There are several methods, which are followed with more or less
success. I will first describe that which I have found most successful,
namely, short cuttings, of two or three eyes each, which are made of
any sound, well ripened wood, of last season's growth. Prune the vines
in the fall or early winter, and make the cuttings as soon as
convenient; for if the wood is not kept perfectly fresh and green, the
cuttings will fail to grow. Now, cut up all the sound, well-ripened
wood into lengths of from two to four eyes each, making them of a
uniform length of say eight inches.
These should be tied into convenient bundles, from 100 to 250 in each,
taking care to even the lower ends, and then buried in the ground,
making a hole somewhat deeper than the cuttings are long, into which
the bundles are set on their lower ends, and soil thrown in between and
over them. In spring, as soon as the ground is dry enough, the
cutting-bed should be prepared. Choose for this a light, rich soil,
which should be well pulverized, to the depth of at least a foot, and
if not light enough, it should be made so by adding some leaf mould.
Now draw a line along the whole length of the bed; then take a spade
and put it down perpendicular along the line or nearly so, moving it a
little backwards and forwards, so as to open the cut. Now take the
cutting and press it down into the cut thus made, until the upper bud
is even with the surface of the soil. The cuttings may be put close in
the rows, say an inch apart, and the rows made two feet apart. Press
the ground firmly down with your foot along the line of cuttings, so as
to pack it closely around the cutting. After the bed is finished, mulch
them with straw, or litter, spent tan or saw-dust, say about an inch
thick, and if none of these can be had, leaves from the forest may be
used for the purpose. This will serve to protect the young leaves from
the sun, and will also keep an even moisture during the heat of summer,
at the same time keeping the soil loose and porous. If weeds appear,
they should be pulled up, and the cuttings, kept clean through the
summer. They will generally make a firm, hardy growth of from one to
four feet, have become used to all the hardships and changes of the
weather; and as they have formed their roots just where they ought to
be, about eight inches below the ground, will not suffer so much from
transplanting, as either a single eye or a layer, whose roots have to
be put much deeper in transplanting, than they were before, and thus,
as it were, become acclimated to the lower regions. For these reasons,
I think, that a good plant grown from a cutting is preferable to that
propagated by any other method. In the Fall, the vines are carefully
taken up, assorted and heeled in, in the same manner as described, with
single eyes, and cut back to about three inches of their growth. They
are then ready for transplanting into the vineyard.
IV.--BY LAYERING.
This is a very convenient method of increasing such varieties as will
not grow readily from cuttings; and vines thus propagated will, if
treated right, make very good plants. To layer a vine, shorten in its
last season's growth to about one-half; then prepare the ground
thoroughly, pulverizing it well; then, early in spring make a small
furrow, about an inch deep, then bend the cane down and fasten it
firmly in the bottom of the trench, by wooden hooks or pegs, made for
the purpose. They may thus be left, until the young shoots have grown,
say six inches; then fill up with finely pulverized soil or leaf-mould.
The vines will thus strike root generally at every joint. The young
shoots may be tied to small sticks, provided for the purpose, and when
they have grown about a foot, their tips should be pinched off to make
them grow more stocky. In the Fall they are taken up carefully,
commencing to dig at the end furthest removed from the vine, and
separate each plant between the joints, so that every shoot has a
system of roots by itself. They are then either planted immediately, or
heeled in as described before.
V.--BY GRAFTING.
The principal advantages to be gained by this method are: 1st. The
facility by which new and rare kinds may be increased, by grafting them
on strong stocks of healthy varieties, when they will often grow from
ten to twenty feet the first season, producing an abundance of wood to
propagate. 2d. The short time in which fruit can be obtained from new
and untried varieties, as their grafts will generally bear the next
season. 3d. In every vineyard there are, in these days of many
varieties, vines which have proved inferior, yet by grafting into them
some superior variety, they may be made very valuable. 4th. The
facility by which vines can be forced under glass, by grafting on small
pieces of roots, and the certainty with which every bud can thus be
made to grow.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
The vine, however, does not unite with the same facility as the pear
and apple, and, to ensure success, must be grafted under ground, which
makes the operation a difficult and disagreeable one. It will therefore
hardly become a general practice; but, for the purposes above named, is
of sufficient importance, to make it desirable that every vineyardist
should be able to perform it. I have generally had the best success in
grafting here about the middle of March, in the following manner: Dig
away the ground around the vine you wish to graft, until you come to a
smooth place to insert your scion; then cut off the vine with a sharp
knife, and insert one or two scions, as in common cleft-grafting,
taking care to cut the wedge on the scion very thin, with shoulders on
both sides, as shown in Figure 4, cutting your scion to two eyes, to
better insure success. Great care must be taken to insert the scion
properly, as the inner bark or liber of the vine is very thin, and the
success of the operation depends upon a perfect junction of the stock
and scion. If the vine is strong enough to hold the scion firmly, no
further bandage is necessary; if not, it should be wound firmly and
evenly with bass bark. Then press the soil firmly on the cut, and fill
up the hole with well pulverized earth, to the top of the scion.
Examine the stock from time to time, and remove all wild shoots and
suckers, which it may throw up, as they will rob the graft of
nourishment and enfeeble it.
Others prefer to graft in May, when the leaves have expanded, and the
most rapid flow of sap has ceased, keeping the scions in a cool place,
to prevent the buds from starting. The operation is performed in
precisely the same manner, and will be just as successful, I think, but
the grafts that have been put in early, have the advantage of several
weeks over the others, and the latter will seldom make as strong a
growth, or ripen their wood as well as those put in early.
Mr. A. S. FULLER performs the operation in the fall, preventing the
graft from freezing by inverting a flower-pot over it, and then
covering with straw or litter. He claims for this method--1st. That it
can be performed at a time when the ground is more dry, and in better
condition, and business not so pressing as in spring.--2d. That the
scion and stock have more time to unite, and will form their junction
completely during the winter, and will therefore start sooner, and make
a more rapid growth than in spring. It certainly looks feasible enough,
and is well worth trying, as, when the operation succeeds, it must
evidently have advantages over any of the other modes.
Vines I had grafted in March have sometimes made twenty to thirty feet
of growth, and produced a full crop the next season. This will show one
the advantage to be derived from it in propagating new and scarce
varieties, and in hastening the fruiting of them. Should a seedling,
for instance, look very promising in foliage and general appearance,
fruit may be obtained from it from one to two seasons sooner by
grafting some of the wood on strong stocks, than from the original
plant. Hence the vast importance of grafting, even to the practical
vineyardist.
