The Raisin Industry / A practical treatise on the raisin grapes, their history, culture and curing

by Gustavus A. Eisen

—When cuttings are to be shipped any distance, they must be packed. The simplest method of packing for short distances is to fill the bottom of a sack with wet straw, and then slip the bundle of cuttings down in the sack, and a single string will then suffice to secure the sack to the bundle. Packed this way, cuttings can stand a voyage of a week or more if the weather is not too hot. If a longer voyage, of say several weeks’ duration, is necessary, the cuttings should be packed in dry-goods boxes, and, if the time of transit is not too long, no other packing is needed. If, however, a very long transit is in view, more precautions for the safe arrival of the cuttings are required. After the bundles have been pressed down in the box, moist and fresh moss is packed tightly down all along the sides of the box. Such packing will keep the cuttings fresh for over a month. For a longer time, coarse, pulverized charcoal filled in between the cuttings is a splendid packing. The charcoal must be dry, the moisture in the cuttings being enough to keep them alive for several months. Packed first in tin boxes surrounded by charcoal, and then the boxes soldered tightly, so as to allow no air to enter, is the safest method for transporting cuttings long distances. If there is a possibility to repack at certain stations on the road, wooden boxes may be used instead of tin. The waxing of the ends of the cuttings will help to keep them moist. All lumber boxes should be lined with waxed paper, and all cracks carefully nailed up, as by the drying of the boards the contents are very liable to run out. Large and heavy boxes should be surrounded by iron bands.

Rooting Cuttings.

—There are two ways of planting cuttings in the nursery in order to have them rooted for next season’s planting. One way is to plant in nursery rows four feet apart; the other is to set in beds. For such nursery, a plat of land with rich soil and with good water facilities should be selected. Water should never fail in the nursery, as cuttings always require more water than old plants set farther apart. The rows should be staked out four feet from each other. Six or eight inch cuttings should be used, according to the depth to moisture; the more moisture, the shorter need be the cuttings. With a big, flat hoe the soil along the line of the row is thrown up on one side, the cuttings are set down upright close to the perpendicular side, and the soil is again raked back with the same kind of hoe, and then tamped hard around the cuttings. The latter need not be over two or three inches apart, and from forty to fifty thousand may be set on one acre of ground. In no instance should the cutting be left more than one or two inches above the surface of the ground. The best instrument or tool for opening the soil and for covering the cuttings is the large flat-faced Italian hoe, used by Italian workmen both in Europe and in this country.

If the bed system is adopted, much smaller cuttings may be used, although it is not necessary to have them smaller than six inches. The beds may be two feet wide and four feet apart, in this respect resembling nursery rows, and treated just as such. The cuttings are set in the beds two or three inches apart each way. We must remember that such cuttings require much more water than cuttings planted in four-foot rows, as the quantity soon exhausts the moisture in the soil. The beds may also be square, each one surrounded by a little bank or levee of soil in order to hold the water. In these beds, which should be slightly below the general surface of the ground, the cuttings are set very close,—two or three inches apart,—until the whole bed is filled up. These beds are never cultivated in any other way than by pulling the weeds out by hand. They must be frequently irrigated by flooding, except when the soil is immensely wet or moist.

Vines may also be propagated from a single eye, or from cuttings containing a single eye. Such cuttings may be set perpendicularly in beds or in rows, or they may be placed horizontally in boxes with pure sand, and entirely covered over. The single eyes soon sprout and make nice little plants, with a well-developed system of roots.

All these cuttings planted in beds, if properly watered during the summer, will make excellent vines to be set in vineyard form next season. Being set so close, they require much moisture and irrigation, the many new roots soon exhausting the moisture in the soil. It is better, however, to have the cuttings set as closely as possible, so as not to get too strong vines. An overgrown vine is more expensive to plant and more difficult to handle than one of medium growth. Besides, the latter has a greater number of fibrous roots, which, if in good condition, will give a quick start and rapid growth to the new vine.

Care of Rooted Vines.

—The same precautions are to be observed with rooted vines as with cuttings, only more care is required to shield the roots from the sun and wind. Wet blankets or sacks should always be used when the roots are taken to the field, and, if the vines show the least sign of being dry, they should be soaked for several hours in pure water, and in this respect treated just like cuttings.

Planting Rooted Vines.

—Planting rooted vines is not attended with many difficulties. The most important points to observe are these. The vines must be freshly dug. If not, or if the least dry, soak in water over night. Cut away all dead or dry rootlets. Prune the top of the vine down to two or three buds, and leave only one spur. Have the vines covered while carried out in the field, and plant only in moist ground. The young and tender roots are easily dried if set in warm and dry soil, and they will afterwards decay and injure the vine. A carefully planted vineyard, where rooted vines alone have been used, and where every precaution has been taken to insure success, should have about ninety-seven per cent of the vines growing. To make every one grow would only be possible in a very small plantation. In the large raisin centers, all this planting may be contracted for. The cost of planting cuttings is generally calculated at one-half cent per cutting, and for rooted vines at one cent per vine. Frequently parties contract to supply cuttings and to plant the land for from eighteen to twenty dollars per acre or less. It is generally better to pay the higher price and get the work done properly.