Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-11-30

y
days of California. This system
has the sanction of centuries of ex-
perience in old Spain. We have
no doubt but our vignerons will
profit by some OF the suggestions
contained in the article.
In the selection of soil 1t 10 nec-
essary that care should be had 80
as to find one upon which the sun
shines constantly. 1t should not
be either heavy or light soil, but
medium. Gravelly soil is the best,
if ploughed deep and pulverized.
Rocky soil, if the veins OF rock are
deep enough to allow good surface
cultivation, is a desirable place.
Care should be had that the soil
should not be too moist, or too thin
and dry. The sun should shine as
much as possible on the vine. The
locality should not be a level, but
rather a gentle, slopiDg place. In
planting on rich soil the vine
should be selected quite small, as
it sprouts early and the shoots are
too abundant. Should the wind
prevail ia locality, the vine
planted should be of tina. class
which produces hard grapes. If
the place Is warm and sheltered,
the vine should be one that pro-
duces delicate and tender grapes.
There is one thing to be thought of
in planting in dry places-that is,
the grape should be one that de-
Gays easy, and in planting in
moist ground the grape should be
one that stand, decay
The philosophy OF this ia that the
kind of vine and grape should con-
form to the soil, climate, tempera-
ture, etc., of the locality, requiring
the hardy, leafy vine for cold anu
windy places, anu the soft, delicate
vine for a warm and gentle local
ity.
The usual way of planting vines
is to make hole two and a half
feet long, q foot wide and q foot
aud half ieep. It is customary
in some portions OF Spain to plant
two vine shoots in a hole cross wise
(X), so that in case there should be
failure in the plantation, it can
be replaced by one OF the vines
where two have fourished. But
this is a costly custom. 1t is best
to plant only one shoot, two feet
deep in case the soil IL rich, and |
two and one-half feet should the |
soil be thin. The earth should be
we'll packed around the vine
shoots at time of planting, and
water should be allowed to moisten
the ground In case there Is no rain.
Squasbes or cabbages should not
be raised near the vines, as they |
rob the vine of some of it's essen
tiaI Ingredients. Care should be
had not TO plant different kinds of
vines close together, as some ripen
earlier than others, and in mixing
different grapes the wine may re-
sent it one way or another. The
vine-shoots to be planted ought |
not to be of old vines. The vine-
bDOUbb no OuV v W. ubJ
after the full moon to the 21st day.
They should not be planted imme-
diately after cutting. 1t is better
to keep them in water two days.
They should be planted from the
time the moon is in its first quar-
ter up to full moon. The first and
second year the ground should be
we'll worked and pulverized. This
hastens the growth. Every year.
of course the soil should be worked.
On the second or the the. third
pruned, leaving one button or bud
ding shoot above the ground. The
cut should be two inches above the
budding shoot. Care should be
had not to prune 80 that the sap of
the vine should run on the bud, as
la that case the frost may kill it.
1t is best to prune the vines in De-
eember, or at the latest in Janu-
airy. If the vines are pruned in
December, the grape will be
larger, though not so abundant as
when pruned in January. Should
the locality be subject to frost, 1t is
best to prune in February or early |
in March. If the vines are young |
they should be pruned during the
last quarter OF the moon. AS
general thing to prune during the
last quarter of the moon makes
the grapes and vlne-shoots large and
beautiful. Pruning before full moon
on the contrary makes the grape
and vine-shoots delicate though
more abundant. The best month
In which first to cultivate and
work the soil in the vineyards is
February, before the vine begins
to bud. The second work should
be in April, but not later than the
middle of May. The third work
during the month of June. 1t is
best not to work the soil either in
July or August, or during the cold
spells of winter. The distance be.
tween the vines ought to be six
feet. In the beginning of the
month OF May the vines should be
despoiled of the suckers. This
should be done only from the vines
that have no grapes, and the work
ought to be done by one who un-
derstands the pruning of the vine.
The suckers make excellent vine.
shoots TO plant the next year. The
vine gives fruit ct the fourth year,
and lasts thirty years in all Its pel'
fiction.