Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-05-09
THE Rancho.
MATTERS OF AGRICULTURE, ORCH
ARD AND VINEYARD.
Grating of Grape Vines-Overcom-
ing Morning Giories-PruninS
Apricot Trees-Etc.

1
A correspondent desires to know the
method pursued in grating the grape vine,
and while it is now too late for The present
season, the following from the Midland
Farmer, on this subject, will furnish the
desired information: The importance Of
being able to change the varieties of grapes
in the vineyard Or garden, the arbor or
trellis-screen, is being more apparent from
year to year. as new varieties are being in
troduced far transcendlng those Of score
of years ago Many Of the old varieties,
though of most inferior quality are vigor
olls growers, and it requires but about two
years time and a small amount of labor
and care to change them TO the newest and
the best The grapevine should only be
| grated below the surface Of the ground. as
| it requires more care and attention to sur
rounding conditions to top-graft than is
| supposed to be at the command Of the or
| binary hand or merely amateur grower.
| The vine is cut off in March from two to
four inches below the surface. with a
smooth, square cut. Split across the end
| twice or oftener, according to the size Of the
stalk to be grated. with thin, sharp blade,
| to the depth of an inch and q half. Have
some small wedges or keys to insert in the
| slit open to receive the graft easily the top
of the wedge to project above the stalk so as
| to be easily withdrawn when the scion is
properly placed, The SCION or graft is
cut with a long, thin wedge form, an inch
| To, s,,.i, l,nTf ~
clean should be cut on the top OF the
wedge. The scion is inserted, with the in
side bark Of the stalk and graft in perfect
| line and the shoulder pressed firmly upon
| the square end of the stalk, the wedge
gently withdrawn, and the stalk will hold
| the scions firmly of itself. If the slit is too
| long or the stalk too " timber" it may be
necessary TO tie in firmly to keep them IN
contact grafting-waX may be used, or
only the soil thoroughly firmed around the
! sCions-the soil filled in Just TO cover the
top eye" or bud The scion may be OF
| two or more eyes long, according to the
length of the Joint or internOde, but an
eye should always be placed at the point Of
| insertion into the stalk. We often ind
vine with q fine circle of roots near the
| surface, radiating from the center like the
| spOkeS of q wheel; trace these eight to
twelve inches back and cut off, split and
set a scion in each, tying It with waXed
| thread Almost every scion will push =;
each form a whole of independent roots.
These can be cut free from the parent vine,
and a fine lot of new vines on their own
roots secured. Grating on seeding roots
and rooted cuttings is often practiced, so as
TO propagate rare varieties with facility.
| This whole subject has so many points Of
interest as to become truly fascinating, as
well as profitable. Patent clamps and saws
are often sold at high rates 10 facilitate
grating heavy vines; but a sharp knife
thin chisel, wooden mallet and small
wedges-we use soft nails hammered to
form in the cold state, and bent so as to
pull out easily-do the work conveniently.
a NEW HAY RAKE.
The Marysville foundry is building some
| thing new in the way of a hay rake, says
| the Appea', which is intended TO deposit the
hay into a wagon as it is gathered by the
rake, 1t is the invention OF Amos Lane, of
Linda township. The rake proper is SINH
lar to the ordinary spring wire-toothed
horse rake, and is supported by frame
| resting on four wheels, and is designed to
be hauled behind the hay wagon into
which the hay is TO be delivered. A draper
runs down 10 within ten inches of the
| ground. The draper catches the hay from
the rake by means Of short pins driven into
the draper rods, and carries it up and into
| the wagon. This main draper IS fourteen
! feet long and runs up at an angle, bringing
| it well over the wagon. a shorter draper
| about two feet long is placed about six
| inches above the main draper and close to
the rake so as 10 prevent the hay from pill
! ing up too high on the rake. and as it runs
| in an opposite direction to the main draper
! throws the hay back upon the latter. Both
IL -. l,y1+r
! sides Of the machine from two chain gears
keyed to revolving hind axle on which
are two Buckeye mower wheels. The rake
! will be seven feet long and about six inches
higher than those ordinarily used. The
machine is well under way and will be fur
nished in about week. Several of our
leading farmers have examined the model
and express confidence in its success.
KILLING MORNING GLORY.
Montgomery Pike of Reuter-, in this
county, III a letter to the Rural Press, gives
the following method for getting rid of the
| morning glory which is so great pest in
many localities To kill morning glory
take a machine made this way Take a
piece Of pillow steel about six feet long and
six inches wide, and cut in two and weld
| together in triangular shape with wrought
| shaft Use wooden beam and handles.
morning glory every two weeks in summer.
Never let it appear above ground; in two
wears il will be all dead.
Miller d Beaver, OF Santa Clara write
upon the same subject as follows We had
| patch Of three and Oh hundred square
feet in our orchard. We grubbed it out to
depth of two feet, destroying all the roots
that could be found. 1t came up stronger
than ever and spread rapidly. We dosed
it with chloride of lime and with fish pickle,
both of which apparently stimulated its
growth, for it blossomed forth again and
seemed to smile at our simplicity and the
impotency of our chemicals. Finally a
| friend suggested a frequent use of the hoe.
We applied it vigorously, and the morning
glory has disappeared within the year. AS
your correspondent suggests the work must
be done before the vine comes through the
ground and puts forth any leaves, other
wise there will be a useless waste of muscle.
We made it point to hoe the tops Off once
| a week during the summer, without failing
in single instance, and the result is aston
ishing. Where large space Of ground is
covered with the vine of course the knife
and team will have to be resorted to. But
in all cases, it must be nipped in the bud,
and the problem of how to get rid of the
nuisance will be solved.
A PECULIAR WHEAT TEST.
A peculiar case of wheat testing is made
| known by Mr.. Groat, Emigration Agent OF
the Northern Pacific. He sent samples of
a fine appearing grain raised near James
town, Dakota, from q new Russian seed
which yields forty bushels TO the acre.
Two samples were sent to Minneapolis and
third was submitted to st. Paul. The
three reports agreed in declaring the wheat
| worthless The inspectors knew nothing
whatever of the origin and character of the
wheat, or that other inspections were being
made, but each of the reports was the same.
| The grain was declared 10 be brittle and
below grade. In the bulk it bore such
resemblance TO No. hard that it might
easily have sold for the grade to an unsus-
pecting buyer. 1t is purely an experimental
wheat and was so submitted for test. The
unanimity of the inspectors can leave no
| doubt as to its true value.
MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARDS.