STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 145 



the fruit. These grapes grew no more, and never ripened natu- 

 rally, or became of much value. The other vine which was no 

 how superior, I saved from their touch, not trimming it at all. 

 The autumn presented upon it a very large amount of delicious 

 fruit in large clusters. I am happy to find that the ripe expe- 

 rience of Mr. Downing coincided substantially with the preceding 

 views. See the Horticulturist of July 1852, page 271. He there 

 says : " We advise that every leaf be left, and only stop the fruit 

 bearing branches when they become so long as to become 

 unmanageable, or fill the stake or trellis too much. The severe 

 system of pruning out of door vines is both unnatural, and 

 unsuited to our climate." 



Since writing the above, I find, on recurring to the Horticul- 

 turist, vol. 1, p. 64, the fullest confirmation of these views by 

 Prof. Lindley, and endorsed also by Mr. Downing. They are too 

 long to be quoted here, nor need they be after expressing my 

 own views above; but they are well worthy of careful perusal. 

 The preceding suggestions on trimming the grape are of course 

 applicable only to its open culture. In the grape house every 

 thing is artificial, and there extreme trimming becomes indispen- 

 sible. 



c. Culture J properly so called. — (1.) Soil and manures. — In a per- 

 fect climate, where plants, in the most rapid state of develop- 

 ment, never meet with sudden and extreme climatic changes, 

 there is but little danger of over feeding it. But in a climate 

 such as ours, where changes of the weather are constantly occur- 

 ring, and at very uncertain periods, vegetation, especially that 

 which is tropical, is easily thus injured. The rules of the books 

 then, relative to the formation of grape borders, should be exclu- 

 sively applied to graperies. For all open culture we need — 



(a.) A soil possessed of all the elements of fertility, in a mode- 

 rate state of development. 



(b.) It should be open and friable that it may not bake and heat, 

 and thus shut off* the rain and the atmosphere. 



(c.) It should be deep that the vine, drawing its nourishment 

 from deep sources, may thus both start later in the spring, and 

 feel the sudden changes of summer, and the drought less. 



[Ag. Trans.] J 



