Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-09-23
GRAPE GROWING AND WINE MAKING MADE EASY,

EDITORS SOUTHERN .CULTIFATOR-aGGreeaply
to your request, I now hand you few remarks
about our method of planting out and taking
care7of o Vineyard. i say, our method" Tor l
claim it as peculiar to DR.. Mcdonald and my
self; and we have adopted it, not through igno-
! rance of more complicated and more costly
methods. but, first, on account OF ats siaaptacaty
and cheapncss, and then, having well succeeded
s,why should we alter our course?-.;l 90 not pre-
tend to say it is the best, nor do wish to deter
any so disposed to go to the expense OF trench
ing their lands three feet in depth but there
= very many farmers Rho1haye not the me means
70 incursnch expenses, who wish TO p!ant @ out s
!; an acre or two Of Vines, but are literally {rgh
tened; ;outsof it, not onlyySbys the mystery and
difficulties wlch have, heretofore, been connect
ed with the business, ,ybut, also, by fear of the
money which is to come out Of their pockets
/. before thew receive any returns. First, SO many
hundred dollars tof trenc!ling, and grubbnS
Z and mauuring; then so many more for vines; (;
then SO many more to learn how to stick the
cuttings, into the ground; and then so many
more to learn how to prune; then to learn how
to make the wine, how to keep it, etc; and, to
crown >al so many thousands for a cellar.
And, if it SO happens, hci able and willing to
stand all this; a hundred to one, he is frightened
half out of his senses, and gives up in despair
of ever being able to unravel the mystery, and
master the awful science of Wine making. espc-
cially if he happens to hear Of granite labora-
tories" being built for the express purpose OF
imparting instruction for remuneration!
PREPARATION OF THE LAND.
prefer new land d,-such as would bring from
four to six bushels OF corn to the acre: select, ii
possible, a piece on eastcrly, southe&sterly cH-
posure, and on 6 hill! side, if you have such; ii
you have not, level land will do, provided it be
not .tco retentivc of moisture Sanday soil is
the best, although dry clay hill sides will answer
verY we'll. Clear the land and break it up with
plows as for corn; but all trees must, O: course.
be cut down and removed. Now get parcel of
small stakes, trom thrsc to four feet long, and
proceed to mark out the rows il the land be
level let the rows be straight; bit Ii on hill
side lay them of horizontally or level without
REGARD to straightness this is in orcer to pre-
vent the washing away of tie soil, see one of
the lat. numbers Of the Cnlt!cator for simple
levcling instrulncnt.) make my rows eight uc
niue feet apart. | prefer that distance On AZ
cointof driving carts between to haul stakes,
OF manure, when it becomes necessary, Or Ia
vintage t;nc. Having staked off the rows to
your satisfaction, proceed TO open the trenches
or ditcaes: let them be about TWO feet wide, ;nd
from fourteen inches deep, large plows followed
By long shovcls, viii very quickly do the work
in. sandy soil. The next thing is to plant; this
can be done, in our Southern 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,
2and you can plant them deeper, which is q great
object. Make yourself wooden conpasssl%ith
an opening d four<tect six inches ut the points
and mark out the distance FOR yoag viacs in TIE
bottom OF the trenches; drop TIE vines in their
places ana proceed to plant them. Two mc:
with short-handlcd hoes, will plant great many
in D day /; one dcepens the hole to let the roots
20 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 o level with the sur
; face. Put a short stake to each vine, to mark
its place. There is nothing more to do until
& the spring grass will call your P!ows and hoes
into use; then work them as you would corn Or
cotton. Yons may plant two rows OF corn or
peas between the rows, and they will not inter
fere with the vines in the least.
- .lsss X t FIRST PRUNING.
~ In thewinter, at any time between the LIST OF.
December and the 18th of March, take sharp
knife; remove every branch except one, and cut
that down above the second or third eye Of the
last growth break the land with halfshovel
5 piow as for corn, passing the nearest furrow
F;aboat twelve inches from the vines. Give them
o stake about. four feet long !; they will, in the
spring, shoot out many suckers, and pat out eyes
where they have no business !, cut ont the suck.
ers wihta long handled sehissc and rub off all
the eyes excepting the two or three you left in ]
prnning these, as they grow up, should be fas.
tened tothe stakes with bits Of soft string, bark,
or any thing else yon may have at hand. Keep
The land cultivated with pow and hoe, and plant
peas between. .<. 5s.5s.5 {. s.
~ sEcoED PRUNING. S Sssi,ssE
The second winters pruning is a:repetition Of
the sfrst but you must replace the small fstakes,
by good lasting wood, from SIX to eight long.
29.hsfe will sbessome ruit The summers swork \
~ the Sa1t ns RboFs. y !