The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-09-01

etc, are few and simple, ana are as follows
The vine loves clay loan with small stones
mingled In the soil. Plant on the dryest and
sunniest spot you have. They delight in
sunny hillsldes facing west and south, bu,
abhor hill-tops. As regards house lots, don
plant your vines close TO the buildings. The
vine likes free air as well Ms hot sun Set out
one.year layers or one-year roots grown from
cuttings, eight to ten inches long, good Wig
orous roots Make the soil mellow eighteen
or twenty inches deep, and sci out with great
care. Labor spent In setting out pays alarge
Interest Cast shovelful Of fine manure
around each root. Do not over manure.
That makes fatted roots and they lack con
stitution. Cultivate the ground in which
your vines are set rs much MS your garden or
corn-iield. Suppose your vines set out and
grown a year then comes that most import
ant matter of pruning, Leave your vines
unpruned and you will have sour or insipd
grapes. Prune not, and all your toll Is vain,
Just us 1t is with the vines Of human life.
Bear this rule well in mind and never de-
part from it; From the first four years your
one object is to make root. The vine Is of
account only rs II indicates strength Of root
Every pound of grapes you allow TO grow
the first four years, will cost you ten or even
u hundred pounds in after bearing, Say
your roots have grown 10 their place one
year; in March or early April cut off all
shoots save one and leave two buds on that
When these buds are grown five or six
inches, breai or cut OIL one. Leave only one
cane to grow, The second spring from set
ting roots, cut of again alt but one Cano; on
that leave five to seven buds, When well
started, break of all but three shoots. The
third spring. if the shoots have gro N well,
cut one close to the ground and then clean
oil the buds on the other two miro to twelve
inches up; then leave six to eight buds on
each cane, and cut of all wood above. Now,
you thus form head for all future pruning.
Keep that head ever after. After three years
from the head thus formed, grow your
grapes. No matter how old the vine is, you
ought TO have moro than three feet Of old
wood on any vine,
After pruning for the first three or four
years, ever after cut OF all wood except three
or four canes of the last years growth, and
leave these not more than three feet long.
Remember that all the fruit you grow on u
vine the frat four years will take u larger in
forest out of the lite principle of the vine
than any Shylock would dare to do. The
time to prunc is from February to April 10,
1t will do any time from December I. The
proper canes to leave are not the rampant
ones, but tho firm, bright, close. jointed, If
you want grape arbor, grow it for an arbor,
and that alone but do not ask good fruit of
1t. Good fruit comes only from severe prun-
ing. Men tell Of gathering three or four
bushels each from old vines allowed to run
their own willful way. Well, bless them
il their teeth and constitutions are hard
enough TO endure them. When the fruit
begins to turn people have been known to
strip of the leaves to let the sun in on the
clusters. 1t would be just as sensible to tear
away the flesh between tho ribs to let more
mir into the lungs. Leaves are the lungs of
life, the power BY which sweetness is gath
cred unto the fruit, The thckes. aud bright.
est foliage pledge the best fruit As to
varieties, they should not be selected urtl
after full and free consultation with the b..
posted men in the county. It require 50
much time, labor and expense, that no one
can afford to make n mistake in selecting the
kinds to plant. And it must not be forgot.
ten by new settlers in Texas, that many
varieties which do we'll in other states may
not do ut all in this soil and climate. There
is nothing like starting oil tho right-foot in
anything you undertake.