702 , 
pruinose, with a thick skin, and firm, sweet, savoury pulp. 
There are varieties of this with white and green berries. Or- 
leans, Seidentraube, p. 151.— 39 Africana ; leaves 5-lobed, to- 
mentose beneath ; bunches large, flaccid; berries very long, 
blue, covered with a grey bloom ; skin thick ; pulp rather acid. 
Marokkaner, p. 151.—40 Damascèna ; leaves 3-lobed, pubes- 
cent beneath ; bunches large, branched, flaccid; berries large, 
blue, covered with grey bloom, with a thick skin, and sweet, 
savoury pulp at maturity. There are varieties of this with 
cream-coloured and white berries. Damascenertraube, Zibebe, 
p. 151.—41 Alexandrina; leaves 5-lobed, smoothish; bunches 
large, flaccid, branched ; berries unequal, greenish-yellow, co- 
vered with white bloom; skin thin; pulp very savoury and 
aromatic. Zibeben-Muskateller, p. 152. 
Propagation.—The vine is propagated from seeds, layers, cut- 
tings, grafting, and budding. By seeds for the sake of obtaining 
new varieties, by layers to obtain strong shewy plants the first 
year ; by cuttings for economy in management, and to get plants 
with tops proportioned to their roots; and by grafting and bud- 
ding for various useful and curious purposes. 
By seed.—Select seed from the finest and best ripened berries, 
of approved sorts, if the object be to propagate an esteemed 
variety, or to procure a subvariety of an esteemed sort. But if 
the object be to procure an entirely new variety, the first object 
is to bring two or more sorts close together when in flower, so 
as that the pollen may effect a promiscuous impregnation, or by 
cutting out with small scissors the stamens from the flowers in- 
tended for the female parent before the anthers burst, and in- 
troducing the pollen of the variety intended for the male parent 
by dusting the stigma with the ripe anthers. This last is the 
most certain and effectual method, because the pollen of the 
stranger plant, operating alone, must have more influence on the 
progeny than when operating in conjunction with that of the 
blossoms to be crossed. The object of this should be to obtain a 
superior variety in every particular, therefore particular attention 
should be paid both to the kind impregnated and to the kind im- 
pregnating. Were the Red Frontignac and White Sweet-water 
wedded together, their union would probably produce a very 
valuable sort, as there would be a good chance of the berries being 
both large and delicate. Grapes for seed should be permitted 
to remain on the plant until they are perfectly mature, and until 
the seeds become of a dark brown. The seeds should be separ- 
ated from the pulp and preserved till February or March. They 
should then be sown in pots filled with light earth, plunged in 
a moderate hot-bed, and the plants will come up in about a 
month ; and when the plants are about 6 inches high, they should 
be planted singly into 48-sized pots, and shifted into larger pots 
from time to time as they grow. Water gently as circumstances 
require, give plenty of light and air, and in the following autumn 
cut the plants down to within two buds of the ground, and sufter 
only one of these to extend itself in the spring. They will pro- 
duce fruit in 4 or 5 years, when the approved sorts should 
be selected and the others destroyed, or be kept for stocks to 
graft or inarch good sorts upon. Forsyth and some other 
authors recommend planting seedling vines the second year of 
their growth against a wall in the open air. Where there is 
abundance of walling to spare and no great haste requisite to 
prove the fruit, this is a good mode, as the fruit is sure of grow- 
ing larger, and give a better opportunity of judging of their 
merits ; but keeping the plants under glass in pots is the most 
eligible method, as the plants will produce fruit much sooner, 
and of better flavour. It would not, however, be prudent to 
plant out seedlings in a vinery in their untried state. The fruit 
of seedlings is not even always such as would be advisable to 
introduce into a vineyard; for although it may not have the 
sweetness, flavour, bulk, or precocity desired in an eating grape, 
AMPELIDEZ. 
IV. Vitis. 
it may be of that insipid large-berried kind, which is fit only 
to make the most inferior wines. In most vine countries, a 
small black berry, with an austere taste and aromatic flavour, 
and in a close bunch like that of our black cluster, is preferred 
to all others. It may be observed that vines raised from the 
seeds of black-berried kinds do not produce always black berries, 
nor the white-berried white berries. 
By layers.—The advantage of layers is generally stated to 
be that of procuring large plants, that come immediately into 
bearing. A deep incision is made at a joint, or a ring of bark 
is taken off, and the shoot pegged down and covered with earth. 
However, vine plants raised from layers are supposed to be 
shorter lived and far inferior to those raised from cuttings. 
By cuttings. —The advantage of propagating by cuttings 1s eco- 
nomy in labour. There are three kinds of cuttings used: 1 Long 
cuttings, from a foot to a foot and a half in length, consisting of 
new or young wood, with a joint or two of that of the preceding 
year. This is the sort recommended by Miller, adopted in form- 
ing vineyards on the Continent, and formerly used in this country 
for planting walls and vineries. They are inserted in the earth 
so as only to leave two eyes above ground, with the earth firmly 
pressed round them, they are mulched, and water is supplied 
regularly in dry weather. They strike freely in this way, 
either with or without bottom heat. In France they will even 
produce bunches of grapes the first year. 2 Short cuttings are 
formed with only one eye on the young wood, and 2 inches of that 
of the preceding year attached, plant in pots, one cutting in each, 
at first in 48-sized pots, and as soon as these pots are full of 
roots shift them into 32-sized pots. 3 Single-eyed cuttings ; 
for this last method ripened wood should always be chosen at 
the pruning season, and preserve the shoot till wanted in spring 
by covering their lower ends with earth. The upper part of the 
cutting should be cut in a sloping direction with a sharp, knife 
about a quarter of an inch above the eye, and cut about 5 inches 
below the eye horizontally, or they may be cut horizontally or 
slopingly at both ends at equal distances from the bud. Plant 
in pots, and bury the whole cutting in the soil, with the eye 
uppermost ; apply bottom heat as in propagating short cuttings. 
By grafting.—The advantages of this mode of propaga 
is when a wall or vinery is planted with inferior sorts of vines, the 
nature of the vines may be changed without loss of time an 
without expence ; or in small vineries where it would be mcon- 
venient to have a number of sorts from different roots, they may 
be procured by grafting different kinds on one and the a 
plant. But the most important advantage, Speechly cons! os 
is by grafting the weak and delicate growing vines, as the Blue 
Frontignac upon robust and vigorous kinds, as the Syrian. 
The Syrian, raised from seed, is greatly preferable to all others 
for stocks. If the seedlings degenerate to a kind of wildness, 59 
much the greater will be the vigour of the plants and the highe 
the flavour of the sorts grafted on them. At the pruning season 
select cuttings for grafts, preferring the bottom part of the a 
year’sshoots, preserve them by inserting three parts of their leng a 
in pots filled with earth till wanted. The season for grafting ! 
stoves is the beginning of January, in the open air the beginning 
of March. On small stocks, not more than an inch in diamete ; 
cleft-grafting will be found the most proper, but upon larger 
stocks whip-grafting is to be preferred. Vine grafts do st 
take so freely as those of most other fruits ; the operation rile 
be performed with the greatest care. But the most ‘ Bose 
manner of grafting vines is that by approach, in whic’ sag 
either the stock or scion must be growing in a pot air 
plants, 2 years potted, are to be preferred for the open al, 
but for a vinery or hot-house, plants from the nursery may la 
potted or shifted and inarched the same season. Here the i y 
and bandage should remain 2 or 3 months after the grafts ha 
