PRACTICAL HINTS ON PRUNING GRAPE-VINES. 



319 



"' close at home," as it is termed, you sacri- 

 fice much better developed eyes than the 

 one you retain ; and as a small eye cannot 

 develop a large bunch, the natural conse- 

 quence is small bunches, but well swelled 

 berries. Vine cultivators will have noticed 

 the above facts, which I point out. Now 

 -as both the cane and the spur mothods are 

 deficient, I shall endeavor to show that a 

 combination of both systems may be made 

 of the utmost importance to the cultivator, 

 insuring him bunches and berries of the 

 largest size that are to be obtained by good 

 cultivation. 



To effect this, I should recommend, that 

 in pruning vines on the spur system, not to 

 cut back to one eye, but choose the most 

 prominent eye on the shoot, where the wood 

 is well ripened. Cut back to this, and with 

 a sharp knife blind all the other eyes by care- 

 fully cutting them out, with the exception 

 of the eye at the base, or, in other words, 

 *he eye that would be left in spurring back 

 in the common manner. This must be 

 carefully preserved, as the finest eye, as 

 this is intended to furnish a shoot for the 

 following year, but by no means to be al- 

 lowed to produce any fruit ; on the con- 

 trary, when five or six joints long, it should 

 be stopped, and kept well stopped all the 

 season, to swell the buds up as prominently 

 as you can, without causing them to break ; 

 this mu >t be carefully guarded against. 

 The consequence of exciting your buds, on 

 the shoot that you should cut back to, 

 would be the loss of one year's crop. 



If any cultivator will give this method of 

 pruning an impartial trial the coming sea- 

 son, he will find that his bunches will be 

 improved in size, as well as the berry. In 

 pruning the season succeeding this prepara- 



tory step, the shoot that has borne the crop 

 should be cut clean out ; and the shoot that 

 has been brought from the base to produce 

 the following season, should have all its 

 eyes cut clean out, with the exception of 

 the most prominent eye, that has been se- 

 lected to bear the fruit, and the one at the 

 base, that is to produce a bearing shoot for 

 the following crop. 



I think it decidedly a bad plan to delay- 

 pruning so late as the generality of cultiva- 

 tors do. My plan is to prune, as soon as I 

 perceive the foliage turning yellow, as then 

 there is no danger of exciting the eyes, as 

 the sap in the vine then has a downward 

 tendency ; whatever is left goes directly tp 

 swell up the other eyes, instead of being 

 uselessly expended in nourishing laterals 

 and useless wood, which, to a certainty, 

 would have to be cut out. However, in 

 pruning with the leaves on, I take especial 

 care not to remove them — merely blinding 

 the eye. In short, what is to be aimed at 

 is this : assist your buds to swell up as 

 prominently as you can for the coming sea- 

 son, as the finer they are the finer will your 

 produce be ; and the right time to prune, is 

 when you observe the foliage turning yel- 

 low ; then there is no danger. This sys- 

 tem can be followed out of doors quite as 

 advantageously as under glass ; and when 

 adopted, it greatly excels the common mode 

 of pruning, as the produce is nearly as fine 

 again ; and should the vines possess a good 

 border to grow in, and with the aid of 

 stimulating liquid manures, they will ap- 

 proximate as near to perfection as may be. 

 I have a few hints to suggest, on making 

 vine borders, which I will hand you at an 

 early day. Yours truly, James Stewart. 



Washington, D. C , Dtceii.ber, IQffi. 



