Connecticut western news., 1878-10-02
Grape Culture.

The following condensed rules are given by Dr. Whiting, Saginaw, Mich.. fof the management of grapes The soil best suited to the grape is decomposed shale, bat any good clay soil, thoroughly dra1ned will do. The ground should be carefully prepared and only well-rotted manure used. Dscomposing turf is one of the best fertilizers when it can be obtained no other will be required. The vines selected for planting should be good one-year-old byers or cuttings. They may look small but will make the best vines. Good culture is as necessary to the vine as to the corn or cabbage. Mulching and watering the first year should not be neglected if drought is ex- cessive. One good soaking is better than many sprinklings. More water can be saved with hoe than can be put on with sprinkler. In planting, cut the vine back to two buds, whatever it's age or strength. Summer pruning consists or p1nch1ng of weak and struggling shoots in order to confne the sap of the main branches. The first summer allow but one main shoot to grow. In the fall, after the first frost, cut out all the summer growth back to within two buds of the ground. The second year confine the sap to two branches, and in the fall cut back to three buds each The third year, if your vine has made vigorous growth, few stems of grapes may be allowed to mature, but better take offall the fruit than to suffer too much to grow.
 Too heavy bearing when young will weaken the vine for all further time. The trimming now depends on what kind of trellis you wish to cover. After you have obtained good, vigorous root, you can make it grow in almost any place or shape you wish by keeping the branches desired tied up, and all others pinched back. Each year few of the strongest branches should be allowed to grow as bearers of fruit the following year.
 In trimming cut away as much of the old wood as possible and save the new, as all the fruit buds are on the new wood. You can easily tell how much to cut away by holding your new wood up to the trellis and imagine branch of three stems of grapes for each bud. If you do not cut off enough in the fall, and you find that the vine is going to be too thick, do not fail to attend to it when the new shoots are from three to six inches long, in the spring, or while in blossom. As soon as the fruit is set ex- anime the. vine, spread out the new wood so that each bunch of grapes will hang free and clear pick off all the small stems of fruit and fasten the vines securely, so that the wind will not de- stroy your crop by breaking the young and tender branches. When the wood has grown so that there are three leaves beyond the last bunch of grapes, exam inc the vine, select the branches you wish to save for fruit bearing the coming year, and keep them tied up until they have grown as long as you wish to make use of. The ends of the other bearing branches should be pinched off as soon as they reach the point, :" three leaves beyond the last stem of grapes" Break off all the shoots and laterals as fast as they make their appearance, but on no account iniure the leaves on the bearing canes. The fruit will color, but not ripen, if the leaves are destroyed.