V 



T 



V i 



1 



T ■ 





^ 4 





ine kiccccuing year, 



bear tru'i: , but Vv-hcre the Vines arc weak, and hav 

 not produced more than two or three flioots tiie lafl: 

 Icaibn, there lliouid be biii one of them left with three 

 eyes for bearing ; the otlier mud be Hiortened dow^n 

 to two, or if weak one good eye, in order to obtain 

 flrong ilioots the following fummer ; for there is no- 

 thing more injurious to Vines, than the leaving too 

 nruch wood upon them, efpecially while they are 



or the overbearing them, v/hich will v/eaken 

 them fo much, as not be recovered a.^ain to a good 



i 



young ; 



ftatc in feveral years, though they fliould be managed 

 with all pOiTible fKiil. 



In March the ground between the Vines fhould be 

 well dup- as before, oblerving not to injure their roots 

 by dicrging too deep near them ; but where there ar 





fmall horizontal roots produced on or near the furface 

 of the ground, tliey fnould be pruned ofFclofe to the 

 places vvhere they were produced ; thefe being what 

 the vignerons call day roots, and are by no means ne- 

 cefiary to be left on : and after havino- duo- the ground, 

 the flakes fnould be placed down in the following 

 manner: on each fide of the Vine iliould be a ftake 

 put in at about fixteen inches from the foot, to which 

 the tvv^o branches, which were pruned to three eyes, 

 each for bearing, lliould be faitened, (obferving, as 

 was before directed, not to d^av^^ them dovv^n too ho- 

 rizontally ; ) then another taller flake fliould be placed 

 down near the foot of the Vine, to which the tv/o 

 flioots which were pruned down to two eyes, fhould 

 be fafcened, provided they are long enough for thdt 

 purpofe ; but if not, when their eyes begin to flioot, 

 theie muft be trained upright to the flakes, to prevent 

 their trailing on the ground, hanging over the fruit 

 branches, or being broken by the wind. 

 In May the Vines fhould be carefully looked over 

 gain, at which time all weak lateral branches fhould 

 .be rubbed off as they are produced -, and thofe Ihoots 

 which fhew fruit, mufl be fallened with bafs to the 

 flakes to prevent their being brokeriV'uritil they are 

 extended to three joints beyond the fruit, when they 

 ; fliould be flopped ; but the fhoots which are defigned 

 '. for , bearing the fdlowingfeafon, fhould be trained 

 „;';uprigKtVto, the middle flake, by which m,ethodJhe 

 fruit branches will not fhadp thele jniddje fhoots, "nor 

 will the middle IBoots 'fhade the fruit, *'fo^ tliat' each 

 will enjoy the beneiif of furi and air. 

 This method fhould be repeated every fortnight or 

 three v/eeks, from the beginning of May to the mid- 

 dle of July, which v;ill always keep the fnoots in their 

 right poiition, whereby the leaves will not be invert- 

 ed, which greatly retards the growth of the fruit ; 

 and.by keeping the Vijies.conflantly clear from, hori- 

 zontal fhoots, the fruit will not be crouded with leaves 

 and fhaded, but will h^ye cpntlantly, the advantage 

 . of the fun and air equally, .which ^i^^ of great confe- 





^quence;' for where the fruit is covered with thefe 

 :: dangling fhoots in the fpring, anc! are afterwards ex- 

 ■_ pofed to the air, either by divelling thetn of their 



leaves, orelfe difplacjng their branches entirely, as is 



'often pradlifedjjthe fruit will become hard, and re- 



. main ai^a perfeft fland for'three weeks, and fom/etimes 



.Z_ will never a^varice'afterward, as I have feveral tunes 



,_. cbferyed •, therefore there cannot be too, much care 



taken to keep' them'cdntlantly in ,a tindly flate of 

 . grovv^th, as the vignerons abroad well know, thb* in 

 .., England it is little regarded by the generality of gar- 

 ^.^ deners,' who, when their Grapes fuflcr by this neglefl, 

 /: ; imrnediately complain of the climarc, or the imtoward- 

 !r.'nefs of the fcafon, which is too often a cover for ne- 

 ,'. gfeds of this nature. ^ And here I cannot help taking 

 _'r notice of the abfurd pfaftice of thofe who pull oft their 



leaves from their Vines, which are placed near the 



:. fruit, in order to let in the rays of the'fun to ripen 



them'-, not cbnfidering how much they expofe thei 

 iV.i;^ v^' vt'^ ^^1,1 .i^,wn ,r.!.;^u f^n ••,i...,.:r..n., ;„ :,., 



m au- 



. fruit to xtfe cold dews, which fall plentifully 



tumn, v/hich,'"be]ng imbibed by the fruit, grcatlyre- 

 . tard them j, befides no fruit will ripen To well when 

 "entirely expofed, tg^ the fun, as wlieri' they are gently^ 

 ;." . fcrcencd wkfi^ jeayes j and^by ^^^^ pulling off thefe 



leaves, vvhlch are abrolutcly ncccrfir/ V) prepare the 



juices before they enter the fruit, ihtr grcis \y:.n<^ of 



which are perfpir'^d avvay by tl]': leaves, the fruit mii'^- 



1 1, 



either be deprived of nourunnient, or ciieiomc utth 



v.. 



t \ - 1 *- ^ '^ 



grOiS particles will enter with the niorc rciincd 

 of t!:e juice, and thereby render the fruit ^vuric\lun 

 it v/ould otherv/ife be, were rl:e ]?avc: permitted to 

 remain upon the branches-, for if the woak dandinrr 

 flioots are confrantly difplaced as they are produced, 

 tlie fruit will not be too much fnadcd by the leaves 



that are upon the bearing brairci^c". 



V/hen the fruit is ripe, if the ilalks of the bunches 



are cut half tlirou.qh a fortnic-iu b-forc 



10 



e tney are ga- 

 thered, it will caufe the jrtice to be much better, bc- 

 caufe there will not be near fo great a quantity of nou- 

 rifliment enter the fruit, whicreby the watery carticles 

 will have time to evaporate, and the juice vv^ill be 

 better digefted. This is pra£tlfed by fon:c of the mofl 

 curious vignerons in tlie fouth of Trance, where thev 

 make excellent wine. But if, after the fruit be cue, 

 it is hung up in a dry room upon firings, fo as not 

 to touch each other, for a month before they are prelTr 

 ed, it will alfo add greatly to the ftrength of the 

 wine, becaufe in that time a great quantity of the wa- 

 tery parts of the juices will evaporate. This is acon- 

 ftant praftice with fome perfons who inhabit the Tyro- 

 lefe, on the borders of Italy, where is made a trofc 

 delicious rich wine^ as hath been attefled by Dr. Bur- 

 net in his travels ; and I have heard the hmc from 

 feveral gentlemen, Vvho have travelled that road fince. 

 But with all the care that can poiTibly be taken, either 

 in the culture of the Vines, or in making the wine, it 

 vvill not be near fogood while the vineyard is vouner, 

 as it will be after it has been planted ten or twelve 

 years ; and it will be condantly mending, until it is 

 '. fifty years old,* as is attefled by feveral curious per- 

 " Tons abroad, as alfo by the mofl fkilful v/me-coopers 

 at hom*e, who can tell the produce of a young vine- 

 ' yard from 'that of an old ch^l after it is brought to 

 England, by the colour of the wine. This difference 

 is very eafily accounted for from the different flruc- 

 ture of the vefTels of the plants; thofe' of the youno- 

 . Vines beinff larffer,"and of a loofer texture, eafilv 

 , admit a larger quantity or grols nouruhm.ent' to pals 

 , through them "; whereas thofe of old Vines, which 

 ."are more woody, are more clofely conflricled, and 

 ■ thereby the juice is better {trained in pafTmg through 

 them, wifich mufl ccnfequently render it much better, 

 tliough the Grapes from a young vineyard will be 

 larger, and afford a greater quantity of juice •, fo that 

 people fliould hot be difcouraged if their wines at firft 

 are not fo' good as they could wifh, fince aftervv^ard, 

 ■^' when the vineyard is a few years older, the wine may 

 ".ahfwer their expeftation. ' As to the fermenting and 



the wine, that is treated of particularly 

 under the article Wines, To which "the reader' is de- 



mana:2ing 



fired to turn. 



' ' * ' 



»< 



■*' A 



The vineyard being now arrived to a bearing flate, 



'^ fhould be treated after the follcv^ino- m.anner :' firfl, 



in the pruningthere fliould never be too many branches 



' ; left upon a root, nor thofe too long -, for although by 



^ doing of* this, there may be a greater quantity of 



fruit produced, yet the iuice of thefe will never be fo 



ood as when there is a moderate quantity which wiJl 



c better nou'rilhed, and the roots of the plants not 



fo much Weakened : which is found to be of fo bad 



* . , r _ 





-t 



confequence to vineyards, that when gentlemen abroad 

 lett out vineyards to vignerons, there is always a 

 claufe inferted in their leafes to direct how miany 

 flioots fhall be^left upon each Vine, and the number 

 of eyes to which the branches mufl be flicrtened ; be- 

 caufe were not the vijrnerons thus tied dovv^n, thev 

 'Would overbear the Vines, fo that m a few years they 

 would exhaufl their roots, and render them fo v/eak 

 as not to be recovered again in feveral years'; and 

 their wine' would be fo bad, as to bring a difrepu- 

 tation on the vineyard, to the o-reat lofs of the pro- 

 prietor. < • . . , 



"The number of branches which the Italians generally 



' "agree to leave upon a flrong Virfe* are fourj tvfo of 



■ -■■■ " ••- the 



