with a sickle. This
heading-back results in stockier and more mature canes for the
following year, and if properly done adds to the fruitfulness of the
vine and the fruit matures better.

_General considerations._

The grower of European grapes grafted on American vines may be
prepared to be surprised at the growth the vines make. At the end of
the first season, the grafts attain the magnitude of full-sized vines;
the second season they begin to fruit more or less abundantly, and the
third year they produce approximately the same number of bunches as a
Concord or Niagara vine; and, as the bunches of most varieties are
larger than those of the American grapes, the yield, therefore, is
greater. The European varieties, also, may be set more closely than
the American sorts, since they are seldom such rampant growers.

It is too early to reason from this short experiment that we are to
grow varieties of European grapes commonly in the East, but the
behavior of the vines under discussion seems to indicate that we may
do so. At the New York Station, the European varieties are as vigorous
and thrifty as American vines and quite as easily managed. Why may we
not grow these grapes if we protect them from phylloxera, fungi and
cold? In Europe, there are varieties of grapes for nearly every soil
and condition in the southern half of the continent. In eastern
Europe and western Asia, the vines must be protected just as they must
be protected here. It seems almost certain that from the many sorts
selected to meet the various conditions of Europe, we shall be able to
find kinds to meet the diverse soils and climates of this continent.
And here we have one of the chief reasons for wishing to grow these
grapes that American grape-growing may not be so localized as at
present. Probably we shall find that European grapes can be grown
under a greater diversity of conditions than native varieties.

The culture of European grapes in the East gives this region
essentially a new fruit. If any considerable degree of success attends
their culture, wine-making in eastern America will be revolutionized,
for the European grapes are far superior to the native sorts for this
purpose. Varieties of these grapes have a higher sugar- and
solid-content than do those of the American species and for this
reason, as a rule, keep longer. We may thus expect that through these
grapes the season for this fruit will be extended. The European
varieties are be