Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-13
Starting the Vineyard.

The land upon which II is proposed 70
set grapes, say Messrs. 7. s. Hubbard &
Co., should lie deeply worked and thor
oughly pulveriZed. II stiff clayey
soil, an abundance Of well-rotted vege-
table matter should be worked into it.
"Worked in is the thing-not merely
spread on. Decomposed stable manure
beats any other substance that could be
applied for supplying this needed vege-
table matter.
Autumn Is the best time to order vines
for the new vineyard, and two-year-o
vines are most generally preferred.
Should the vines have encountered Sc
we're cold in transit and become frosted,
the box should at once be placed in q
cellar, or "pit, - and the frost allowed
to withdraw gradually before opening.
The i'm portant point is for the frost to
withdraw gradually without exposure of
roots to light or air.
When ready 10 plant stake out the
ground in rows eight or nine feet apart
and six to ten feet in the row. Dig the
holes about two feet wide and fifteen
inches deep, loosenin" the earth thor
oughly in the bottom, throwing in two
or three inches of surface soil. Before
the vines are taken to the field the tops
should be cut back, SO that when planted
only two or three buds will be above
ground and the roots shortened to ten or
twelve inches. Place Twenty-Five TO
fifty viEes in pail of water, taking one
vine from the water at a time, so none
shall get dry before planting. Spread
the roots in the bottom of the hole III
every direction, taking care not 10 have
them cross each other. Cover with good
fine surface soil two or three inches deep,
pressing it thoroughly with the foot.
This deep planting secures a tier of roots
so deep down there is little danger of
such bad effect rs might otherwise come
as q result of sudden changes in either
heat or cold.
As the vineyard advances and the time
for regular pruning has arrived, cut out
all the old wood every year, leaving
three or four canes, OF the present years
growth that have sprouted from the
canes of the previous year. Cut these
canes back to three or four feet in length
each, according to the growth of the
vine, tying them fan shape to the wires
the following spring. In trimming, also
leave near the crown two or three spurs
of TWO buds each, from which to grow
canes for the following years fruiting.
Suckers that started below the crown or
from wood more than one year old are
not the best fruitiug canes and should
not be used as SUCH The second year
no fruit ought to remain on the vines.
The third year strong vines with good
culture, ought to produce three or four
pounds each, and the following year
good crop. But vines of weaker
growth will not do this. Care must he
lIryp rIn.a,
or il may be injured so as to never re-
cover. Three or four tons per acre is q
fun average crop for the strongest grow
ers, although good vineyards often pro-
duce without injury five or six tons per
acre. The less the number of clusters
this weight can be put into the more sat
isfactory will be the money return from
the crop. Hence II is well to thin the
fruit, picking off the smallest and poor
est clusters.
Messrs. Hubbard & Co. do not advise
summer pruning further than pinching
off ur rubbing out weak and useless lu-
terals and shoots. Leaves are the lab
oratories OF the growing vine, in which
is perfected the food which produces the
growth of both wood and fruit. Severe
pruning, removing large
amount Of foliage, weRkens the vine,
reduces the size of the fruit, retards Its
ripeuiug, and checks the growth of ,he
root. Where more than one shoot starts
from a bud it is well to rub out the
weaker one before it Is more than two TO
six inches long. When particularly fine
are desired the ends of the canes
may be pinched off, and stopped when
growth has progressed to four or five
leaves from the last cluster, and there
after the ends of all laterals piuched off
AS soon as one or two leaves are formed.
SuperiluouS suckers that start below the
crown of the vine should be broken out
before much growth has taken place.