Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1869-02-19
8ieIo anO 5arSsm.

=
purchases be inade Of the following |
Houses;
Agricultural implements, eod Seeds
for garden aud field, Il. Sinclair q Co.,
aud L. Whitman & Sons, Baltimore.
Fruit trees, james McGowan, Lynch |
burg, and Allen 4 Johnson, Richmond
Planting and Pruning the Grape Vine,
Planting In planting grape vine
the first point is to prepare a border
for the roots
This must in the FIRST place, be per-
Fectly dry. If the soil or situation be
wet or damp, it must be drained
thoroughly, so that no stagnaut mois-
ture can exist in it, In the next pace
it must be deep-th-ee feet is good
depth aud it must not be less than two
where abundant and fine crops are ex~
pccted. The mode OF preparation is,
to dig out the natural soil TO the reqnir-
ed depth, andthe length and width nec~
essary For single viue, the border
should be eight or ten feet long and four
wide.
when the excavation is made, if the
soil be stiff or damp, few inches, a foot
deep, of small stones, brick, rubbish, etc.
may be laid on the bottom as sort Of
drainage. Ga the top Of this deposit The
compost for the border This may con-
sist Of two parts of good, fresh, friable
loan, one of old, well-rotted manure,
and one of ashes, shells, broken bones,
etc, all completely mixed with Que
another. The top of the border, when
finished, should be at least foot high
er than the surface of the ground, SO
that it it may still remain higher after
settling.
Pruning 1t must first be observed
that the grape vine bears it's fruit on
shoots OF the current year, produced
from eyes on the previous gears wood.
1t is important to understand this, be-
cause it shows the necessity of keeping
up supply Of young wood wherever we
desire fruit TO be produced
TO illustrate the pruning, we will
suppose the plant to be one or two years
old, as ordinarily sent out from tie
nursery. 1t may have emily one shoot,
or it may have several. However this
qnay be, all are pruned off but the
strongest, and it is cut back to within
sewo eyes of its base, These two eyes
will produce shoots. and when they
have made growth Of two or three
iUches, the weaker one is rubbed off
and the strong one trained up. 1t is
allowed to grow on till September,
when the bud is piDched TO mature and
and strengthen il; Any side shoots
that appear during The summer, should
be piuched off, as well as any suckers
that msy appear about the roots.
Second Year.--If the shoot of last
year maze II strong growth Of ten or
twelve feet, it may be now cut back to
three eyes, and two canes be trained
gIp; but if it made only a weak growth,
it should again be cut back to two eyes,
and one shoot only trained up. Side
shoots and suckers are piBched Of du>
ring the summer aud iu September
these canes ave stopped as b.fure, aud
no fruit ,s a loved
Third Yea, We have now two
stroug canes with which we commence
the frame work of the vine. Each of
these is cut back at the winter pruning
to within Two or three feet of it's base,
and laid in, aud fastened to the lower
horizontal bar of the trelis The bud
on the end of each will produce a shoot
TO continue the rolongment in hori>
E0ntal direction, aud a bud on the
uppersside 4of each will produce shoot
to be trained to one of the upright bars
the first one on its division, or halt
of its trellis; all Others are rubbed off.
or the buds cut out Thus each OF
these arms produces two shoets-an
upright aud horizontal Que. During
the summer, these shoots are carefully
tied IN as required, and side shoots and
suckers pinched off when they appear
They are also topped in Septembet, as
before.
Fodrh 1ear.-Each of last year,
shoots is cut back TO within three fee
of its base. 1t may be necessary to Gu
the horizontal ones closer than the up
right ones, to obtain another strong up
right shoot. The two upright cane
already 'estoblished, viii produce shoe
from their tops, to continue their cxten
sion upwards, and the horizontal ones
as before, produce shoot at the poin
to be carried outwards, aud one on Oh,
tap to be TEAMED up to eue Of the .pp
right bars, This year, several frui
shoots will be produced, on each 0
which, one or two lunches of grapo
may be ripened. In this way the via,
goes on adding every season two new
upright canes, and two or three fee
in length TO the previous ones, until tb'
whole trellis is covered when th,
management will consist in prunu,
the spurs every winter tc about tire,
eyes. Each fruit branch should oull
be allowed to produce two punches o
fruit, and the top should be pinched a
the second eye, or joint above the frui
in order ia arrest the production of use
less wood, and turn the sapto the bene
fit of ,he fruit.-FrRit Gar3ea