II By Single Eyes
As this method is mostly followed only by those who propagate the vine for sale in large quantities, and but to a limited extent by the practical vineyardist, I will give only an outline of the most simple manner, and on the cheapest plan. Those wishing further information will do well to consult “The Grape Culturist,” by Mr. A. S. Fuller, in which excellent work they will find full instructions.
The principal advantages of this mode of propagation are the following: 1st. The facility with which new and rare kinds can be multiplied, as every well ripened bud almost can be transformed into a plant. 2d. As the plants are started under glass, by bottom heat, it lengthens the season of their growth from one to two months. 3d. Every variety of grape can be propagated by this method with the greatest ease, even those which only grow with the greatest difficulty, or not at all, from cuttings in open ground.
As to the merits or demerits of plants grown under glass from single eyes, to those grown from cuttings or layers in open ground, opinions differ very much, and both have their advocates. For my part, I do not see why a plant grown carefully from a single eye should not be as good as one propagated by any other method; a poor plant is not worth having, whether propagated by this or any other method, and, unfortunately, we have too many of them.