Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-18
WANTS TO START A VINEYARD.

Recognizing the agricultural department
OF The GAZETTE as one of the very best
mediums of information in its line at our
command, | am often DESTROYS of PROFOUND
ing questions of Importance Ito me, at
least, but for fear of annoyance / usually
desist, seeing that SO many others are
constantly after you for information. But
for once | must overcome my backward
ness, so here goes:
The thing concerning me at the present
time is {; small vineyard. l am DESTROYS of
establishing small vineyard. but when 1
consult the catalogues of nursery stock |
find grape vines quoted at from % cents to
so cents each, and to start a vineyard of
only four or five hundred vines would incur
considerable outlay, as you can see; and
what makes it still worse, the vineyard
would be started in an andeveloped country
where success is not yet assured. Would
it do to procure grape seeds and plant them2
If so, when should they be planteda l
could procure plenty of wild grape vines
here, but the best or mono is my motto.
Lockney, Floyd county, Tex. A. 7.
The nursery would be your surest plan,
and where so many vines are needed you
below the advertised figures. Planting
seeds would be q very uncertain business.
If you got them up the plants would be ex-
tremely feeble, and very few, if any, would
come true to variety. We would never think
of putting out vineyard of common wild
grapes, but we would as soon risk 4 vine
yard of that character as vineyard of
seedlings-your wild vineyard would stand
fair chance Of being the best of the two.
Most varieties of the grape grow readily
from cuttings. II you have friend any
where in the vineyard business, he would
probably supply you with all the cuttings
you need. II not, then your best course to
pursue, if you do not feel willing to go to
the expense OF buying four or five hundred
rooted vines, would be to buy dozen or SO
of rooted vines, OF such varieties as you
considered desirable, and then propagate
from these by cuttings. OF course it would
delay your vineyard a year or SO, but you
would be able to eventually get it through
all right on that plan.
The grape cutting is the young vine Of
the preceding seasons growth; that is, the
cutting for next spring grew this summer.
Take them of about the beginning of win
ter, cut them into convenient lengths, tie
them in small, close bundles and bury them
in the ground below the frost line.
Next spring, when the grape buds are
about to swell, prepare q trench for your
cuttings on somo well drained locality,
either with the spade or the plow. Let it
run east and west. Dress the north side
smooth and with considerable slope
from the bottom. The trench should
be about eight inches deep. Take up your
cuttings and cut them into sections carry
ing two buds-a bud near each end. Lay
them against the north and sloping side Of
the trench, foot apart, one bud just above
tie ground and the other near the lower
end.
Begin filing by putting just soil enough in
the bottom Of the trench to cover the lower
ends Of the cuttings, and then pound it
firmly around these lower ends. Don't be
afraid of packing it too hard, presuming
that it is good garden soil, of course. Add,
then, two or three inches more Of garden
soil and pound firmly as in the frstinstance,
and SO on until your trench IS full and you
have only the tcrs Of your cuttings. with