The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-03-14
II
OF THE
S~CUPPERNONG A

few Of b more important details In a
circular letter. We wish to state, in TIE
beginning, that We are better posted
as TO wine making than grape growing
and did not there were any
lar wner in Eastern North Carolina
who did not know as much about grape
growing as We do. As there does no,
seem to b. a full knowledge, however.
we give what We know for what 1t Is
worth.
The Scuppernong VIII grow and pro-
daee a p on any of the sandy lands
Couth OF Norfolk, Va. While certain
we think We may safely say that any
and which grows cotton or corn nicely
will produce Scu~ppernong grapes. They
do not seem to bear well West OF Middle
North Carolina THE HOME OF THE
GRAPE Is IN THE EASTERN PART
OF THE STATE"
Cuttings may be secured in great
| quantity by taking any Scuppernong
vine and letting it fall or the ground in
June and throwing a few shovelsfull OF
dirt on it at from two to three feet from
the outer ends of the limbs. These take
root quickly in the fresh earth. and can
| be taken up and cut Off any time from
November 1st to March 1st. and set out.
| Care should be used in selecting thrift
ty vines with nice grapes. as the vine
| reproduces the kind. Seeding wines
from the seed) are not worth planting,
! as you do not nov what kind of grapes
they viii produce.
n Ian should be laid off nicely. in
rows of twenty feet apart, the vines
|! being set out ten feet apart in the rows.
| and planted u of the ground not less
than seven feet should be set to each
vine. These should be where practical
BILE, of cedar, oak, or lightwood, as the
setting of new posts cuts the roots Off
the vines. A good cutting will reach
I almost to the top of the post when set
| out, or grow to the top in n year. IL
properly cared for. The best method
is to wire the vines. When this done,
rows of posts, well braced, have TO be
| set out aroun the edge of the vine
yard, to which are attached the larger
wires. Down each row a No. 10 galvan-
lied wire is run as a governor wire,
and stapled to the top of each post.
Across these governor wires you stretch
at first, n No. IA wire. If well braced
at the ends, this gives all the posts
| secure bracing. AS the vines grow and
spread out you add one ZACH side of the
| No. IA wire, other wires, always keep
ing good arbors for the vines to rum on.
If you let the branches fall down n
have to support their w weight, they
do not grow so rapidly. The vine should
not be allowed to bunch up in knots,
but be kept spread out and growing
uniformly in all directions. 1t takes
about 10 vines to set an acre properly
laid off. These can be bought through
us at 5 cents each. If you cannot get
them from a nearby vine.
The land should be cultivated with
crops that do not grow too high, ana
the vines kept free from trash around
the roots, which grow close to the top
| of the ground, do not cultivate under
the branches, as the roots extend anu
draw sustenance as far as the branches
run. Hence if you pillow close to the
| vines you tear up the roots. The BEST
| method We know is to keep the roots all
| around h body of the vine and as
far as the branches extend, mulched
| with a heavy o of wood-moid and
| straw. The home of the vines is in the
| piny woods, where, in the rich origin
| soil, it spreads hundreds of feet. The
| best vines we have ever seen were IN
| old garden plots where they were never
| plowed, but the weeds kept down.. A
| good plan is, perhaps to have sheeps
| Craze under the vines, but the best plan
is to keep in cultivation the land not
| shaded, and to keep the weeds down on
! the rest by having a heavy mulcn
| While fertilizers may produce unusual
~ heavy crops we advise using coarse
| barn manure in connection with heavy
| coatings of wood-mould and straw, So
| as to keep the soil light and productive.
| While the vine will grow and produce
| on light sandy land that will hardy
| grow cow peas, yet it should not be ex-
| pected to get good crops from poor land
| The soil should be fortified as described
| above. Arbors can be made Of wool,
| as are frequently seen, on a small scale,
| but the expenses of wooden arbors on a
! large scale is considerable. Galvanized
| wire on good posts is the cheapest in
| the long run, and makes much less work
| once the vineyard is we'll wired. 1t
| means only a few posts each year, and
a little wiring to take up the SLACK
! places, and the hauling in of coarss
| manures. We do not believe in plowing
| close to the vines. It breaks the ROOFS
| and inevitably damages the vines
AS to gathering, the preferable plan
is to gather by hand, and in small Vine
| yards his can be done. We pay spe-
| cia1 prices for selected, mand-gathered
grapes. But in a large vineyard this
is not practicable. Poles are attached
to strong sheets made of anvass eacn
about ten feet square, and with leather
handles and a man to ach sid Of the
sheet. it is easily carried around be-
tween the posts, which are set in even
rows. Another man or boy, with G
forked stick, shakes the vine gently
just above h sheet. n the ripe
grapes fall and are caught. Children
pick up the few grapes which fall out
side the sheet. The vines should not
be beaten hard, as not only do yoa
thus get green fruit, but damage the
vines by breaking the tende new
growth which produces the crop next
year. or most of il. The leaves can
Re famed out by a fan-mfll or picked