JULY. 205 



at a correct opinion unless sufficient time is given them for comparison ; 

 and on sound impartial judgment more than anything else the success 

 of a horticultural society depends. 



HINTS ON GRAPE GROWING.— No. XL 



By a Country Gardener. 



To encourage the swelling of the buds, the Vines should be damped 

 over wTith the syringe two or three times daily with tepid water ; as 

 before advised, close the house early on the afternoons of sunny days, 

 to give the Vines the benefit of a little extra sun heat ; and if the Vines 

 are syringed at the same time, and the walks and floor well damped, 

 a genial moist heat will follow, very favourable to vegetation ; in fact, 

 during their entire growth, up to the time when the fruit commences to 

 change colour, advantage should be taken of this. I do not recommend 

 syringing the Vines after the shoots are three or four inches long, 

 although it is a common practice with many cultivators to do so, 

 believing that a sufficiently humid atmosphere can easily be obtained 

 by sprinkUng the floors, &c., of the house. In very hot dry weather 

 this should be constantly done, and especially towards the evening. 

 After the leaves of Vines are fully grown, they exhale, or perspire, very 

 freely in dry weather ; and it is a good practice in some degree to coun- 

 teract this, by keeping the interior of the house moister than the external 

 air, which the above will effect. 



In tying the main stem to the trellis, take care it is placed in exactly 

 the same position in which it grew last season ; the eyes, or buds, will 

 then, as they advance, be in a line with the trellis, so as to be easily 

 trained at a right angle with the main stem, or nearly so. As the 

 young shoots are very brittle, they must be gradually brought to their 

 proper places ; for if tied down at once, some of them might break off*, 

 by the tie obstructing their growth, which would destroy for a time the 

 regularity of their growth. When the shoots are advanced sufficiently 

 long that the bunches can be distinguished, the points should be pinched 

 out, or stopped (as it is technically called). Before this is done it will 

 be as well to allow the bunches to develop themselves more fully, as 

 sometimes the second bunch on the shoot is the handsomest, and should 

 of course be left. The stopping may therefore be deferred a few days, 

 to give time to ascertain this point. It is the usual practice to stop 

 Vines at one joint above the bunch, and this with Hamburghs and the 

 generality of Vines is the proper practice ; but with IMuscats and one 

 or two others whose foliage is not so large, two joints may be allowed. 

 The leading or top shoot should run to the top of the house before being 

 stopped, if it does not already reach it. 



The Vines at this stage will grow fast, and my previous remarks on 

 supplying them with air, &c., must be attended to ; in addition, should 

 cold dull weather intervene, slight fires will be of great assistance, both 

 by encouraging the development of the bunches, and by permitting a 

 larger admission of air than could otherwise be given. 



