The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-12-26
not find similarity of treatment in any
two places have visited.

| Adjoining this vineyard some two acres
more were in preparation for planting. To
describe this is to tell how grape growers
generally through our country prefer the
work should be done. It is also the Ger
man and French method. A likely negro
was at work trenching. Commencing on
the lower, and throwing out the dirt on this
side, ditch two and half feet wide, or
| more, or less, and two feet deep, is dug
across the future vineyard. Where posi-
| Bile, Mr.. Paschel prefers to put brush,
straw, or rotten wood. Bones would he
very good in the bottom of this ditch. A
similar space next this ditch is dug next;
the dirt is thrown into the first one, with
the top soil at the bottom. Into the next
vacancy more brush &C., is thrown, and
, in this manner the work proceeds till the
whole piece is dug over, and the work is
finished. DR.. Shredder, of Bloomington,
who has three acres, digs bitches feet
wide undug. Mr.. G. Fell, of the same
place, also Mr.. Phoenix and Mr.. Coleman,
Of st. Louis, pillow as deep as possible, and
| then come with a sub-soil pillow and four
horses, and in all pillow from II to 20 inches
deep. Some at Cincinnati pillow, particu-
larlv if the soil inclines to stand, but for
the most part they trench. At Hermann
they have 500 acres in grapes, all of which
they have trenched. They will put in next
Spring 100 or 200 acres more. The trench
ing, or blowing, is done in the FALL and
the planting, too, if possible, but either
may be done in the Spring, if there is time.
/ asked the negro what he thought of this
kind of farming. He said, "Truck orter
grow powerful well, but his master would
not have no sich nonsense on his planta
! ton" Naturally, ] asked him where he
came from. He told me he came from near
Lexington, that he ran away, and that at
this work he was making IS cents a day
and his board.
To trench an acre of land as described,
costs, when labor is moderately plenty, $15,
now it will cost 500. / took occasion to
ask what would be the result if the grapes
were planted on ordinary plowed ground.
was invariably told that the vines would
do well three or four years till their roots
came to hard ground, and then they would
do nothing. Dr.. Shredder showed three
rows not trenched in the midst of 9th
ers that were trenched. The first had
made very poor growth; the last looked
fine. This, then, seems the condition for
raising grapes; whether the ground be
high or low, it must be trenched, or sub
soiled at least When the soil is very stiff
and has a sub-soil which will not let off the
water, grapes ought not to be planted,
though pipe drainage, thoroughly done,
might make it suitable. To all this there
is limited but notable exception. | shall
speak of it in particular when l treat of
grape growing ON the Ohio Lake Shore
To expend so much in preparing the
ground for grapes will discourage some.
1t is more than farmer ever expects to get
in any one year, or sometimes many years,
from an acre of land. The trenching,
however, is only a commencement of the
expense. At Hermann, the following is
their account with an acre OF MOrton'S
Virginia; with the Catawba it would be a
few dollars less, but only with the first