amental purposes.

_Posts._

Strong, durable posts of chestnut, locust, cedar, oak or reenforced
cement are placed at such distance apart that two or three vines can
be set between each two posts. The distance apart depends on the
distance between vines, although the tendency now is to have three
vines between two posts. The posts are from six to eight feet in
length, the heaviest being used as end posts. In hard stony soils it
may be necessary to set the end posts with a spade, but usually
sharpened posts can be driven into holes made with a crowbar. In
driving, the operator stands on a wagon hauled by a horse and uses a
ten- or twelve-pound maul. The posts are driven to a depth of eighteen
or twenty-four inches for the end posts. However set, the posts must
stand firm to hold the load of vines and fruit. The end posts must be
braced. As good a brace as any is made from a four-by-four timber,
notched to fit the post halfway up from the ground, and extending
obliquely to the ground, where it is held by a four-by-four stake. A
two-wire trellis and a common method of bracing end posts are shown in
Fig. 15. The posts on hillsides must lean slightly up-hill, otherwise
they will almost certainly sooner or later tilt down the slope. The
posts are usually permitted to stand a little higher at first than
necessary so that they may be driven down should occasion call;
driving is usually done in the early spring.

[Illustration: FIG. 15. A trellis and a common method of bracing end
posts.]

_Wire for the trellis._

Four sizes of wire are in common use for vineyard trellises; nos. 9,
10, 11 and 12. Number 9, the heaviest, is often used for the top wire
with lighter wires lower. The following figures show the length of
wire in a ton:

No. 9, 34,483 ft.
No. 10, 41,408 ft.
No. 11, 52,352 ft.
No. 12, 68,493 ft.

From these figures the number of pounds required to the acre is easily
calculated. Common annealed wire makes a durable trellis, but many
growers prefer the more durable galvanized wire, the cost of which is
slightly greater. The wires are fastened to the end posts by winding
once around the post, and then each wire is firmly looped about
itself; they are secured to the intervening posts by ordinary fence
staples so driven that the wire cannot pull through of its own weight
but with space enough to permit tightening from season to season. The
size and length of the staples depend on whether the pos