12 



poor ones, and there is nothing that will ruin the constitution of 

 a vine so much as over-cropping. 



"The leading growths should not be stopped until about four 

 months after the vine was pruned and started into active growth, 

 then the growing points should be pinched out. This will cause 

 the trunk to increase in girth. 



" All laterals should be kept off the leading growths. 



" As the vine gets covered with foliage it should get a great deal 

 more water than it received during the first few weeks : the soil 

 must never be allowed to get anything like dry. When about to 

 flower it should receive a good watering to carry it over that 

 period, and after that it should get a copious supply once a week 

 until the fruit begins to colour, when water should be withheld 

 for a few weeks. 



" Young vines grown for field culture should be disbudded to one 

 growth : those on trellises may be disbudded to one, two, three or 

 four growths as the grower may think fit. 



" If it should happen that the spring growth has not produced 

 any fruit, the vine will require just as much attention as if it 

 were bearing a crop. Next year's crop depends on the quality 

 and condition of the wood grown and ripened this year. 



" I have often had complaints about vines not fruiting, and on 

 examination I have always found that this was due to heavy rains 

 the previous autumn causing a lot of superfluous growths which 

 were not removed, but were allowed to remain on the vines, with 

 the result that the over-crowding of growths and foliage prevented 

 the fruiting wood— that should have been — from being properly 

 ripened, hence no fruit." 



The Rev. Mr. Griffith writes : — "As the buds begin to open the 

 fertile ones can be distinguished from the barren ones by the 

 fluffy red tip that appears in the centre. It is wise economy when 

 there is more than one cluster on one shoot to remove one of them. 

 The blossoms nearest the main stem will give the most shapely, 

 compact bunch ; the flowers further away will give a looser but 

 larger bunch. Disbudding must have attention. By disbudding 

 we mean the rubbing off with the thumb and finger, where two or 

 more buds show close together, all except one bud, the one left 

 being the one in the best position, and also removing any buds 

 which if left on would result in over-crowding. 



" The next step is pinching back to the third or fourth leaf all 

 fruit-bearing canes, and the tying in out of the way of the cluster 

 any non-bearing cane that it may be desirable to retain as a fruit 

 bearer for the following season. 



" Most vines, if at all free-bearing, will show more fruit than they 

 can properly mature. This raises the question as to how many 

 and what clusters should be allowed to remain. Some shoots will 

 only show one cluster, the majority will, however, be likely to 

 show two, and now and again a cane may have three clusters. 

 Here is a case in which two are not better than one and 

 where three are worse yet. Never leave more than one cluster 

 on one cane, and that not always the one that promises to 



