The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-10-15

is to plant; this can be done, in our Sout..-
crn climate, from the middle Of November
to the end of March. prefer rooted plants;
others give the preference to cuttings; the
first will save you one year, and you can
plant them deeper, which is great object.
Make yourself 4 wooden compass, with an
opening of four feet six inches at the points,
and mark out the distance for your vines
IN the bottom of the trenches; drop the
vines i'll their places, and proceed to plant
them. Two men, with short-handIed hoes,
will plant great many in day; one dec
pens the hole to let the roots 90 some inches
deeper than the bottom Of the ditch; the
other places the vine upright and holds it
until the first has put earth around it. If
you have other hands let them follow with
hoes and refill the trench, so that the top
eye Of the vine will be about on a level
with the surface. Put short stake to each
vine, to mark its place. There is nothing
more to do until the spring grass will call
your plows and hoes into use; then work
them as you would corn or cotton. You
may plant tw" rows of corn or peas between
the rows, and they will not interfere with
the vines in the least.
FIRST PRUNING.
! In the winter, at any time between the
| lst Of December and the 18th Of March,
take sharp knife, remove every branch
except one, anil cut that down above the
| second or third eye Of the last growth !;
break the lan'l with Il hal(-shovel plow as
for corn, passing the nearest fu:row about
twelve inches from the vines. Give them
stake about four feet long; they will, in
the spring, shoot out many suckers, and
put out eyes where they have no business
cut ont the suckers with long handled
chisscl, anil rub off all the eyes excepting
the two or three you left in pruning these,
AS they grow up, should be fastened to the
stakes, with bits Of soft string, bark, or
anything else you may have at hand
Keep the land cultivated with plow and
hoe, and plant peas between.
| SECOND PRUNING.
The second winters Pruning is rcpcti-
ton of the first, but you must replace the
small stakes by good lasting wood, from
six to eight feet long. There will he SOME
fruit. The summers work is the same rs
above.
THIRD PRUNING.
The third winters pruning is different
remove all branches or canes, save the two
strongest; of these, cut the highest about
eighteen inches long. and the other about
three inches the longest is intended for
fruit; the latter, which is called "spur." is
to make wood for next year. Towards
spring, bend this long branch horizontally,
and faston the end Of it strongly to short
stake, placed at a sufficient distance. In
the West this cane is made to form COM
plete circle by fastening the end of it 10 the
foot Of the vine; this is called "arching.'
The object of arching is to moderate and
regulate the flow Of the sap, in order that
it may fill all the eyes on the cane, for II
the cane were left perpendicular, the sap
would pass the lowest eyes, and rush up.
wards into the top. But in my opinion
arclnng over does the business, and the
sap, whose tendency is always upwards
will most generally stop at the eyes on the
upper part of the arch, and develope them
strongly; and those below will put out very
weakly, or not at all-wl,ile, when the cane
is laid horizontally, they all get their share
much more equally divided. The vino
should also be strongly fastened to the large
stake. All who plant vines must plant ou
Osier Willow, whose twigs are superior to
any others for tying although have made
use Of the young twigs of Black Gum, or o.
tho Wild Willow, and Of the bark Of young
Hickory.
During this summer, the vines will throw
out strong branches, which must he fasten
ed to the the stakes as they grow, until they
reach the top, when they may be left te
hang over. Plow and hoe as usual plow
} deep in winter, and in summer make use
3 a scraper. After this, the winter pruning
is always, more or less, q repetition of th
last; one spur, and one or two bearing
canes, according to the strength of the vine
: In pruning, let the cut be clean and close
F.; leaving no small ends of dead wood, whicl
will surely injure the old stem, Amonl