1871.] FRUITING VINES IN POTS. 365 



FRUITING VINES IN POTS. 



Crops of Grapes from pot- Vines, we • need not say, have now more 

 than ever become common. Hence the enormous quantity of Vines 

 prepared for the purpose in all the principal nursery establishments in 

 the kingdom, to say nothing of the numbers prepared by gardeners for 

 their own use. Many gardeners produce their earliest crops from pot- 

 Vines exclusively, and the practice has much to recommend it ; and 

 chief among these recommendations is the fact that no one set of 

 permanent Vines can bear the murderous strain which ripening their 

 crops in April entails upon them. True, we have known the same 

 Vines to have borne ripe crops in April for twenty years in succession 

 with their roots exclusively in outside borders ; but this is the excep- 

 tion, not the rule. And in consequence, many of our very best Grape- 

 growers are adopting the judicious practice of getting their first spring 

 crops from pot- Vines. The success of this practice, it need scarcely 

 be said, depends more on the way in which the Vines are prepared than 

 on all else besides. First and foremost among the points of importance 

 in their preparation is, that they be grown under the influence of 

 plenty of light, so that they have well-developed buds and well-ripened 

 wood and roots. Strength must be regarded as of importance, but 

 not unless the former condition can be secured at the same time. On 

 this account we have always had a decided objection to Vines that 

 have either been grown under the shade of permanent Vines, or too 

 thickly in an upright position in the centre of houses devoted entirely 

 to themselves, under which circumstances sound and fruitful growths, 

 though strong, cannot be produced ; and we would advise growers to 

 avoid such conditions. 



There is another practice connected with fruiting Vines in pots 

 upon which too much stress can scarcely be laid, and that is the 

 allowing them to grow and ramble to the length of say 8 feet, and 

 then to shorten them back to 5 or 6 feet when they are pruned. 

 The consequence of this is, that all the best and most fruitful buds are 

 removed and the more inferior retained. The length to which the 

 Vines are required to fruit should be decided when the Vines are 

 being prepared, and all cutting back avoided as an evil. We would 

 not advance an objection to an 8-feet Vine, but we have no hesitation 

 in saying that in forcing a Vine of that length to ripen in April the 

 far finest crop will be from the top half of it; and it will be best to 

 acknowledge this in fruiting it, and to let it bear its fruit exclusively 

 from the top half, which will not only break first, but show and swell 

 the largest and best bunches — ^just because of the fact that the best 

 buds are there, and that the flow of sap is principally to them instead 



