—An examination of the various vineyards in any or in all the different raisin districts will not help us much in deciding upon how far apart the vines should be set, as most vineyards have been planted by men of no previous experience in the raisin business, and when that experience was at last acquired the vineyards were already established and could not easily be changed. In planting, we are too apt to do as other people do without first inquiring from them if their experience has not taught them anything else, and if they would not do otherwise if they had to commence over again. For years the standard distances between raisin-vines have been eight by eight feet. Of late years this distance was considered too small, as our soil was supposed to be so rich, that all that was required, in order to get large crops, was to give the vines plenty of room. Many vineyards have been set nine by nine, nine by ten, ten by ten, or even ten by twelve and twelve by sixteen feet. The effect has, however, been different from that which was expected. Instead of producing larger crops, those vines which were given more room produced only more wood and more leaves. They followed that law of nature, which causes any animal or vegetable to grow luxuriantly when overfed, and which, on the contrary, causes seed and fruit to form when the vegetable system is restricted to certain proportions, which, of course, we can only determine by actual experience. By giving the vines less space, some inconvenience will be experienced in working the soil, and in drying the crop between the rows. On that account some vineyards have been planted with the vines closer one way than the other, thus giving plenty of room in which to work the soil, while on the other hand sufficiently confining the vines in order to cause them to bear well. I therefore now recommend that the vines be set four and a half by eleven, five by ten and a half, or five by eleven feet. The first would probably be my choice. I claim for this system many advantages, and beg intending growers to carefully consider the following points:
It gives us more vines to the acre, which means more grapes to the acre, as long as the land is of the best quality, and no raisin grapes should ever be planted on inferior soil, or at least the soil should be sufficiently rich to supply plant food to the greater number of vines.
It makes the working of the soil cheaper, and fully one-third more of the work can be done by two-horse plows. The single-horse work can be confined to plowing a furrow on each side of the vines, and to running a cultivator crosswise. As the number of rows in this system is less, it also follows that less single-team work is needed.
The vines protect themselves from the hot sun and hot winds which cause sunscald. The short distances should be in the direction of the hot wind, if any there be, or in the direction of east and west if there are no hot winds in the district. The spaces between the rows will thus catch the morning sun, which is of importance when we dry on trays between the vines.
Less roads will be needed in the vineyard, as the larger distance is sufficient to enable any teams to pass between every row of vines, and distribute trays, boxes, etc., without interfering with the vines. The saving thereby of labor in carrying the boxes and trays is quite an item in vineyards where the vines are planted say eight by eight feet or closer.
Land Scrapers.
The trimmings of the vines can be burned in the vineyard between the rows, and will thus help to fertilize the soil. Besides, the expense of hauling the trimmings away will be saved.
The Marking Out of a Vineyard.
—As any practical horticulturist knows how to stake out an orchard or vineyard, a minute description is not here needed. I will only indicate the most important points. Cut a large number of small pegs, one inch or so square and a foot or so long. Next get two lines of twisted wire, each say 150 feet long. Mark off on one wire every five feet by inserting a small, bright copper wire in the twist, and wind it around the iron wire three or four times, enough to show the place. On the other wire mark off similarly every ten or eleven feet, always supposing these are the distances decided upon. Now stretch one of the wires along one end of the future vineyard and call this line the base line No. 1. Set a peg close to every copper ringlet, on the side of the wire away from the vineyard. When done, stretch the other wire, No. 2, at a right angle with the former, and set pegs similarly. Remove wire No. 1 from base line No. 1 and stretch it at the end of wire No. 2, parallel to the base line. Call this base line No. 2. Set pegs as before every eight feet. It is now evident that, by stretching successively the wire No. 2 between the pegs set on the two base lines, and by setting cuttings or rooted vines close to the copper ringlets on the wire line, perfectly straight and even rows can be had in every direction.