ay of all, seems to me, to be that of grafting by approach. Indeed, I have seldom known any plants miscarry, that have been grafted in this way. Now in this case, it is necessary to have the plant, intended to be propagated, growing in a pot. Strong plants that have been two or three years in pots are to be preferred, but plants from the nursery may be potted and grafted in the same season, if brought into a hot- house or vinery ; for the great warmth of either will generally cause plants, brought out of the open air, to push with vigor, and to form new roots, wliich v/ill PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. l&l Bupporfc tlie plant, and greatly facilitate its forming r* •union witli the stock. ** I Lave constantly had fine grapes, and tlie grafts have made good wood, the first season, by every method of grafting, but particularly by the last. In wliich it is obvious that the graft has a double sup- port, viz. : from the stock, as well as from the j^lant in the pot. " In this method it will be necessary to let the clay and bandage remain two or three months after the graft has formed a union ; for if taken oft' at an earlier period, the grafted part of the plant will be very liable to spring from the stock. '' The pot should be plentifully supplied v/itli water till the month of August, when the graft should be separated from the plant in the pot. Two or three inches of wood below the bottom of the graft may be left, but should be taken clean off at the next winter's pruning." Grafting is a common practice in the vineyards of France. Chaptal's directions are as follows : "Having selected a healthy stock, it is, just when the sap is beginning to flow, taken off with a clean cut an inch or two below the surface of the ground. The upper portion of the stock, which must be per- fectly free from knots, is split evenly down the centre and pared quite smooth within, of a sufficient size for 192 OrEI^ AIR GKAPE CULTUE] the reception of the scion. The latter is pruned to three ejes iu length, having the lower part cut in the form . of a wedge, commencing about an inch beneath the lowest eye, and gradually tapering -to the bottom. It is then inserted as far as the lowest bud into the cleft of the stock : the second bud is level with the surface of the ground, which is drawn close around it, and the uppermost is quite above the soil. Great P' Fig. S5. eare is necessary in adjusting the scion, that its barj^ jnay touch that of the stock in every possible point. " The whole is then bound round with a pliable osier PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 193 wliicli retains the scion in its proper place. The best season for grafting the vine is just when the warmth of spring sets the sap in motion, and it should be performed when the sky is cloudj, with the wind blowing from the southeast or southwest. Whenever a northerly wind or great drought prevails, it is better to delay the operation ; a burning sun or cold wind would arrest the course of the sap by drying np the vessels at the point of union. JSTeither is it advisable to graft in rainy weather, because the water will trickle down into the incision, and pre- vent the union between the scion and stock. The best time for taking oif the grafts is in a dry day toward the end of autumn, when the sap is still. They should be cut off with a portion of the old wood adhering, which wdll assist in preserving them until wanted for nse. They should be plunged two or three inches deep in damp sand, and kept in a cool cellar, where neither heat nor frost can penetrate. Twenty-four hours previously to being used, they should be taken up, and that part which had before been in the sand should be laid in water." He, moreover, states that " the vine is thus grafted with so much facility, and the union between scion and stock is so perfect, that no plant appears more adapted for this mode of propagation." "We have never met with an example of budding 9 194 OPEN AIR GKAPE CaLTIJUE. as practised on the grapevine. The following process, which is described as budding in the " Gardener^s Chronicle " for 18M, is in reality a species of grafting : ' ' Bud about the first week in March, or as soon as the sap begins to rise. Cut an eye about three inches in length, having attached as much wood as you can get with it ; at each end of the eye cut off about a quarter of an inch of the upper bark, making the ends quite thin. "Next measure off the exact length of the bud on the bark of the vine intended to be budded, and make a niche slanting upward at the upper part ; and another slanting downward at the bottom. Tlien take the piece neatly out, so that the bud may lit nicely in, and by making the niche, as stated above, each end of the bud is covered by the bark of the shoot. Bind the bud firmly round with matting, and clay it, taking care, however, that the clay does not cover the eye of the bud. Then tie it round with moss, and keep it constantly damp, and as the sap rises in the vine the bud begins to swell. When the vine commences to push out young shoots, take the top ones off, in order to throw a little more sap into the bud, and as you perceive it getting stronger take off more young shoots, and so continue until you have taken off all the young shoots. Bud- ding can only be performed where the long-rod system is j^ractised, as in that case you have the power of con- PKOrAGATION OF THE VINE. 195 filling the sap to tlie bud, wliich will grow vigoronslj. As soon as yon perceive tliis, cut the vine down to the bud. Budding has the advantage over graft- ing of not leaving an unsightly appearance where the bud was inserted. A bud likewise grows more luxu- riantly. Allow the matting to remain until about the month of September." Mr. Knight was accustomed on some occasions to employ two distinct ligatures to hold the bud of his peach-trees in its place. One was placed above the bud inserted, and upon the transverse section through the bark ; the other, wliich had no further office than that of securing the bud, was employed in the usual way. As soon as the bud had attached itself, the ligature last applied was taken oif ; but the other was suffered, to remain. The passage of the sap upward was in consequence much obstructed, and buds inserted in June began to vegetate strongly in July : when these had afforded shoots about four inches long the remaining ligature was taken off to permit the excess of sap to pass on; and the young shoots were nailed to the wall. Being there properly exposed to light, their wood ripened well, and afford- ed blossoms in the succeeding spring. Might not the principles here indicated be applied with advantage to the foregoing method of budding (grafting ?) the vine ? 196 OPEX AIR GRAPE CULTURE. A metliod which partakes partly of grafting and partly of inarching is shown in the annexed figure. Fig 56. Here the graft is covered w^ith soil which M^?Tf^^'«'^i^'*" Fig. 56. supports it in the same manner as a cutting, while at the same time it receives nutriment from the stock. Seed Hybridization. — ^Young vines are never raised from seed, except for the production of new varieties ; but, as this subject is deservedly attracting very general attention at present, a few practical hints thereon may prove acceptable. Ever since Bacon observed that *'The compound- ing and mixture of plants is not found out, which, nevertheless, if it be possible, is more at command than that of living creatures, wherefore it were one TKOrAGATION OF THE VINK. 197 of tlie most noble experiments touching plants to find this out; for so you may have a great variety of plants and flowers yet unknown. Grafting doth it not ; that mendeth the fruit, or doubleth the flower, but it hath not the power to make a new kind," it has been the constant endeavor of good gardeners to improve the qualities of domestic plants by judicious mixtures of varieties. Bradley, we believe, was the first who undertook to produce hybrid plants ; but since his day, it has been attempted by almost every celebrated horticul- turist. The limits of hybridization amongst plants have never been thoroughly ascertained, although it is a subject of deep importance. For in the animal king- dom we know that while cross breeding (or intermix- ture of varieties) has been productive of tlie best results, hybridization, or muling has been successful in but very few instances, at least so far as practical good is concerned. 'Now whether the difi*erent spe- cies of the vine, as vitis mnifera^ vitis Icibrusca^ vitis cordifolia. etc. are so far removed from each otlier as to produce mules by their intermixture, or whe- ther they are varieties and will freely cross-breed, has not yet been fully determined. To examine this subject, however, with sufiicienl fullness to be useful would far exceed our limits. 198 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. Neither can we enter upon a discussion of tlie claims of the rival theory of Yan Mons. We shall therefore rest content with a few practical directions. Speedily, who was probably the first to attempt the improvement of vines by cross-breeding, directs US to brina: the flowerino^ branches of the two kinds of vines into close proximity — they being, of com-se, in the same stage of matui-ity. Ko very superior varieties followed his attempts, however ; and this is not to be wondered at, as it is probable that branches might be entwined a thou- sand times without effecting the result aimed at; for no means are taken to bring the pollen of the dif- ferent jlowers into contact with the stigma of the others, and although we have no reasons to doubt the possibility of super-foetation, (seeing it is well-known to occur in the higher animals) yet no means are here taken to produce even this. J. Fiske Allen, one of our most successful grape m-owers and the orio-inator of some new and excel- lent varieties, gives the following directions upon this jjoint. ^' The applying the pollen, or farina of one variety to the pistil, or stigma of another, is the surer method of proceeding to obtain new sorts in the shortest time ; and this is called hybridizing. To do this properly, the bunch should be thinned PEOPAGATION OF THE VINE. 100 of tliree-qnarters of tlie bncls ; tlie lower part slioiild be cut away entirely (immediately before inflores- cence), the strongest buds always being left. Observe them closely, and as soon as the Howers open, with sharp scissors clip the cmtherSy being care- ful not to injure the pistil ; with a soft brush, apply the pollen from the kind to be used in impregnation ; or the whole bunch which is to furnish the pollen may be cut from the vine and gently rubbed or applied to the bunch, by frequently striking them together on every side. Tliis should be repeated several days, until it is evident that the fruit is all impregnated ; a fresh bunch with the pollen in a suitable condition, must be had at each 023eration. " The pollen must be dry and in a falling condition, to be fit for the purpose. K your vines are so situated that a branch to be acted upon can be brought into contact with the branch of another kind, and the bunches interlaced, this will be a irood method of proceeding — cutting away the males part of the blossom from the kind that is to ripen the seed for the new kinds." i'ig. 57. Fig. 53. Fig. 59. '' Fig. 57 is a magnified rej)resentation of the bud 200 OPEX AIU GKAPE CULTURE. of the grape. Figs. 58 and 59 show the blossom. The change from the bud to the blossom is usually rapid, and takes place about thirty to forty days after the shoot appears in the spring which bears the fruit. This bud, which forms the blossom, consists of a covering, or cap, and the embryo berry with five anthers, which, when the time for inflorescence has come, is raised, or lifted, by the antliers, and the wind blows this cap free. " The third is the blossom or embryo grape, with the antliers clipped and deprived of their farina ; on the top of the embryo is the pistil ; upon this is to be placed the farina, or pollen of the male plant ; when this is done, impregnation takes place, and the em- bryo rapidly swells off. If the operation has not been effectual, the berry will remain as it is. When the grape has attained one-third or one-half its size, it remains stationary two or three weeks, and at this, time it is perfecting the seed. When this is done^ the fruit begins growing again ; thus it appears the seed will vegetate, even if the fruit does not ripen sufliciently to be eatable." Loudon's directions for saving and sowing seed are as follows : " Grapes for seed should be pemiitted to remain on the plant till the fruit is perfectly mature, and the seeds are of a very dark brown color. They should be separated from the j)^^!?? ^^^cl preserved till PROPAGATIOX OF THE VINE. 201 February or the beginning of March. Tliej ibhy)uld then be sown in pots filled with light fresh m Ad, and plunged in a moderately warm hot-bed f tli^y will come up in from four to six weeks, and -when the plants are about six inches high, they ^ihould be transplanted singly, into forty-eights, aud afterward into pots of a larger size. Water gently, as circum- stances require, allow abundance of light and air, and carefully avoid injuring any of the leaves. Cut down the plants every autumn to two good buds, and suffer only one of these to extend itself in the fol- lowing spring. Shift into larger pots as occasion requires, till they have produced fruit. This, under good management, will take place in the fourth or fifth year, when the approved sorts should be selected, and the rest destroyed, or used as stocks on wl.iich to graft or inarch good sorts." 202 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. CIIAPTEE XI. MANURE. Manure^ may be defined to be anything added to the soil to increase its fertility, whether by mechani- cal or chemical action. Substances serving the first purpose have been alluded to under the head of soils. The latter will now occupy our attention. In a former chapter sufiicient practical directions were given for the preparatory enrichmxcnt of the soil and for the annual top-dressing of tlie borders ; it will now be our object to consider in detail tlie character of the nutriment required by the vine ; the sources whence it may be derived ; the various modes of its application ; and its effects upon the plant. It is a well-established fact, that unless the soil in which any plant is placed contains all the elements necessary to the formation of such plant, no healthy groAvth can ensue. Hence our first step must be to inquire into the chemical constitution of the grape- vine, or at least of its ashes, those elements which * Query. — To what extent was Jethro Tull's idea of horse-hoeing', as a substitute for manure, anticipated by those who first used the word mmmre {manfieuvTer — to worlc with the hand), before it was em- ployed to express the addition of matter to the soil, with a view to increase its fertility? One old English author speaks of the Com- monwealth of England as being " gouerned, administered, and manured by three sorts of personr/' >tc. MANURE. 203 are dissipated during combustion being abundantly supplied from the atmospliere. The following are a few of the most reliable analy^ ses which have been published : Dr. Emmons found the w^ood of Yitis Lahmsca (Isabella?) to contain: Water, 40.26; dry matter, 59.74; ash, .98. Full-sized leaves of Catawba, picked June 2d : Water, 72.388; dry matter, 27.612; ash, 2.138. Per centage of asli calculated on dry matter, 7.746. Leaves of Catawba grape picked June 2d. An- alysis of ash : Carbonic acid 3.050 Silicic acid 29.650 Sulphuric acid 2.062 Phosphates 32.950 Lime 4.391 Magnesia 1.740 Potassa 13.394 Soda 9.698 Chlorine 0.741 Off^anic acid 2.250 96.926 An analysis of wood and bark of wild vine irav ^e Wood. Bark. Potassa 20.84 2.06 0.02 0.23 15.40 1.20 54.83 17.33 4.40 2.80 0.00 2.20 1 77 Soda 9 27 Chlorine 0 40 Sal[)liuric acid Phosphate of lime 5 01 Phosphate of peroxide of iron 5 04 Carbonic acid 32 '^2 Lime 39 32 Ma^'uesia , . 0 '^K) Silex Soluble silica , 14.00 30.00 Coal and organic matter 1.70 100.21 lOO.Sti The following tabulated analyses by Cra.sso Si Wiilz explain themselves : 204: OPEN ATR GRAPE CULTURE. DroUingen Vines, with leaves. Reisling Vines, with leaves. eleven A'ines, with leaves. C-. -^005 -i-iT-l • -(M ;OTt<(M5CCO O O T-0 »— T^ CO GO O I— ■"if OS O 00 d r-i r-I Tji r-J d CO • — 1 t- -O • t- o o • do^iri I -jq o o (M o CO • o CO oj Ripe Green Grapes- Ash of Juice. t- -^ r-i Ci ■* CO CO (^^ (n" o CO d d tJ< • d 5. Lime, 9.43 = 100. Magnesia, 2.12 = 32 7 " lie did not ascertain wlietlier all these substances are contained in rain water collected at a distance from towns. But Dr. Bence Jones found at least nitric acid in rain water collected in London, at Kingston in Surrey, at Melbuiy in Dorsetshire, and far from any town at Clonakelty, in Ireland. If Ave assume that M. Barral's averages represent what occurs on an English acre, the quantity of such sub- stances deposited on that extent of ground may be safely estimated as follows : " The average depth of rain which falls in the neigh- borhood of London is well ascertained to be about twenty-four inches per annum. This is at the rate of 87,120 cubic feet, or 2,4G6 cubic metres of rain water per acre ; and this, according to the proportions per cubic metre in the preceding table, would aiford anu- ally of — Nitrogen, 45o- lbs. Nitric acid, 103 " Ammonia, 19^ " Chlorine, 12] " Lime, fo *' Magnesia. . . • . . . 11 " Amount total per acre. 227 " 208 OPEN AIK GliAPE CILTUEE. " Of these substances, tlie three first are of iha utmost iniportauce, on acconnt of their entenng so hirgely into the indispensable constituents of the food by which vegetable life is sustained. The quantity of ammonia thus ascertained to exist, is about "svhat i.< expected in two hundred weight of Peruvian guano ; and bountiful nature gives us, moreover, nearly one hundred and fifty pounds of nitrogenous matter equally suited to the nutrition of our crops." But although nature is thus liberal in supplying the necessary wants of her children, man desires returns rather more extensive than is merely necessary for the good of the plant. He therefore adds directly to the soil those matters wliich contain proper nutriment for the vine. In doing this, however, it is not neces sary to follow very accurately any recipe founded upon the analysis of the vine, provided we obtain sufiicient of those elements wdiich are most w^^nted. If we only spread a liberal table, the vine will select its own food. Of all applications to the soil, none deserve more confidence than well rotted barnyard manure ; from time immemorial it has been the stajile reliance of the gardener and farmer and few are the instances in which its judicious application has been known to fail. That it mav do good and not harm, however, v.'hf:\ MANURE. 209 mixed with the soil in which plants are growing, it is- necessaiy it be thoronghly rotten. However much may have been written about the waste incurred by allowing manure to decomj)ose, it is a well know fact that thoroughly decomposed manure is beneficial to most plants, while decomposing or fermenting ma- nure is frequently prejudicial. This probably arises from the fact that all bodies while undergoing decom- position exert a catalytic action on any organized matter in contact with them. Thus decomposing manure directly tends to produce rot in the roots or other parts of plants with wdiicli it comes in contact. The proper time for the application of manure to a vine border has been a subject of much discussion. Our plan is to apply it as a top-dressing in the fall and fork it in in the spring. It thus serves to keep the border warm and tlie soluble portions are washed down amongst the roots of the vine by the wintei- snow and rain, thus reaching it in a most effectual manner. To assist this process, tlie border should be loosened with a fork before the manure is laid on. Of all the substances entering into the composi- tion of a manure heap none have a better influence upon vines than bones. In the formation of a border they are of essential utility, affording for a long period a constant source of nutriment. The avidity with which the roots of the vine seek sncli a de]>ot of food 210 OPEX AIR GKAPE CULTURE. •may be easily seen by placing a large porous bo/ie amongst the roots of a vine. In a few months it will be literally covered with rootlets which have sought it out and find their nutriment in its recesses. Leather, hair, horns, hoofs, woollen rags and other animal oifal j)ossess a similar action to bones. They all possess the valuable property of lying undecom- posed in the soil for long periods, yet yield readily to the disintegrating action of plant roots. Hence, while they afford abundant and valuable nourish, ment to the vine, it is not surfeited by them as this nutriment must be wanted and sought before it will be given up. Ashes of wood, whether fresh or leached are a 230werful manure for the vine, and probably contain all that it requires. Leached ashes may be applied as a top dressing in almost any quantity with excel- lent effect, but a more cautious use must be made of fresh wood ashes, they being much more powerful and caustic. Coal ashes have hitherto been deemed utterly worthless, and are usually thrown into the street. To some soils, however, particularly those which are too heavy, they are a very useful addition, and as they are a powerful absorbent, there is no doubt that if mixed with night soil, or some similar matter, they would prove an excellent article — more lasting, and consequently better than night soil by MANURK. 211 itself. Tliey slioiild never be tlirown away, liowever, as tliey contain lime, iron and minute, tliongli appre- ciable quantities of alkalies, soda usually predomi- nating. It is also quite possible that they contain minute traces of phosphates, though in no analysis with which I have met is it mentioned. Where the coal has been burned at a high temperature the alkali is in general reduced, and the metal volatilized. The dung and urine of animals forms a powerful manure. The solid excrements of all these are best mixed with some absorbent, as plaster, charjoal, burnt clay, etc. ; or thoroughly decomposed in con- tact with vegetable matter, as straw, leaves, etc. The liquid and soluble portion may be used as liquid manure, or may be poured over the fermenting dung heap. The dung of birds, as hens, pigeons, etc., and also guano, form a very convenient and most excellent top dressing for vine borders, but are better when applied as liquid manure during the growing season. An excellent manure may be made as follows: Sink a hole in any convenient part of the premises and fill up with saw-dust. On this pour all the urine that can be obtained from time to time, and keep closely covered with a broad cover. When sufficient has been added, or when the smell becomes offensive, remove the cover and place a pile 212 OPEX AIR GRAPE CULTURE. of cliarcoal, burnt claj, coal ashes, or other absor- bent on. top of it, and allow it to lie for a few weeks. At tlie end of that time, a mass of matter will have been produced almost equal to guano. Road scrapings form a good top dressing for most soils. Hoare considers them unrivalled for the grape vine, and such was the opinion of Speedily, who tells us: ''The dust, or dirt, from roads, consists princi- pally of the following particulars: first, the soil of the vicinity ; secondly, the dung and urine of horses and other animals ; and thirdly, the materials of the road itself when pulverized. Yarious other matters may be brought by winds, and by other means, but the foregoing may be deemed the principal. The first of the above articles is brought to roads by the wheels of carriages, and the legs of horses and other animals; the last is the worst part of the materials, as the dust and scrapings of roads, made and mended with soft stone that grinds fast away, is much infe- rior in its vegetating quality to that which is collected from hard roads. On the whole, however, this in- gredient of compost from the roads is unquestionably in general of a fertile nature, which may be attri- buted in part to the dung, urine, and other rich ma- terials, of which it is composed, and in part to a kind of magnetic power, impressed upon it by friction and its perpetual pulverization. MANURE. 213 "Tlie nature of this road earth ought to be dol}^ considered, when used in the vine compost, and its proportion adjusted according to its r[ualitj. In a sandy country it will naturally abound with particles of sand, and long and continued rains will, of course, wash away its best parts. High winds, too, in dry weather, Avill as certainly deprive it of its lightest and finest parts, especially when roads lie on emi- nences, or enjoy an open exposure. Those materials from roads are therefore preferable, which are pro- duced from an inclosed track in a low situation Pavements, hovrever, and hard roads, produce the best sulture of all. The compost is much better when collected in a moderate dry state, than wlien it is either very wet or dusty. If scraped off the road in a wet and soft state, when it is become diy it will be hard and cloddy, and will require time to bring it to a proper condition. "When thus circumstanced, the best way of recover- ing it is to give it frequent turnings in hard, frosty Aveather." Dead animals may be used in a vine border if placed sufficiently far from the roots to allow of their being decomposed, before the roots reach them, as previously remarked. Any decaying matter in a border is very detri- mental. 214: OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. Charcoal is one of the best additioiis to aiij soil. It should be well burnt, however, and free from all smell of creosote, as this substance is rather prejudi- cial to the roots of the grape vine, although it seems to agree with some plants; (chiefly alliaceous, for which soot is a specific). On this account, when used for drainage in j)ots, it should be reburnt. I am informed by one successful grape culturist that unless this precaution of reburning is taken with most charcoal, it is rather prejudicial to the roots of young vines in pots tlian otherwise. I have found, however, that if well sprinkled (it need not be satu- rated) with jDutrid urine and allowed to lie for some time, it loses its injurious qualities and retains abund- ant nourishment, which is gi'adually given off to the roots of the plants as they require it. When used as a compost for enriching a vine border it had always better be saturated with night soil or urine. Even brick rubbish, if so treated, becomes of great value. Most of these solid matters are best added to the soil in the original formation of the border. This is especially the case with the prunings of the vine, than which notliing can be more valuable. If added when the border is first formed, it will not only fur- nish nutriment for the vine, but will tend to keep the soil open and porous. For our established vines, there- fore, it Avill be best to dej)end upon liquid manure MANURE. 215 and autumn top dressing of stable manure, and all solid matters may go to tlie formation of nov7 vine- yards, of which we suppose there will in general be an annual addition. But where no new borders are being formed, it would be well to. open trenches between the rows of vines, in which such matters might be buried. If this were done immediately after the vintage, the roots would recover the same season from any wounds they might receive, and the ultimate gain would greatly overbalance any tempo- rary injury. In doing this, it will of course be best to enrich but a small extent of border each year and do it thoroughly, so that it may afford a supply during many succeeding seasons. Liquid Manurj:. — Of all the forms in which manure can be applied, the liquid manure is the most conve- nient and the most effective. 'No garden or vineyard should be without a tank of this article, as its judi- cious application will often enable us to mature a fine crop under very unfavorable circumstances, its great advantage consisting in the immediate results obtained ; though this very quality, renders it a dangerous article in the hands of those who do not thoroughly understand its proper application. To prepare and preserve liquid manure, two tanks with good covers should be made in some convenient spot. In small gardens, barrels, such as are used for 216 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. hydraulic cement, will answer — larger establisliments, of course, requiring something more capacious. They should be filled with chamber and kitchen slops and soap suds, the latter being generally added warm. On the large scale, when horse, cow, and other ma- nure can be obtained, it may be mixed with water and added to the contents of the barrels. Hen manure is one of the most valuable additions. Two barrels should be used, so as constantly to have some of the manure thoroughly decomposed. After standing for a week or ten days, it will be fit for use, and may either be applied to the surface of the border, or what is far better, introduced by means of subterranean drains or channels. These may con- sist simj^ly of long wooden boxes, bored full of small holes and sunk about twelve inches beneath the surface, or of common horse shoe tiles placed in a similar position. Under any circumstances, it must liave a tube at one end rising up to the surface, through which the liquid may be poured and which may be closed on the approach of winter so as to exclude frost. In very small gardens, it may prove sufficient to sink one or two flowerpots in the border. These, being filled with the liquid manure, it will Boak down amongst the roots without the possibility of loss by evaporation from the surface of the ground. The pots should, of course, ordinarily be kept covered MANURE. 217 Liquid manure is such a powerful agent, that tlicrc is only one season of tlie year at wLicli it can l)e ap- plied ; that is from tlie time the first leaves arc well developed until tlie fruit is fully formed. During this period a very locah solution may be applied in large quantities once or twice a week. The culturist, liowcver, must remember that the solution must be loectJ^ — say one pailful of the contents of the barrels to six or ten pails of water, according to the strength of the original liquid. To prepare extemporaneous liquid manure ready for application to the borders or drains, dissolve two or three ounces of guano in a gallon of rain water, and allow to stand some 'ime, stirring occasionally. The principles which govern the application of this useful and powerful agent, are so clearly set forth by Dr. Lindley, in the last edition of his '' Theory of Horticulture," that we cannot do better than quote from him. " In order that the fall effects of liquid manui-e should be felt without injury, it is indispensable : 1, that it should be weak, and frequently applied ; 2, that it should be perfectly clear ; 3, that it should be administered when plants are in full growth. If strong, it is aj^t to produce great injury, because of the facility with which it is absorbed, beyond the decomposing and assimilating power of plants. l\' 10 218 OPEN AIK GKArE CULTUKE. turbid, ic carries with it in suspension a lai-ge quan- tity of fine sedimentary matter, wliich fills up the interstices of the soil, or, dejDosited. upon the roots themselves, greatly impedes their power of absorp- tion. If applied when plants are torpid, it either acts as in the case of being over strong, or it actually corrodes the tissues. " Let the manure be extremely weak ; it owes its value to matter that may be applied with consider- able latitude ; for they are not absolute j)oisons, like arsenic and corrosive sublimate, but only become dangerous when in a state of concentration. Gas water illustrates this ; pour it over the plant in the caustic state in which it comes from the gas-works, and it takes off every leaf, if nothing worse ensues. Mix it with half water — still it burns; double the quantity once more — it may still burn, or discolor foliage somewhat. But add a tumbler of gas water to a bucketful of pure water, no -injury whatever ensues ; add two tumblers full, and still the effect is salubrious, not injurious. Hence it appears to be immaterial whether the proportion is the hundredth or two hundredth of the fertilizing material. *' Manuring is, in fact, a rude operation in which considerable latitude is allowable. The danger of error lies on the side of strength, not of weak- ness. MANURE. 219 "To use liquid inainirc very weak and very often is, hi fact, to imitate nature, than wlioni we cannot take a safer guide. This is shown by the carbonate of am- monia, carried to plants in rain, which is not under x stood to contain, under ordinary circumstances, more than one grain of ammonia in 1 lb. of water ; so that in order to form a liquid manure of the strength of rain water, 1 lb. carbonate of anmionia would have to be diluted with about 7,000 lbs. weight of water, or more than three tons. Complaints which have been made of guano water and the like are unquestionably refer- able to their having been used too strong. "It must be borne in mind: 1, That liquid manure is an agent ready for immediate nse, its main value depending upon that quality ; 2, that its effect is to produce exuberant growth ; and 3, that it will con- tinue to do so as long as the temperature and light required for its action are sufficient. "These three propositions, rightly understood, j)oint to the true principles of applying it; and if they are kept in view, no mistakes can well be made. "With fruit, the period of apj^lication should be when the fruit,* not the flowers, is beginning to swell. Nothing is gained by influencing the size or color of the flower of a fruit tree ; what Ave want is to increase the size or the abundance of the fruit. If liquid manure is applied to a plant when the flowers are 220 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. « growing, the vigor which it communicates to them miist also be communicated to the leaves ; but when leaves are growing unusually fast, there is sometimes a danger that they may rob the branches of the sap required for the nutrition of the fruit; and if that happens, the latter falls off. There, then, is a source of danger which must not be lost sight of. No doubt the proper time for using liquid manure is when the fruit is beginning to swell, and has acquired, by its own green surface, a power of suction capable of opposing that of the leaves. "At that time liquid manure may be a]3plied freely, and continued from time to time as long as the fruit is growing. But at the first sign of ripening, or even earlier, it should be wholly Avithheld." The action of manure is even now very far from being thoroughly understood. "When modern chem- istry was first applied to agriculture, it was supposed that the great object of manure was merely to afitord food for plants. But it was afterward found that other conditions were of equal importance, and that the advantage of many manures arose from their me- chanical influence upon the soiL At 'Lois "Weedon in England, excellent crops of wheat have been raised by thorough cultivation, without the application ot manure, and the same principle was advocated by Jethro Tull in 1731, whose famous system of horse MANUEE. 221 hoeing husbandly consisted sinq^ly in deep ploughing and tliorougli pulverization of the soiL But while the mechanical condition of the soil exerts a most important mfluence on the growth of plants, there can be no doubt that unless all those elements of which a plant is composed, exist in the soil, or are derivable from other sources, healthy vegetation is impossible. TulPs farm finally failed to yield fair cro23s, notwithstanding large expenditures, on the mechanical part of the process, and the same result is said, to have attended the rigorous applica- tion of his principles elsewhere. If the action of manures in general, is but imper- fectly understood, still less does its influence npon the vine and its products, seem to have been reduced to known laws. In France the use of manure has been productive of evils so great as to induce the company of wine merchants, and vineyard proprie- tors, to condemn the use of azotized manures entirely. On the other hand, the vine-dressers of Thomery, who produce the beautiful Chasselas de Fontainebleau grapes, use rich manures in liberal quantities. In general, it will be found in this, as in other cases, that a middle course is best. If the border has been purposely prepared in the first place, a vigorous growth will have been secured, while it was necessary that the vine should produce abundant wood, and 222 OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. when, after four or five years, the fruit is applied to the manufacture of wine, all rankness of growth will have clisapj)earecl. If, in after years, the vine should show symptoms of debility, it will be easy to supply it with nourishment, by means of liquid manure ; and if ample means are provided for keeping the roots very dry during the ripening process, so that we can regulate the period over which the effects of such application shall extend, we are inclined to believe that no evil results will follow. M. Ladrej suggests that but one portion of the "sineyard be manured at one time, and that the wine from the part so treated be kept separate from the rest, until the evil influence of the manure has disap- peared. It is obvious, however, that if we could avoid entirely any loss, of even a part of the vineyard, it would be desirable. In this, however, as in all other matters, we must keep steadily in view the fact, that all rank vegeta- tion exerts an injurious influence, not only upon the fruit product of the current year, but on the wood uj)on which our next year's crop depends. In his "E"ouveau systeme de la culture de la vigne," Persoz attempts to avoid the evils incident to the ordinary mode of the application of manure, by add- ing to the soil those matters which tend to produce wood, and those which favor the production of fruit, MANUEE. eacli at the aj^propriatc time. His follows. Six pounds bone dust; three poun( pings and other animal refuse ; (blood, etc.) and one pound gypsum, making in all ten poun( to be added to each square yard of border. This is done in the spring before the buds have pushed. As soon as the young shoots are well advanced, he manures each square yard with eight pounds silicate of potassa, and two pounds of the double jjliosphate of potassa and lime. Silicate of potassa he procures by fusing fifteen parts of quartz sand with ten of potassa and two of charcoal. The double phosphate of potassa and lime is pre- pared, by adding 18 lbs. of sulphuric acid to 2i lbs. of calcined and pulverized bones. This, after being well stirred, is diluted with water, allowed to stand for three days, treated with hot water and filtered. Carbonate of potassa is then added, until the liquid is slightly alkaline, and it is then evaporated in a cast iron vessel, roasted at a red heat, mixed with the sili- cate, and the whole reduced to powder. A vine manured by Persoz with 0.5 kilogr. of jsili- cate of potassa, 1.5 of phosphate of lime and potassa, and an equal weight of dried blood and goose dung, put forth in one year a shoot 11 metres in length, and yielded on nine shoots twenty-five bunches of grapes, 224 OPiiN Alli GIIAPE CULTURE. while a similar vine, wlnc3]i was not manured, produced a shoot onlj 4.6 metres long, with only four or six blossoms, which faded away before their full devel- opment.— ^Ltebig AiTO Kopp : Annual Report. DISEASES AND INSECIS. 22r> CHAPTER XII. DISEASES AND INSECTS. AYe confess we have had very little experience in tlie matter of diseases and insects affecting the grape vine. Our native varieties are so Adgorous and hardy that disease rarely affects them, and during the grow- ing season they push with such rapidity, that the loss of a few leaves destroyed by insects is scarcely felt. But we are aware that it is not always so, and we shall therefore give as full an account as we can obtain of the formidable pests to which the grape grower is exposed. When growing in the open air in a suitable soil, and with a good exposure, the only two diseases to which the grape vine is liable, are mildew and the rot. The former appears in whitish S2:>ots on the surface of the leaves and wood, and when examined with a simple lens of 25 inch focus, shows a net-worlc of fungus with its sporules. For this, as well as for the red spider, no remedy has been found equal to sulphur, the use of which for this purpose has been known from time immemorial. ]0* 2t^6 OPEN AIR GKAPE CULTURE. To apply it, use may be made either of a common dredger fixed to tlie end of a pole, or of a pair of bellows with a contrivance for admitting a small quantity of snlphur into the stream of air. Or it may be nii^ed with water and the foliage syringed therewith. But the most efficient method is that proposed by Dr. Price, who was the first to suggest pentasulphide of calcium for this 2:>nrpose. This compound is prepared by boiling 30 parts by weight of caustic lime with SO parts by weight of flowers of sulphur, suspended in a sufficient quantity of water • heat is applied until the solution has ac- quired a dark red color and the excess of sulphur ceases to dissolve. The clear solution is drawn off, and after being diluted with 20 times its bulk of water, may be applied to the vines by means of a sponge, brush or syringe. "Where flowers of sulphur is used, it should have a few drops of ammonia added before it is applied to the foliage, as the sulphurous acid wdth which it is saturated (derived from its combustion during dis- tillation) is always injurious to leaves and young shoots. The rot has rarely troubled our northern vineyards, though it is the great bane of vine culture in Ohio. ^Ye are inclined to believe that if vines are planted in soil, dry or well drained and not too rich, and bo DISEASES AMD INSECTS. 227 allowed to extend themselves moderately, but little need be apprehended from the rot. Dr. Asa Fitch has fonnd upward of thirty different insects which prey upon the grape vine, but with the exception of the red spider, and occasionally the rose- bug, they do not injure the vine materially. The red spider {acarus tellarius) of which we give a cut (Fig. 60), we have found, not only under glass, '■>A^'l Fig. 60. but on vines in the open air. It is a small, reddish - colored insect which it requires a sharp eye to detect. For this, as for mildew, sulphur is a specific, and we are always safe in giving our vines a good dusting of this substance, so as to prevent any injury which might arise from either source. The rose-bu2c has never troubled us much. It nearly destroyed Dr. Underhill's vineyards at one time, however, and we therefore give his account of the matter in his own words. "Several years since, when my vineyards were 228 OPEN AIK GRAPE CULTURE. Bmaller than at present, I found the rose-bng a formidable enemy. They appeared on the vines when thej were in blossom, or just as the blossoms were falling off and the yonng grapes forming, and devoured them with the greatest avidity. This feast continued from eight to twelve days, or, until the cherries on the trees in the vicinity l^egan to ripen, when they with one accord flew to them, for a change of diet, I presume, or from some other cause. I was quite familiar with the habits of the caterpil- lar, and had been in the practice of clearing them from my orchards in the spring, before they had destroyed scarcely a leaf. This I did not consider a great or difficult matter, for they were enveloped in a web early in the morning, and one man in a few days was able to clear many hundred trees, by twist- ing them off, web and all, with a basket, and care- fully placing them under his foot. The rose-bug, however, did not, like the caterpillar, make its ap23earance in clusters or webs, but in small numbers at first, and scattered through the vineyards, increas- ing rapidly every day. Though taken from the vines on the trellis every morning, they continued to mul- tiply till the eighth or twelfth day, when they suddenly left for the cherry-trees, as before stated. I was at a loss at first to know where they came from, till at length I discovered the ground perfo DISEASES AND INSECTS. 220 rated with inimeroTis liolcs, tlirongli wliicli they made their way to the surface. " I observed, when tliey first appeared on tlie vines, they were so feeble as to be unable to fly even for a few yards. Having surmounted all other difiiculties, I was determined not to be defeated in the vineyard cultivation of the grape by tliis insect, and consequently resorted to the following means for their destruction. I directed my men to take each a cup, with a little water in it, and go through the vineyards every morniug, removing every bug from the vines ; and this was done quite rapidly by passing the cup under the leaf, and merely touching- it, when the bugs instantly dropped, and were re- ceived in the cup containing the water. When the cup was full, they were soon destroyed by pressing the foot upon them on a hard surface: After all of them had been taken oflP, on the following morning- there were ten on the vines where we had found but one ; and the succeeding morning, after having been removed as before, there were one hundred where there were but ten, and so on, I was not discouraged, however, and directed my men to persevere in the work of destruction, and' we should thus perhaps prevent the formation of another progeny for the next season, for it is very easily shown that they do not migrate to any great distance ; and by thus 230 OPEN AIK GEAPE CULTUEE. destroying the present race, I am convinced tliat we insure ourselves from their further depredations to any injurious extent. When a person of some energy has cleared them from his vineyard or garden, he is pretty certain to enjoy the benefit of his labor an- other season as well as tlie present, though he may have a few from his less resolute neighbor. Pursu- ing the course I have mentioned, I very soon lessened the rose-bugs so much that they gave me very little trouble. " I also tried ploughing my vineyards just before winter set in, so as to expose to the weather the insect in the larva state, which will certainly destroy all the young tribe that have not descended below the reach of the plough. For two years past the number has been so small, that I have omitted this process for their destruction." HASTENING- THE MATURITY OF THE GKAPE. £31 CHAPTER XIIL METHOD OF HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GKAPE. Sevekal iiietliocls have been proposed for causing grapes to ripen at an earlier period of the season than usual, or in localities where tliey would not other- wise ripen at all. The most successful, and, on the large scale, economical, mode of effecting this is un- doubtedly by means of glass houses, either witli or without lire heat. A description of these is beyond the limits assigned to this work, though we may, per- haps, be allowed briefly to describe two devices of tliis nature, by which a few bunches may be matured at small expense and with very little trouble. "More than twenty years ago, a market gardener at Bath published a plan of ripening grapes under common hand-glasses. He planted the vines in a soil composed in great part of lime rubbish ; placed a glass over each plant, taking out half a pane in its summit throuo^h which the leadino- shoot of the vine protruded itself, and grew in the open air. The bunch or bunches of grapes remained within the hand-glass, and enjoyed the advantages of protection 232 OPEX AIR GKaI'E culture. from cold winds, dews, and rains during tlie niglit, and of a liigli degree of confined solar heat during the day." — Loudon. Mr. Maund, editor of the ''Botanic Garden," em- ploys the follow^ing method of obtaining a few^ bunches : " Although my experiment is not yet com- pleted, I cannot omit mentioning to you its success. Grapes grown on open w^alls in the midland counties are rarely well-ripened ; therefore, I provided a small glazed frame — a sort of narrow hand-glass — of the shape shown in the annexed outline, to fix against the wall, and inclosed in it one branch of the vine with its fruit and foliage. The open part, wdiicli rests against the wall, is 13 inches wide, and may be of any length required to take in tlie fruit. The sides are formed of single panes of glass^ seven inches wide, and meet on a bar which may represent the ridge of a roof, the ends inclosed by triangular boards, and having ^'° ^'- a notch to admit the branch. This was fixed on the branch a month before the vine came into flower. The consequence was, the protected branches flowered a week earlier than the exposed. The frame was not fitted closely to the wall, but in some places may have been a quarter of an inch from it. The lateral branches beino^ shortened befoi'c it i^-as fixed, it did not require removal, even for prun- ing, because I adopt tlie long-rod mode of training, wliicli is peculiarly adapted to my partial protection system. "The temperature within the frame is alvrays higher than that without, sometimes at mid-day even from 20 to 30 degrees. By this simple protection, I find grapes may be ripened from three weeks to a month earlier than when wholly exposed, and this saving of time will, I believe, not only secure their ripening well every year in the midland counties,, but, also, that such advantage will be available in the north of England, where grapes never ripen on the open walls. I should have told you that the cold nights of spring have caused almost all the vouno' fruit to fall off durino; the flowerins: season, excepting where it was protected. " To hasten the maturity of grapes grown in the open air, means may be taken to throw them early into a state of rest. On the 20th of September prune the vine as you would in the month of December, taking off all the leaves and grapes, ripe or unripe, and shortening all the branches to one, two or three eyes at most. The following spring it will push its buds a few daja before any of the neighboring vines pruned in winter. Train it as carefully all the sum- mer as though you were certain it would ripen its i}34: OPEN AIR GEAPE CULTURE. crop of fruit. Pursue tlie same system aunually, pruning the tree always between tlie 20th and 30th of September, and in the course of seven years you Vv'ill be rewarded for your patience and expense with half a ripe crop in most summers, and a whole ripe crop in warm summers." — Loudon. The following method of hastening the maturity of grapes on open walls, was communicated to the Horti- cultural Society of London, by Mr. Thos. Fleetwood : "Before the vines are out of flower, he brings each bunch into a perpendicular position by a thread at- tached to its extremity, and fastened to a nail in the W'all, carefully confining the young branch with the bunch thereon, as close to the wall as possible. The period of blossoming is preferred for this operation, because the bunch at that time takes a proper posi- tion, without injury. By this practice the bunches are kept so steady that the berries are not bruised by the action of the wind, and being fixed close to the wall, they receive such additional heat, that they ripen a month earlier than wdien left to hang in tlie usual way." But of all the plans which have been proposed, |)erhaps the simplest and most efficient is ringhig, girdling or breaking. It has been employed for many years in France, although it is there conceded, that it injures the quality of the wine produced. Foi HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GRAPE. 2o3 table purposes, however, the grapes seem to be im- proved botli in size and appearance. Fig. 62. Tlie French method is shown in Fig. 62. Here the annular incision is made just below the fruit bunch at the time of flowering. A pair of pincers with a double pair of semicircular jaws, makes both the upper and lovrer incision at once, when the bark is easily removed by the finger nail. The following are the details of an English practi- tioner : ''The vines are generally cultivated upon the Iloare system, or, as it is called, the long rod systen^^ but they ar€ not so cultivated in every case, for sometimes an old bearer is spurred back to one or two buds, to carry its crop another year. My vines are very strong, and tiie rods or brandies stand at tl'U) OPKN AIR GKAPK CULTURE. liiast tkree feet, or even three feet six inclies, distant from eacli other, when winter pruned. This allows just sufficient room for the fruit-bearing laterals and a young rod to come up between every two bearers. This young rod, of course, to be the bearer of lateral the following year : ''Thus no vines cultivated on any other system are so capable of being rung, without the disadvantage of killing or losing the future useful part of the tree, because on Hoare's long-rod system, the whole of the previous years, bearers will have to be cut entirely away. "The very right time to ^^erform the ringing is just after the berries are all set, or have attained the the size of E"o. 2 shot, or small peas. In ringing, cut, with a sharp knife, clean round the branch between two joints. Or, if you are going to ring the laterals carrying the fruit, leave either two or three buds and leaves beyond the main stem, and make the ring just in the middle, between the third and fourth leaves, or joints. As I said before, make two cuts clean through the bark, cpiite do^vn into the wood, one inch apart, and remove the bark clean away, all round the branch or lateral. By this means, if you are in the habit of spur pruning, the hinder buds are left all right, to spur back the following year. If you prune upon the long-rod system, you may ring the rod jn-t IIASTEXtN-G THE MATURITY OF THE GIIAPE. 237 wherever you please — the whole branch, if joii like — • as the rung part will have to be cut away entirely after the fruit is gathered. "The ringing is performed just the same on an old whole branch as in that of the young lateral carrying one or two bunches. I have repeatedly rung old branches, that have been carrying from twenty to thirty bunches of grapes, with the same good effect ; only it has been such branches that I have intended to cut away entirely the following autumn : of course, thinning out the berries of the bunches, and the bunches too, if excellence be aimed at, is of the utmost importance. The process of thinning this cannot be too early attended to. I always begin as soon as the fruit is fairly set, and continue to remove all inferior berries, and, with a good pair of scissors and clean fingers, using my eyes to see w^hat I am about, so as not to injure the berries by handling and maul- ing them. "By thus practising ringing, I have produced for the last twelve or fourteen years, grapes, out of doors, that have puzzled many a tyro and others too. "Our indefatigable editors have botii watched my progress in vine culture for years. My grapes liavo many a time puzzled the late Mr. Elphinstone, wlien he was gardener to the late speaker of the House of Commons, now Lord Eversley, although I used to 23 S ()p;:x air gkape culture. compete against liim, with both indoor and outdoor grapes, at our Hampshire horticultural show in 'No- vember. " As a matter of course, I had read of ringing fruit trees, etc., but it never struck me to put the same into practice until about fourteen years ago, when my attention was called to it in an amateur friend's gar- den, Mr. Frampton, glass and paint merchant of this city. I happened to walk in and look at some vines to which he was paying great attention at that time. Tliis was in the month of September, and here I first saw the ringing process of the vine. Seeing a few bunches of the Blade Scunburg so large in the berry, and all ripe, I began to inquire into the particulars, when Mr. Frampton kindly showed me where the branches were rung, and that the ringing was the cause of their being so very large and so early. I then w^anted to know whence Mr. Frampton obtained his information, when he showed it to me in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' from the pen of Professor Ilenslow.'' — Tlios. Weaver, Gardener to the Wai'den of Winchester College. [It is quite true that we have watched for some years, with great interest, the experiment upon ringing vines carried on by Mr. Weaver, and we can authen- ticate his statement of the mode of ringing and its HASTENING THE MATURITY OF THE GKAPE. 230 results. It must not be done in that petty timid manner hinted at by a contemporary. There must be a ring of bark perfectly removed ; the cuts being made boldly down to the Yevj young wood, or albur- num, and every particle of bark, inner and outer, must be removed between the cuts. (See Fig. 63.) Fig. G3. This drawmg represents, faithfully, the rung yrus of a rod at the close of autumn, and shows how the removal of the band of bark checked the return of the sap, and how, in consequence, the rod above the 240 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. removed band increased in size beyond tbat portion of the rod below the band. The effect upon the berries was, in every instance, to advance their early ripening a fortnight, and to about double the size and weight of the berries, when compared with those grown on unrung branches of the same vine. J^or was the color and bloom of the berries diminished ; indeed, so excellent were they, that we have seen them exhibited deservedly by the side of grapes grown under glass, and they were sold in J^ovember, at Winchester, for half-a-crown a pound. Hinging the branches of fruit-trees, to render them fruitful, was practised in France, and recommended tliere in print, about a century and a half since. There are various letters upon the subject in the early volumes of the " Horticultural Society's Trans- actions," and in one of them (vol. 1, page 107), published in 180S, Mr. Williams, of Pitmaston, gives full directions for ringing the grape vine. He tells the result, in these words : " I invariably found that the fruit not only ripened earlier, but that the ber- ries were considerably larger than usual, and more h'^^y.j flavored." — Editor of the Cottage Gardener.'] CAEE OF OLD' VINES. *241 CHAPTER XIY. CARE OF OLD VINE There are scattered throiigli tlie coimtiy numerous old vines of large growth and great age, wliicli liavo been trained upon trellises, through trees, against the sides of houses and on arbors, without much skill or attention. These well deserve good culture, and the owners would gladly bestow it if they knew how. For their benefit, a few hints in this direction may not be out of place. Such vines have in general either been left entirely to themselves, or trained wholly on the long-spur system, no new wood except these spnrs being kept from last year's gro'wth to supply the wants of next year, and the strength has thus been thrown to the ends of the stems, leaving them barren for a great distance from their base. Yines in this condition, if of good origin, may, by judicious management, be speedily made to bear large crops of excellent fruit, as their roots are large and ]:)owerful, and fully competent to supply nutri- ment to a large crop of grapes. 11 242 " OPEN A:K GIIAPE OUT.TUHE. If the stems are tolerably well supplied witli beariiig spurs, it may be advisable to take good care of suck of these as we can find, and where there is a barren spot, to train a young shoot over it from the nearest bearing spur. Upon this young shoot spurs may soon be made, which will bear admirably. But, in almost all cases, the better plan w411 be to gradually renew the whole vine, as strong, vigorous shoots, when once laid in for main branches and we.v supplied with bearing spurs or canes, will last for a long time and give satisfactory results with far less labor than is required by an old and straggling vine. This change had better be effected gradually, a portion of the old wood being retained until the young shoots come into bearing, so that we need not be entirely deprived of fruit during its progress. Commence, then, at the spring or winter pruning, and remove all the wood that can be well spared, keeping only a few of the best main branches, ana cutting the spurs on these very close, leaving not more than one eye to each. Tins severe pruning will cause the vine to throw up numerous strong shoots, or suckers, from near the roots. Two or three of the best of these must be selected and trained to stakes, away from the trellis or arbor, so as to give them all the light and air pos- sible; the laterals which start from these must be fO CARE OF OLD VINES. 243 pinclied at the tliird leaf, and tliey should be stopped about tlie middle or end of September. All other shoots from the base of the vine, as well as all useless or barren shoots on other parts, must be carefully re- A moved as fast as they appear, so as to throw as much as possible into the canes we had selected. ISText season, these canes must be disbudded and laid in as follows : Having removed all laterals and tendrils and tied them firmly to the trellis, as shown in Eig. 6i, commence at the first good bud from the Fig. r>4. base, which leave, and then remove all the buds for a space of from 14 to 20 inches. Between 14 and 20 inches we will certainly find a good bud on the £^4 OPF.N AIR GKAPE CULTURE. upper side of the cane (as it is tied to the treiJis), which must be kept, and all the buds on the next equal space, removed in the same manner. So pro- ceed until jou have laid in ten or a dozen buds on each cane, when it should be cut off. We will now have two or more horizontal arras, each of which will throw up from 5 to 6 vertical canes of a strength sufficient to bear fruit next year, and the same num- ber of short shoots which will form, spurs for next year's bearing canes. But in order to make sure of this, we must prune the old vine very severely, in- deed, and if we could make up our minds to do with- out fruit for one year and cut it all away, we would be gainers by it in the end. But in any case, all fruit must be removed from our new wood, as the stems will have enough to do to cover the trellis without bearing a crop of grapes. I^ext year, the canes Z>, Z», J, J, J, will bear a full crop of fruit, and shoots must be trained up from the spurs, «, «, «, «, «, a^ to take their place at the winter pruning. The whole management will now be the same as that previously described for vineyards. If it be preferred to train up tlie vine on the spur system, the buds at a^ «, a^ a, a^ a, should be removed when the cane is disbudded the first season, and after having borne once on the long-rod 'system, the canes 5, 5, h. I), h, will be well provided with shoots by cutting CAEE OF OLD VINES. 215 back on wliicli good spurs may be formed. These spur:3 bliould be distributed along the canes at a distance of li to 20 inches on each side, and may be managed individually, as described in Chap. YII. The height to which spur-bearing canes may be carried is, perhaps, without limit, if they are properly treated and the vines have sufficient root power. But in practice, we do not think that it will be well to have them longer than 6 to 8 feet. They are thus kept within bounds, and any one which may become barren is more easily renewed than if they are of greater length. Where the vines are managed on the long-rod sys- tem, we would never have the canes over 6 feet long, and if only 4J- to 5 feet, so much the better. Thus, if we desired to cover a wall or trellis fifteen feet high, we would have two tiers of arms carrying spur-bearing canes each 7 feet long, or three tiers carrying long-rod or renewal canes. Before proceeding to renew an old vine, it may be well to manure it thoroughly, either by a good top dressing in the fall, liquid manure during the grow- ing season, or by digging a trench about six feet from the roots and tilling it w^tli good compost, bones, etc. An excellent plan for feeding an old vine is to make a basin about six inches deep round its roots, with boards, against the outside of which sufficient 246 OrEN AIR GRAPE CULTC:i;\ Tieavj soil has been placed to make it water-tight Then, during the growing season, let this basin be filled with soap-suds every washhig day — mixing them with chamber slops, etc. During the winter, it should be filled with leaves and prunings, over which a little earth may be thrown to keep the wind from blowing them about, and preventing an unsightly appearance. If the roots of the vine are so near the house as to be unsightly when treated in this manner, the basin might easily be provided with a light board cover neatly painted. It might be requisite to form it in two parts, having notches through which the stem of the vine can pass. That a good manuring will often cause a vine which has been previously unfruitful to bear abun- dant crops, is well known. We have now in mind an instance of a vine which after remaining barren for many years suddenly became quite fruitful from chickens making a roost of the trellis on which it grew. TO PKESEliVE GKAPES. 2^7 CHAPTER Xy. TO PEESERVE GRAPES. Although He who "has made everything beauti- ful in his season," no doubt designed grapes to be used while fresh, yet, though we cannot preserve the exquisite flavor of newly-gathered grapes, we may, nevertheless, prolong their season, if not in its full excellence yet with sufficient attraction to make it worth while. With proper care, grapes may be kept until Christmas, and at that time will command a price which would not be paid for fresh fruit during the height of the grape season. As yet, the preserving of the fruit seems to be but little understood, and although we have kept grapes until January in a very palatable state, and we have tasted others wliich have been tolerably preserved until March, we must acknowledge that none of these attempts quite came up to our desires, however much others might have praised the result. The truth is, that grapes in March will never be very severely criticised under any circumstances: They are too much of a rarity for that. 248 OPEX ATK GRAPE CULTURE. Althougli the foreign grapes wliicli are imported, packed in sawdust, are said to be gathered before the J are fully ripe, we believe that this plan is not suited to our native varieties. They should always be fully ripe before they are gathered, and this should be done on a clear, dry day before they have been touched with frost. The bunches should be carefully examined, none but the first-rate ones selected, and they must be scrupulously freed from all dirt, such as leaves, spiders' webs, insects, etc. All decayed or iniripe berries must be removed with a j^air of sharp scissors (merely pulling them off will not do) ; and they should be exposed to the air (but not the sun) for a few hours before being packed away. In one case where, after the grapes were gathered, the weather became damp before they were put up, we knoAv them to have been placed in a moderately warm oven for rather more than five minutes, and the result was very good. The following are a few of the methods which have been recommended : 1st. Procure some fine, dry sawdust (avoiding that from resinous or scented wood), and pack the grapes in a box or barrel, in layers, being careful to have sufficient between the bunches to prevent their touching. Bran is sometimes substituted for saw- dust. TO rUKSEKVE GKAPES. i'-i'j 2d, Wrap eacli bunch in fine, clean dry paper, and put away in lasers in boxes. .3el. Take a good box and place a layer of cotton batting on the bottom; on this place a layer of grapes, then a layer of batting and so oii, until the box is full, wrapping each cluster in thin paper. Some omit the paper. ■ith. Seal up the ends of the stems with wax, and suspend them in a cool, dry and dark room, looking them over occasionally and removing unsound berries and bunches. The French suspend their bunches by the lower ends to a little hook (see AjDpendix). Some cultiva- tors, however, cut away the fruit-bearing branches and preserve the grapes attached to them. It has been advised to immerse the stems of the bunches in wine, before the fruit is used ; but as they are always dried up and incapable of transmitting fluid, we have found it better to immerse the whole bunch in cold water for half an hour or so. This restores the plumpness of the berries and removes some of the foxy flavor which is apt to tinge our native grapes when long kept. ir THE OHIO SYSTEM OF VINEYARD CULTURE. Tins is merely a modification of the Frencli and German methods, having been generally introduced by vine-dressers from those countries. It is, we believe, now generally giving place to the trellis system of culture, which seems to be better adapted to tlie habit of our native vines. Vines and even vine- yards may be found around Cincinnati, which are trained dif- ferently from the method here described, but nevertheless, the following is what is known as the Ohio system. The ground having been properly prepared, the vineyard is set out either with cuttings or rooted plants, generally the former. In setting out cuttings, holes about two feet deep nre maac with a stilt or dibble, shed with iron, and after insernni? two cuttings in eacli, tlie holes are filled in with sand v-bich is washed into imiiiealate contact with the cuttings by means of' water. Durir;:; the first se.-ir.on, the vines are allowed to grow at random, tho gruund, hovrevcr, being kept clean and mellow. In the spring of the second season the vines are pruned, which is done by removing ail the wood miide by the young cutting, and also all the roots which spring from the cutting, within several inches of the surface. Fig. 1 shows the young planL. The soil being removed, the roots ^, e^ e are cut oti* close to the 250 THE OHIO SYSTEM. 251 Fig. 65. stem, the shoots a h are cut clean out, and c is cut down to one eye, which should be as near the old wood as possible, and if on it, so much the better. During the second year the vines are trccated nearly the same as the cuttings were during the first year, and the spring pruning is also the same. During the third summer, three or four shoots are trained up iind carefully tied to stakes ; laterals are pinched out and tho shoots stopped in September. During the fourth year, the vines are allowed to bear on the , spurs produced by cutting back the shoots of the previous season to six or eight inches. These spurs of course throw up fruit-bearing canes, which during the fifth season are tied to stakes in bows, so as produce a crop of grapes, and at the winter pruning the bows are cut away, their place being filled next season by a fresh cane trained up for the purpose du'-ing the pre- ceding summer. 252 THE OHIO SYSTEM. The following figures will illustrate this fully : Fig. i56 shows the vine in the full of the fourth year; h is the head of the Fig. CO. vine, B the arms or tliighs, as they are sometimes calLvd ; and a, 5, c, d are the canes which bore fruit last year; 5 and c are cut off to one good bud, and a and d, after being shortened, are formed into bows and tied to stakes, so that the vine in the spring of the fifth year presents the appearance shown in Fig. G7. The bow will now yield a liberal crop of grapes, and a few bunches will be obtained from the shoots springing from tliG spurs 5 and c, though they must not be allowed to bear much, as it is desired that they should grow strong and vigorous so as to form the bnws for next year. If the vines are strong, thej may be allowed to bear more, and other spurs are sometimea allowed to grow from the arms where the vines will bear it. THE OHIO SYGTEM. ^5U Fig.6T. The arms themselves are renewed every few years, so as to get rid of all the old gnarled spurs, by training new shoots from tho spurs e e. THE MANUFACTURE OF WIISTE. It is still a dispvited question whether or not it is possible for good wine to be manufactured in the United States. Daniel Webster, whose high intel- lectuality did not detract from his fondness for the pleasures of the table, declared that we could never hope to make good wine on this continent, and tliat it would always pay us better to raise corn, cotton, etc., for export, and buy our wines and silks. On the other hand, the following letters from President Jefferson to Mr. Adlum would seem to establish the fact that, even at an early day, wine had been made in this country of more than ordinary quality : EXTRACTS OF LETTERS FROM MB. JEFFERSOX, LATE PRESIDENT OF TTEE UinTED STATES. Dated October 1th, 1809. " While I lived in Washington, a member of Congress from your State (I do not recollect which) presented me with two bottles of wine made by you, one of which, of Madeira color, he said was entirely factitious; the other, a dark red wine, made from a wild or native grape, called in Maryland a Fox grape, but very diiferent from what is called by that name in Virginia. This was a very fine wine, and so exactly resahhling the red 'Burgundy of Chamlerlin {one of the lest crops) that on a fair comparison icith that, of which I had \-ery good on thf. ^54 THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 2.>3 same tdble^ imported Jjy myself from the jjlace where made^ the company could not distinguish the one from the other. I tliink it would be well to push the culture of tliat grape, without losing our time and efforts in search of foreign vines, which it will take centuries to adapt to our soil and climate." Dated April 20th, 1810. " The quality of the bottle you sent me before satisfies mo that we have at length found one native grape inured to all the accidents of our climate, which will give us a wine worthy the best vineyards of France. When you did me the favor of sending me the former bottle, I placed it on the table with some of the deet Burgundy of Chamberlin, which I had imported myself from the maimer of it, and desiring the company to point out which was the American tottle, it was acknowledged they oould perceive no ditFerence." Dated April 11, 1823. " I received successively two bottles of wine you were so kind as to send me; the first, called Tokay, is truly a fine wine, of high flavor, and as you assure me there was not a drop of brandy or other spirit added to it, I may say it is a wine of a good body of its own. The second bottle, a red wine, I tried when I had good judges at the tahle; we agreed it was a Avine one might alicays drinh with satisfaction, but of no peculiar excellence. Speaking of brandy being added to the wine, lie Siiys it is never done but by the exporting merchants, and then only for the English and Am'erican markets, where, by a viti- ated taste, the intoxicating quality of wine, more than its fiavt)i', is required by the palate." Xow Mr. Jefferson and his friends were no donht accustomed to drink good wines, and we tliink tlieir opinions valuable, although at the same time it must be confessed that they were not very extraordinary 256 Tlli': MAXL'FACTUHE OP^ WIXK. judges, or tliey vrould luive detected a tliffacnce between the French and American wines. TIic question of superiority niaj sometimes he disputed even by good judges, that of identity never. Good wine has also been made in the south of Enghmd, as the following extract from Barry's work on wines will show, and as it contains some practical notes on wine-making, we give it entire : " The vineyard of Painshill is situated on the south side of a gentle hill ; the soil a gravelly sand ; it is planted entirely with the two sorts of Burgundy grapes : the Auvernat, which is the most delicate, but the tenderest; and the Miller grape, com- monly called the black cluster, which is more hardy. The first year I attempted to make red wine in the usual way, by tread- ing the grapes, then letting them ferment in a vat till the hulls and impurities formed a thick crust at the top, the boiling ceased, and the clear wine was drawn ofl' from the bottom. " This essay did not answer; the wine was so very harsh and austere, that T despaired of ever making red wine fit to drink. But through that hardness I perceived a flavor something like some small French white wines, which made mc hope I should succeed better with white wine. Tliat experiment succeeded far beyond my most sanguine expectations ; for the very first year I made white wine, it nearly resembled tlie flavor of cham- pagne, and in two or three years more, as the vines grew stronger, to my great amazement, my wine had a better flavor than the best champagne I ever tasted. The first running was as clear as spirits, the second running was (&il de perdrix^ and both of them sparkled and creamed in the glass like champagne. It would be endless to mention how many good judges of wine were deceived by my wine, and thought it superior to any champagne they ever drank ; even the Duke de Mirepoix pre- ferred it to any other wine. But such is the prejudice of most people against anything of English growth, I generally found \\ most, prudent not to declare where it grew till after thoy had THE MA]^:urAC'iLHE OF WINE. , 257 passed their verdict on it. Tlie surest proof I can givt, of itd excellence is that I have sold it to -wine merchants for fifty guineas a hogshead ; and one wine merchant, to whom 1 sold live hundred pounds' worth at one time, assured me he sold some of the best of it from 7s. Gd. to 10s. 6d, per bottle. " After many years' experience, the best method I found of making and managing it w^as this: I let the grapes hang till they got all the maturity the season would give them. Then they were carefully cut off with scissors and brought home to the vine barn in small quantities, to prevent their heating or i)ressing one another ; then they were all picked off the stalks, and all the moldy or green ones were discarded before they were put npon the pi'ess, where they were all pressed in a few hours after they w^ere gathered ; much Avould run from them before the press squeezed them, from their own weight one upon another. This running was as clear as water and sweet as syrup, and all this of the first pressing, and part of the second, continued white. The other pressings grew reddish, and Avere not mixed with the best. As fast as the wine ran from the press into a large receiver, it was put into hogsheads and closely bunged up. In a few hours one could hear the fermentation commence, which would soon burst the casks if not guarded against by hooping them strongly with iron and securing them in strong wooden frames and the heads with wedges. In the height of the fermentation I have frequently seen the wine oozing through the pores of the staves. "These hogsheads were left all the depth of winter in the cool barn to reap the benefits of the frosts. When the fermen- tation was over, which was easily discovered by the cessation of noise and oozing — but, to be more certain, by pegging the cask — when it would be quite clear, then it was racked off into clean hogsheads and carried to the vaults, before any warmth of weather could raise a second fermentation. In March the hogsheads were examined. If they were not quite fine, they were fined down with common fish glue, in the usual manner; those that were fine of themselves were not fined down, and all were bottled about the end of March, and in about six weeks 253 ' THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. more ^vould be in perfect order for drinldng, and wonld be in their prime for above one year; but the second year the flavor and sweetness would abate and vrould gradually decline, till at last it lost all flavor and sweetness, and some that I kept sixteen years became so like old hock that it might pass for such to one who was not a perfect connoisseur. The only art I ever used to it was putting three pounds of Avhite sugar-candy to some of the hogsheads, when the wine was first tunned from the press, in order to conform to a rage that prevailed to drink none but verv sweet champagne. " I am convinced that much good wine might be made iu many parts of the south of England. Many parts are south of Painshill, many soils may be yet fitter for it, and many'situa- tions must be so, for mine was much exposed to southwest winds (the worst of all for vines) and the declivity was rather too steep. Yet with these disadvantages it succeeded many years. Indeed, the uncertainty of our climate is against it, and many fine crops have been spoiled by May frosts and wet summers. But one good year balances many disappointments. " Captain St. Pierre, who has established a great colony of vignerons in South Carolina, and carried there three years ago above three hundred vignerons from diflferent parts of Europe, was with me several days before his departure, was charmed with my vineyard, and he had cultivated vineyards many years in France. He was very happy at my giving him all the cut- tings of my vineyard, as he found it very diflicult getting the right sort, and thougli his plantations are about the latitude of 33°, he has not the least doubt of having excellent wine there, which, if he has, must be of infinite service to this country." Still more recently Mr. Lor.gwortli lias succeeded in the manufacture of fine cliami)agne wines, which we believe are valued as high as any, except the very finest brands of foreign wines. Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, and ^iz^r^? Ubine should contain nothins; else. When susfar and n THE M^i^^UFACTUEE OF WINE. 2:0 spices are added, and exist in tlie lluid as sucli, the product is no longer wine^ but liqiiewr or cordial. Some have, however, extended this principle so ftir as to assert that any addition to the juice of the grape, either before or after its fermentation, robs it of its claim to the name of wine ; but to this we cannot subscribe. If we by any process could pro- duce a fluid identical in its chemical and pliysical properties with the juice of the grape, we could no doubt make good and real wine tlierefrom. And if so, then surely the addition of any ingredient which may be required to bring the juice up to the quality and composition of a good wine-making must, cannot have any but a good eftect, and must produce a real wine. !N"ow the juice of the grape varies in composition from several causes. The variety of grape, the cli- mate in which it is produced, the character of the soil in AVhich it grows, the nature of the manure with which it has been nourished, the mode in which it has been pruned, its exposure to sun and air, and many other influences, all modify the character of the must, and consequently of the wine produced there- from. In almost every locality we are conflned to a few varieties of grapes, and as the climatic condi- tions are also in a great measure beyond our control, we must depend upon judicious pruning, manuriug and cultivation for the production of the best grapes for the manufacture of wine. In former chapters wo Inive detailed the peculiarities of vine-dressing as adapted to the producing of wine-making grapes; 260 THE 3»IA>:UFAC1UKI-: OF WINK. but we may "be excused for briefly recaptulatiug them. Must for wine requires to be highly saccharine, and although the vrines manufactured from Ame- rican grapes have not jet shown much inorganic matter (potash salts) in their composition, yet the best v/ines in Europe are made from grapes contain- ing an extra quantity of these matters. In order, therefore, to the production of a good wine, it will be requisite to produce grapes not only thoroughly ripened by a hot sun acting on the leaves, but they should also contain the juices and inorganic salts in large amount. With a view to this, it will be necessary in the fall, and shortly after the vintage, to lightly fork in a dressing of bone-dust, guano or hen manure; and on the fall of the leaf, and before any frosts set in, the border should be covered with the fallen leaves raked together and mixed with stable litter or clean- ings. This will protect the roots from the severity of our winteis, and enable them to sustain tlie draft made in spring b}^ the branches at an earlier date than they otherwise would. In the spring, after the weather has become settled, the border should be very lightly forked over and the long litter removed ; the re&t may be mixed with the surface soih The vine having been properly pruned, must be allowed to hreak itn hudi:;^ as it is termed, and push out the young stem.s until those which pr;)mise be:t can be clearly distinguished. THE MANUFx\CTUEE OF AVINE. 2G1 As Kooii as the loaves are formed, liquid manuro may Le ap23lied if the number of vines cuhivated Avill permit of it, and this aj^plication of liquid manure may be coiitinued until after the middle of July. It should then cease for the season. ]\[canwhile, as soon as the young shoots are well formed, all the weakly ones should be rubbed off, carrying tlie pru- ning recommended in former pages to even a greater degree of severity than there noted. By these means the grapes will be obtained ripe much earlier and of a higher (not stronger) flavor. The importance of having the grapes ripe early will be ap]3reciated when we consider that, other things being ecpal, the heat and dryness of the season in which they ripen will be the measure of the per- fection of the grapes, at least in this latitude. Now, in 1S5S, the mean temperature of August was 60° Fahrenheit, while the mean tem2:)crature of Septem- ber was only 61°, and as the amount of rain which fell in each month was equal, the grapes whicli were ripe by the beginning and niiddle of September were much richer in saccliarine and other wine-making elements than those which were produced in the cool and damp atmospliere of September and October. From the foregoing observations it will be evident that in preparing must for wine we must pay par- ticular attention to the quality of tlie grapes and the circumstances under which they were raised. Thus, in Cincinnati, no suwir is added to the iuice of the Catawba ; it is fermented just as it comes irom the press. But in more northern climes, not oidy dn.ss 2o2 THE MANUFACTUKE OF WINE. tlie juice of the Isabella and Clinton require sugar, but that of the Catawba stands in need of it, in order to make, not a sweet but a full-bodied wine, which %vill bear keeping. In the manufacture of wine from the grape, the first process is to carefully pick oVer all the grapes, rejecting those which are unripe, rotten, mildewed, or imperfect in any other way. The rejection of the Btenis will depend npon the character of the wine desired. If retained, they impart a roughness to the wine, Avhich some admire ; and it is claimed by some, that the tannin of the stems helps to preserve the wine. The grapes are then to be mashed, wdiich is easily done with the hands if in small quantity. In the large way it is performed by passing the grapes between rollers armed v/ith pins. On a smaller scale, a beetle or stamper, armed with pins, may l)c used ; and where but a few are prepared (as for domestic purposes) the hands alone can perform the work. A gentleman of this city luis devised a very useful and efficient machine, in which, by passing the grapes bctvreen rollers covered with india-rubber, the juice is expressed and separated from the husks without bruising the stems or seeds. If prepared in the ordinary way, the must may be allowed to ferment either before or after the juice has been separated from the seeds and husks. Fei-me.'i'- ing the husks and seeds gives a roughness and hai'sii- nets to the wine as well as a higher color. For tJ]«' (inest wines the juice only is fermented. This is effected by simply allowing the juice t«» THE MANUFACTURE OF WINE. 203 stand in casks filled three-fourths fulL Fermentation speedily sets in ; the saccharine matter becomes con- verted into carbonic acid, which escapes, and alcohol, which remains in combination with the fluid, and gives it the character of wine. At first the fermen- tation is very violent, but after a time it moderates, when the casks should be filled up, lightly bunged, and kept during winter in a temperately cool apart- ment. In spring it should be carefully drawn ofi", either by means of a syphon or through a hole bored into the cask some distance above the bottom, so as to avoid disturbing the lees. After this, fermentation should be avoided as much as possible, which is best effected by a low temperature and the exclusion of oxygen. It is generally considered best, w^e believe, to leave the wine at least one season in the cask into which it has been drawn off. In some cases it is kept for years in the '' wood," as it is termed. Wine can of course be made of any kind of grape, thouoch in and around Cincinnati the Catawba is altogether preferred. Tolerable wine has been made of the Isabella, and in the hands of Dr. IJnderhill it has proved of superior excellence for this purpose. But for all northern localities we think the Clinton ■oromises to be the wine grape. When carefully pruned and thinned^ so as to get fair bunches instead of the load of little sour trash usually seen, the ^.Uinton grape is peculiarly rich in saccharine and saline matter. Of its wine-making qualities Nicho- las Longworth speaks as follows in a letter to " Tlu? Horticulturist :" 264: THE :.IANUFACTUEE OF WINE. " I believe I advised you that the must and wme of the Clinton grape differed from any I have ever seen. The mnst weighs very heavy, indicating a large quantity of saccharine matter ; the wine, fully fermented, acid and weighing but little, and indicating but little spirit. Of the grapes you sent last spring I made two kinds of wine. One part I pressed as soon as worked, and put at the rate of seventeen ounces of sugar to the gallon of must ; the other I worked and left to ferment iji the skins before pressing, and put no sugar. The first is a beau- tiful dark red, which I have never seen equalled, and very clear. It has no sweetness and is rather dry, but of fine flavor. The otlier is clear, very dark red, and more acid, but of fine flavor. I deem that in our warmer latitude the must will have more sugar, and will make a valuable red wine, an article we have not at present. "I am very desirous of giving the grape a further trial, and shall esteem it a favor if you will engage and send me from two to five bushels of grapes, and let them be as ripe as possible, i shall also be pleased to get from two to five thousand cut- tings. I will next spring graft a dozen roots with tliis grape, and the next season guarantee to liave grapes enough to test how they will suit our climate, as I have had grafts grow tlie first season from ten to thirty feet, and often bear some fruit the same season." The following letter, received from a lady whose wine we can testify to he of very superior excellence, contains directions slightly different from those in ordinary use, and in some respects perhaps superior. We give it in her own words, which it may be but justice to say, were not originally intended for pub lication : '' After the grapes are gathered, pick carefully from the clus- ters all the good ones. Wash these, being careful not to masli be seeds (we had a little machine for this purposo that turned THE MANUFACTURE OF WIXE. 265 with a crank). Have ready a perfectly sweet cask, that lias a hole, about an inch in diameter, bored in one side near the bot- tom ; fit into this hole a stick from six to eight inches long, with a hole bored from end to end of sufficient size to let the juico flow freely through it. Stop this hole tightly with a plug; an the grapes are mashed, pour the juice, skins, pulp and all, into the cask. When all are in, cover closely with four or iive thicknesses of woollen blankets ; let it remain in this condition until fermentation has advanced sufficiently to cause the grapes or must (as I believe wine-makers call it) to rise to the top and begin to crack open, the cracks being filled with little yeasty- llke bubbles, which will be probably in from four to eight or ten days, according to the temi)erature of the weather. !Now have ready a perfectly clean barrel, purified with sulphur; put into a pail ten or twelve pounds of sugar, take out the little l)lug. and let the juice on the sugar. As you fill the pail, stir tlie sugar occasionally from the bottom, so as to dissolve enough of it to make the juice sufficiently sweet. If the sugar should all dissolve before the juice is all drawn out, of course put in more. When the barrel is full, put the bung in lightly, so as to give it a chance to ferment. The little cups you speak of were used more as an experiment than a necessity; when those were used, the bung was fitted in tight and a small hole made in the bung, and a tin tube inserted in it, rising from the bung, tlio long end being in the bung, and the short end in a little tin cup filled, and kept full of water, care being taken to keep the bar- rel always full ; but, as I said before, this Vv-as not necessary. After tlie juice had been barrelled, as above described, let it stand till some clear, cold day in February. Then draw off tho juico and put it in another barrel, care being taken to have it perfectly clean and well fumigated as the first -was; save a pail- ful, and when all has been drawn off, stir into this pailful the whites of ten or twelve eggs, beaten to a froth, as you would for cake. When well stirred, pour this in the barrel with tho rest. After being w^ell incorporated with that in tho barrel, bung it up tightly, and for two years 'touch not, tasto not, handle not,' and as m'lch longer as you can resist the tempta- 266 THE 3,IAXUFACTURE OF WINE. tion, as it improves from 25 to 50 per cent, in quality every year it is suffered to stand. The barrels should be kept in a dark cellar. "The above contams all the most important particulars of the doctor's process of making wine, to the best of my recollection. It will answer very well where one only desires to make a little for his own use; but would hardly answer on a large RcrJe. "Fumigating the barrels with a sulphur match destroys any musty or unpleasant smell which the barrel may have, and is done by melting flowers of sulphur or roll brimstone in an iron vessel on the stove; making a swab by rolling a rag around the end of an iron rod, saturate the rag with the melted sulphur as you roll it around ; stick the other end of the rod into a good sized potatoe, and set fire to the rag or swab; hang it in the barrel at the bung-hole, the potatoe will prevent it dropping down in the barrel."