Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-04-28
How a Farmer Raises Grapes.

Mr.. William Reid Of Waukisha, Wiscon-
sin whose grapes have taken the first prizes
at the state fair for many years, gives in the
New York Tribune the following account of
his method Of culture
have raised grapes for twenty years
only few at first, but gradually, increas-
ing the number, until now | have twenty-five
varieties, and | never had a failure. What
| say is not for nurserymen, but for farmers,
or mechanics having small gardens; and a
word of advice would offer at the outset
Don't read half dozen books on grape-cul.
ture, or you may get your brain in pretty
tango, and as likely as not never sot vine
at all. But IL you insist on peeping at a
book, by all means let it be Fuller's.
think there is more common sense in that
than in any other one or half dozen have
seen.
Procure in the fall what cuttings you want,
well ripened, short jointed wood-in lengths
from to q inches are better than longer
cut square off below the lower bud, and say
one inch above the top bud then keep in sand
in a cool cellar or bury out of doors in
high, dry, sandy loan, till spring. Then
select a moist, deep loan (not wet), open
burrows a little slanting, and full as deep as
your cuttings are long, lay them up to the
back of the iurrows, or 6 inches apart,
pack the soil firmly about the lower ends,
and fill up to the top bud. Now you will
have an inch or two Of filling to do yet 90
to your wood pile aud get some sawdust,
cover the top buds with it ; then sprinkle
| ,,,k . Loo tbo .nl l. n
the sawdust now watch for two buds where
one is only wanted, and take one of them
of ; hoe faithfully and persisteutly, grow
vines, and not weeds, aud if you have some
sticks to tic to, all the better In the fall,
when the frost has stripped off the leaves, 90
and lift the vines carefully, reject all that
have made feeble growth, cut the top to
within three buds Of the bottom, prune the
roots back to three or four inches, tie in
dozens and heel-in in a dry place, raising a
mound to shed water.
The next spring, when the ground is in
good working order, don't be in hurry,
time enough in May, at least in the first half
of it in this latitude, set out your plants
say two or three feet apart, with a stake to
each, placing the roots on the sunny side,
points deeper than where they are attached
to the stem, say at an angle or incline Of
three or four inches to the foot. As soon as
you can tie up the strongest shoot, take the
others off, pinch off the points of the side
shoots from time to time during the summer,
and don't be afraid of the hoe Take up
again in the fall, as before, cutting the cane
back to three buds, and the roots back to
within five or six inches of where they were
cut the preceding year; the next season do
precisely the same, and set them out again,
only give more room this time than last sea-
son, but lit again as usual. The next fall
prune to three or four buds, as before, the
roots to within six or eight inches Of where
they were pruued the previous autumn
Take care Of them one winter more, as be-
fore, and, my word for it, you have a grape
vine such as no nurseryman has for sale, or
probably would get paid for if he had. A
plant Of the same age that has not been lifted
and root pruned, is not as good as one
year.od, for with care you can make good
plant Of a one. .year-old; with the other not
When ready to set the vines in permanent
place, we don't want either dead cattle, horses
or hogs, old boots, bones or blood all we want
is piece of land that will grow a middling
hill Of corn or potatoes without manure.
will Just tell what did three years ago with
vines treated as described | had two huu-
dred of them, mostly Concord, Isabella and
Rogers No. 10. | put them out in rows
running east and west, 10 feet apart in the
last week in May, which was very late, and
the buds were all started, some of them hav.
ing made a growth Of 3 or inches but as
| Al 81 -, Al a., l., n
healed, and needed no trimming, and taking
care they did not get dry, they never seemed
to know they had been moved. | dug the
holes on the south side Of the stakes, about !
or inches deep at the stake, sloping to
about foot at the ends of the roots set in
the vines, carefully working in the soil among
the roots filling the holes hall full Of soil,
: then packing in peck Of leaves and cover
ing with the remaining soil.
then set two stakes to each vine, select
ing two Of the strongest shoots to grow for
next years crop, with bunch, and some.
times two, Of fruit on them, besides two other
shoots. pinched off two or three leaves
beyond the last branch; of course the sc.
lected shoots got no pnching till September
except the side shoots, or laterals as they are
3 called, which were pinched three or foul
times during the summer. In September, or
early in October, | picked 400 pounds o
well.ripened fruit from these vines. pruned
u again in the fall, this time leaving two cane.
:, four feet long to each, excepting very few
Il that had not grown quite so strong, aud on
= which left only one. laid on the ground
u for winter protection with few sods to hold
P them down, while light covering of leaves
Q held in place with little dirt, secured then
I for the winter. Next season | gave them
- trellis, and they gave me nearly an average
Of ten pounds each Among them was
L cane with three punches that took the stat
u fair premium for the best three punches o
c Concord on a single cane. Now | never wa
: in vineyard in my life unless my own may
J be called such, never saw one till came t,
v this country, and to find out what had re
Z ally accomplished | went to our state fair il
1870, and took the first premium for mos
and best varieties Of grapes, and the transac
Z. tions of the state horticultural society will
j. show that take more premiums than an,
~ one else.
,r believe that unless vines are treated o
y | have described, they will not suit our sc
10 we're climate. When DIR. Grant was blow
in ing his horn so loudly about the Delaware
IN and advising fall planting, and layering :
r. much from year to year, his petty theor
(. and pictures induced me to take $40 wort
DO of bait two dozen vinos), prepared tn
lr ground according to rule, set out in the ial
IS, protected well with sandy soil (which was ea
US silly done, as the plants were little or no biz
W ger than timothy straw, and the resu
at was that the next spring three of the vine
OF made an attempt to grow, aud finally CAV
&c, up the ghost about midsummer the othe
n never even tried to make live Of it. Thi
was enough for me of DR., Grant and Il
X Delaware for two or three years. Aft