There are several methods, which are followed with more or less
success. I will first describe that which I have found most successful,
namely, short cuttings, of two or three eyes each, which are made of
any sound, well ripened wood, of last season's growth. Prune the vines
in the fall or early winter, and make the cuttings as soon as
convenient; for if the wood is not kept perfectly fresh and green, the
cuttings will fail to grow. Now, cut up all the sound, well-ripened
wood into lengths of from two to four eyes each, making them of a
uniform length of say eight inches, and prepare them as shown in Figure
3.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
These should be tied into convenient bundles, from 100 to 250 in each,
taking care to even the lower ends, and then buried in the ground,
making a hole somewhat deeper than the cuttings are long, into which
the bundles are set on their lower ends, and soil thrown in between and
over them. In spring, as soon as the ground is dry enough, the
cutting-bed should be prepared. Choose for this a light, rich soil,
which should be well pulverized, to the depth of at least a foot, and
if not light enough, it should be made so by adding some leaf mould.
Now draw a line along the whole length of the bed; then take a spade
and put it down perpendicular along the line or nearly so, moving it a
little backwards and forwards, so as to open the cut. Now take the
cutting and press it down into the cut thus made, until the upper bud
is even with the surface of the soil. The cuttings may be put close in
the rows, say an inch apart, and the rows made two feet apart. Press
the ground firmly down with your foot along the line of cuttings, so as
to pack it closely around the cutting. After the bed is finished, mulch
them with straw, or litter, spent tan or saw-dust, say about an inch
thick, and if none of these can be had, leaves from the forest may be
used for the purpose. This will serve to protect the young leaves from
the sun, and will also keep an even moisture during the heat of summer,
at the same time keeping the soil loose and porous. If weeds appear,
they should be pulled up, and the cuttings, kept clean through the
summer. They will generally make a firm, hardy growth of from one to
four feet, have become used to all the hardships and changes of the
weather; and as they have formed their roots just where they ought to
be, about eight inches below the ground, will not suffer so much from
transplanting, as either a single eye or a layer, whose roots have to
be put much deeper in transplanting, than they were before, and thus,
as it were, become acclimated to the lower regions. For these reasons,
I think, that a good plant grown from a cutting is preferable to that
propagated by any other method. In the Fall, the vines are carefully
taken up, assorted and heeled in, in the same manner as described, with
single eyes, and cut back to about three inches of their growth. They
are then ready for transplanting into the vineyard.