Manual of American grape-growing

by U. P. Hedrick

For an earlier white grape, Buckland Sweetwater has much to recommend it; it ripens from two to three weeks earlier than Muscat of Alexandria and is much more easily grown. It is good in quality but not of high quality. Buckland Sweetwater may be well grown in the house with Black Hamburg, whereas it is almost impossible to grow Muscat of Alexandria in the same house with Black Hamburg.

Muscat Hamburg is a cross between Black Hamburg and Muscat of Alexandria, and is an intermediate in most fruit characters between these two standard sorts. It is not, however, very generally grown, although it well deserves to be because of its large, beautiful, tapering clusters of black grapes of finest quality.

Grizzly Frontignan adds novelty to luxury in the list of indoor grapes. The fruits are mottled pink in color, deepening sometimes to a dark shade of pink, and are borne in long, slender clusters. The grapes ripen early and are unsurpassed in quality but are, all in all, rather difficult to grow.

Barbarossa and Gros Colman are the two best late black grapes, especially for those who are ambitious to grow clusters of large size with large berries. Both are very good in quality. Neither of the two is particularly easy to grow, since they require a long time to ripen; but, to offset this, both keep longer than any other sorts after ripening. Because of the large size of the berries, thinning must begin early and must be rather more severe than with other grapes. This variety is now largely grown in England for exportation to this country in early spring.

White Nice and Syrian are two white sorts which attain largest size in clusters, specimens weighing thirty pounds being not infrequent, but are coarse and poor in quality and are, therefore, hardly worth growing.

Alicante is a black sort often grown for the sake of variety, since it departs from the Vinifera type rather markedly in flavor. The grapes have very thick skins and may be kept longer than those of any other variety.

Lady Downs is another late-keeping black grape of highest quality, but difficult to grow. The bunches and berries are small in comparison with other standard sorts, characters that do not commend the variety to most gardeners.

Perhaps a dozen more sorts might be named worthy of trial in American graperies, but the list given covers the needs of commercial establishments and will meet the wants of most amateur growers.

Planting and Training

Two-year-old vines are most commonly planted. The vines are set inside the house at least a foot from the walls and four feet apart. The grapery must be built on piers with spaces of at least two feet between, and the vines are placed opposite these openings in the foundation. When planted, the vines are cut back to two or three buds, and when these start the strongest are selected for training, the others being rubbed off. The grapery must be strung with wires running lengthwise of the house at about fifteen inches from the glass. Greenhouse supply merchants furnish at a low price cast iron brackets to be fastened to the rafters to hold these wires. As the growing vines reach one wire after another, they are tied with raffia to hold them in place. Usually, young vines will reach the peak of the house by midsummer, and as soon as this goal is attained must be pinched so that the cane may thicken up and store food in the lateral buds for the coming season. When the wood is well matured, the vine is cut back to half or one-third its length, depending on the variety, laid on the ground and covered for the winter. An item of no small importance in winter care is to keep out mice, this pest being inordinately fond of grape buds, and once the buds are destroyed the vines are ruined for the coming season.