The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-12-15
Grape.Culture.


agreeable fruit, and is so easily grown
and SO prolific that no garden, even of q
few square feet, and especially no farm
garden. should be without its vine or its
considerable vineyard. The grape will
succeed upon any warm. dry soil, al
though a limestone, gravel or sandy
loan is the most suitable.
Vines are easily propagated by cut
tings OF the present years wood. These
are usually cut from the prunings into
lengths which have bud within two
inches of each end These cuttings ara
set in rows in well prepared piece of
suitable soil about one foot apart The
lower bud is the one from which the
roots emerge, and the upper one fur
nishes the new shoot. The cutting is
therefore planted in sloping direction,
so that the lower bud may not be buried
too deeply and below the reach of air
and warmth, and the upper bud is left
close to the surface. The plantation
may be protected during the winter by
a covering of leaves secured by few
boughs or some brush from blowing
away, and this covering is the best, be-
cause it is that which is provided by
nature, and to which the vine is natur-
ally used. The cuttings will have
rooted by the spring, when they may be
properly cultivated by hoeing and
wedding. The next fall the plants may
be set out in their permanent position,
which may be in rows eight feet apart,
and six feet apart in the row, if they
are to be trained onto stakes, and twelve
by eight if trained upon trellis or
frame. There are many ways of train
inc vines. That common in vineyard
cultivation is by the use of single
In this system there are two canes only
grown, all the rest being pruned
away. In the beginning the vine is
pruned back to two eyes or three, the
third being kept for use in case of acct
dent to one of the others, and rubbed Oft
if not wanted. From these eyes two
canes are grown. The next year one is
cut away and the other is pruned back
to convenient height, say, six feet.
This is the bearing cane; the new one,
which grows from the bud or eye, being
for the next years fruiting. After the
bearing cane has fruited it is cut back
to one eve, and the new cane OF last
wear is left for fruit. This is the
simplest method of culture, and is quite
as productive as any other, because
more vines can be grown in the same
space. A French system practiced in
some of the VINEYARDS is modification
of this, and has some advantages, es-
pecially upon hill-sdes sloping to the
south. 1t is the training of the bearing
cane horizontally about two feet from
the ground upon a frame made like a
ladder, and supported upon short
forked stakes set in the ground. Two
adjoining vines in row are trained on
to this frame side by side, while the
new cane is trained in the same way.
The fruit hangs near the ground, and il
receives the heat rejected from it,
which is far greater than it would be ii
the vines were upright. The grapes
are also less disturbed by the wind. As
the sugar.in the grapes is increased in
proportion to the greater heat, the fruit
thus grown is of better flavor, and is
more quickly and better ripened. The
expense of stakes is less. because these, |
not being set in the ground. do not rot, |
and are not blown over, to the injury OF
the crops, by storm.
Another manner of training the grapes |
is By means of permanent posts set in
the ground and wires stretched from |
these in lines east and west, thus Civ
ing the vines the benefit of the greatest |!
heat of the sun. 1t is not the heat to |
which the fruit is exposed alone which |
benefits it, but that which the roots re-
ceive affects the fruit the most favora- |
bly,, and the great point in viticuiture is |
10 afford TO the roots all the heat of the |
sun that is possible. Upon this account |
steep hill ides that are exposed to the
MONDAY sun and that are not shaded
from the west. and so receive a large !
quantity OF heat. are the most favorable /
sites Tor vineyard. A stony soil is for
the same reason the most preferable for !
grape. culture, the stones, too, retaining !
the heat far into the night. and then
gathering moisture from the dews as |
well as protecting the vines by their ac-
tive radiation of warmth from the nights |
cold.
In training the vines upon this sys-
tenn three arms are usually grown.
These are replaced every year by new
arms. which may be trained perpendic-
ularly 10 the posts. and are brought .
down the second year to the wires Tor
fruit NO after the canes which have
borne are cut away; or the arms may be |
kept permanently and new spurs grown
from them to replace those which have
borne. The vine requires liberal manur-
ing and judicious pruning for the most
profitable product. Bones coarsely pow
dered or broken. deeply spaded or plowed
in in the middle of the rows where the
feeding roots will reach them, and sur
face applications of wood ashes, gyp-
sum and horse manure will supply all
the matter needed by the crop. This
consists chiefly of oxygen, hydrogen
and carbon abundantly supplied by wa.
ter and air with potash. The chief con-
stituents of grapes are sugar and tar
Iaric acid in combination with potash.
The wood and seeds are of very similar
character, containg about 2. so per cent
Of ash, in which there are 90 per cent.
Of potash, Z per cent. of magnesia, 6
per cent of soda, SO to sc per cent. of
lime, II to "a per cent. of phosphOric
lcid, and % per cent. of sulphuric acid.
When the prunings Of the vines are
burned and returned to the soil the loss
S only in the seeds, and these take but
very little from the soil at the most. In
place of wood ashes German potash
salts, which contain potash, soda and
nagnesia, with gypsum. would supply
every necessary ingredient which the
.shes contain, and bones would supply
he phosphoric acid.
In pruning one rarely errs in overdo-
no it. Experience is the only guide,
md this is surely gained by any person
If ordinary Judgment who will grow a
iue and do the best he can with it for
ear or two. As the fruit is grown from
he buds and wood of the previous