The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-06-11
Raised Borders for Grape.yines.

Notwithstanding all that has been writ
ten on the cultivation of the vine. COM
paratively few persons succeed in raising
crops of grapes, aud yet there is no other
fruit that stands such an amount of prun-
ing. twisting, trimming, and general bad
usage. The general. almost universal.
idea among amateur cultivators il that
pruning and high mdnurinV arPthe two
great methods of inducing fruitfulneSs,
than which no greater biunder could be
committed. Many professional gardeners
also are guilty of the same error; they
plant the vine in borders SO highly ma
nurel that they are almost equivalent to a
manure heap. producing wild, rampant
growth, which has to be held in check by
all sorts of slaShing, dlgnitied by the name
of pruning. This severe checking de
stroys the vitality of the vine and makes 1t
a prey to mildew and other fungold dis
eases. The experience OF the best grape
growers is that the matter OF greatest I'M
Dortanee to success in the cultivation OF
the vine is warm. dry border. IN Which
water cannot lodge. and a small but con-
slant supply of manure proportioned TO
the amount of fruit which the vine may
produce. Large supplies OF manure,
when the vine is young and not in fruit
ing condition, are very injurious; and AZ
ter the first excessive growth IS over the
border becomes exhausted to greater or
less degree. and the vine languiShesbe-
cause the supply is not kept up, which IL
IS in general hard to do.
In Garden culture it is often very difficult
10 drain the soil with drain-tile. rs the
proper outlet for the discharge of the wa
ter NAV have to be a long distance off, and
inanother persons premises, and perhaps
the pipes or files may have 70 pass through
the premises OF two or three neighborS be-
fore the outlet can be reached. Yet there
is seldom spot to be found that Is Suiti-
cienlly drained for the successful growing
of grapes. and some means must be devised
to do it if succesSiS to be had. have found
that beds or borders raised two and half
or three feet above the level of the garden,
with crOSs-drainS at six or eight feet apart,
are the best mode of overcoming the diff
Guilty. Such border may be six or eight
feet wide on the top, and ten or twelve feet
wide at the bottom. the length correspond
ingwith the number Of vines to he planted.
The soil should be fresh soil from pas
ture, or from the grassy banks on the road
side, without any admiXture of manure or
any fertilizer whatever. When the bed -
to be made up. the drain-tlleS may be laid
right upon the surface of the garden soil,
the Joints covered with pieces OF turf. and
some soil thrown over them to keep them
i'm place while the soil for the bed is being
laid up over them. The slOping sides of
the bed should be sOdded to prevent the
rain from washing it down. After the
vines are planted, rhe surface OF the bed
should be covered with three or four inches
deep of stable manure. and this should be
renewed every autumn or in the spring.
The rains will dissolve and carry down
to the roots of the vines quite rs much nu-
triment rs thev need or can take up and
be kept in healthy state; any overplus
will escape by the drains. The mouths OF
the drains on either side of the bed should
be kept open so as to allow free cirrula-
ton of air through them; this will aid in
keeping the soil warm; raising the bed
above the garden level also does this. The
growth of vines thus grown will not be as
rank and eXuberant as those planted in
heavily manured soil, but the wood viii
be short iointed, hard. well ripcned and
free from disease, and when the vines come
into bearing it will be found that the fruit
will be higher cOlOred, sweeter and of bet
ter flavor than that from vines as generally
crown. and the vines will sustain regular
crop year after year. This mode of grow
inc them is adapted to any or all the va
rieties whether grown out of doors or in
winery. Where agricultural drain tile can
not be had. glazed drain tile as used for
dwellings will answer the purpOsc.-James
Hoqq, Harlem, " T., IN ". ]. Tribune.