The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-10-14
MORE ABOUT GERMANY.
The Production OF the Famous Rhine
Wine Described.
PROCESS OF FORMING A VINEYARD
The Flavor Of the Wine Depends on the Char
acter Of the Soil. Rocky Hillside Prefer.
able. Much Care and Labor Expended.

WY laSU leJJer FROM MalnZ TO
Koln" seems to be incomplete,
without a description of Rhine.
VINE and It's cultivation. l will
therefore take up that subject IN
this letter.
The first thing to be done, in
preparing to plant vineyard is
to get che young plants ready,
which is done in the following
way: Two years before you want
to plant, you allow some healthy
canes to attain their full years
growth; and when the sap is out in
the spring, and buds are showing
themselves, these canes, without
beng detached from the other
vlne, are treated IN the following
manner: A very thin wire is
firmly, but not too tightly twist
cd and chnched around each cane
between the different JOINTS. BY
joints we mean that particular
part of the cane, where buds
start and form new branches.
These canes are buried about one
inch deep in the ground, the idea
being that, since they are IN the
ground, the joints will form roots
instead of branches, and after a
year, you will have just as many
nice rooted plants as you have
buried joints in the ground. The
wire around the canes is to pre-
vent the sap from returning to
the mother vine; but if the wire
is too tight, 1t will kill the canes.
Now, all you want to do, is to de-
tach each joint from the mother
vine, and the young plants (Which
are now called crowfeet) are
ready to plant into the new vine
yard. l will state here, that if
an old vine is thus used for pro.
pagation, it is in no condition to
bear much fruit.
The next thing is a suitable To-
cation. Above all, it must be high
ground, and we'll drained. Low
ground will never do for grapes.
What we call good, rich, wheat
land, would not do for a vineyard;
but stony, rocky land, rich in
mineral matter, even if it is desti.
tute of vegetable mould is consid-
cred far better, for manure can
be supplied; not so easy, the min
erals. 1t is the minerals that i'm
part to the wine, the so highly
priced favors.
Fifty years ago, there was in
Heubach vineyard containing
several hundred acres, and was
very productive. They were call
ed the red vineyards, on account
of the soil, which was a red clay,
very impervlous (but not a lime
stone clay). The wine of this vine
yard, was so sharp, and had so
unpleasant flavor, that it was
not salable. This summer when
I came to visit this vineyard, it
was there no more, but apple
trees hourlshing in it's place
They had selected a more favora-
BILE soil, for another vineyard, and
it's product sold for the highest
prices.
The preparing of the ground is
as follows; If the location, is a
steep hillside, which it generally
is, a piece of ground is staked of,
say twenty feet wide up the hill,
and as many feet around the hiu,
as is best suited for the forma
ton of the ground. The first
point in view is, to terrace the
hill, which means to level the
earth into platforms, supported
by a wall or bank of earth, on ths
lower side, and, sometimes or
one or both sides. Twenty fee
wide makes a very wide terrace
and if the hill is very steep, i
would require a very big wall, 81
the width of the terrace dependi
on the steepness of the hill. Th'
place oftho terrace wall Is locat
ed, and a trench dug for It's found
alton. Then all the stones on tn
surface of the ground, are gather
ed, and used for this terrace wall
and II there are none close at han,
they are procured elsewhere, a
any distance, for they are indls
pensable. Next, a space OF abou