1 s 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Vine—continued. ⁄ Í 
` well, it is a good plan to rub off the higher or top buds, 
which will induce. the lower ones to break stronger. 
Again, if it has been forgotten to prune a Vine or shoot 
until it has become too late to do so, on account of 
the risk of bleeding, the neglect may, to some extent, 
be rectified by a careful rubbing-off of the buds, as soon 
as they may appear, to the point to which the shoot 
ought to have been pruned; and then, when the leaves 
are about fully developed, the sap of the Vine will be 
sufficiently diverted, and the shoot may be pruned with 
safety. 
E, the Shoots. This is requisite in order to keep 
the growth within certain limits, and thus to prevent 
overcrowding and confusion. According to the Spur 
m, the main stems being from 4ft. to 5ft. apart, 
the side shoots, on which the fruit is borne, cannot be 
allowed to extend to more than 2ift. in length, otherwise 
they must overlap each other. The length of the shoots 
is generally regulated by the position of the bunch, the 
usual practice being to stop them at two joints beyond 
the bunch, or at one point beyond, if there is not space 
for a greater extension. Practically, the longer these 
shoots can be allowed to grow, the better, as the greater 
the quantity of fully-developed first leaves, the greater 
the amount of vigour induced. The operation itself 
should be performed as soon as the shoot attains the 
requisite length, and is done simply by pinching off the 
tip, between the finger and thumb, before it has become 
fully developed. There is thus scarcely anything to take 
off, no denuding of the Vine of a portion of its foliage, 
and no consequent check to its growth, It is a very bad 
practice indeed to allow the shoots to grow to such a 
as to render it necessary to use the knife in 
stopping them. The tendril forming a part of the bunch 
of fruit should be pinched off at the same time, also all 
superfluous bunches. 
After this first pinching or stopping, the foremost buds 
— 4n the axils of the leaves again produce shoots, according to 
their vigour, which are called laterals, or summer lateral 
shoots. They should be stopped in the same way 
" immediately beyond the first leaf, and so on again and 
again throughout the season, as they may continue to 
W. 
The leading shoot of a young Vine is, of course, to be 
exempted from this stopping, excepting in so far as relates 
to the laterals it produces; and these, if space is limited, 
must be stopped in the manner explained, or they may be 
trained out in the same way. as the proper shoots, and 
allowed to extend and oceupy as much space as may be 
available. It should always be borne in, mind that the 
greater the quantity of fully-developed leaves and shoots, 
the more powerful must be the root action, and the more 
vigorous the plant. The stopping of the shoots of a Vine 
is not a checking or repressing of its vigour, but rather 
a guiding or directing of its energies into certain channels 
of a more desirable and beneficial character than those 
they would follow if left to themselves. $ 
Setting or Fertilisation of the Fruit. If the flowers are 
not properly fertilised, they will probably fall off, or, 
perhaps, small berries may be formed: but, as no seed 
can be produced by reason of non-fertilisation, they, as 
& consequence, will not grow to their proper size. The 
impregnating process, in a mechanical point of view, 
consists of the application of the pollen to the stigma 
of the flower. It is effected at a very early stage, the 
little jerk occasioned by the dislodgment of the ‘teap ” 
. Or covering causing the pollen-dust to be dispersed. 
This is generally effected naturally, or without any 
assistance beyond the maintenance of the proper tem- 
perature, atmospheric conditions, &c.,and these, of course, 
vary according to circumstances. 
~ Some cultivators consider it necessary to maintain a 
very high temperature—from 65deg. to 70deg. by night— 
Vine—continued. 
for the setting of their grapes. This, even if desirable for 
the forcing-on of the grapes, is not required for the mere 
“setting” of the fruit. For example, in late houses, and - 
on open walls, the Vines set their fruit quite freely at a 
lower temperature. Grapes frequently set well at as low 
a temperature as 45deg. by night. Temperature ranging 
from 55deg. to 60deg. by night is quite high enough for 
the mere purpose of setting the fruit, provided there be 
the desired rise during the day. 
takes place in the early morning and forenoon. The 
temperature by day should always be high by sun-heat. 
The one great requirement is sunshine, with a fine, mild, 
bracing atmosphere, so that fresh air in abundance may 
be admitted to the houses. It is the bracing air, sup- 
plemented by the action of sun-heat, which induces the 
dispersion of the pollen, and by this means effects the 
setting of the berries. 
At times, when sunshine is wanting, it is well to apply 
The setting process 
artificial assistance, such as “setting” the flowers with | 
foreign pollen, by the aid of a camel-hair pencil. The 
smallest portion of pollen applied to the stigma will be 
sufficient; or the plan of smartly tapping the stems of 
the Vines, so as to shake the bunches, may be adopted, 
when the pollen will be seen to fly off like a cloud of 
dust; or, again, recourse may be had to drawing the hand 
gently over the bunch. 
practised with success amongst the “shy setters.” 
Certain varieties of Grapes, it is well known, set 
their fruit freely at all times, and under all sorts of 
conditions that may be favourable for the Vine. Other 
varieties do not set freely, whatever may be the reason, 
and are, in consequence, termed “bad setters.” . 
and varied conjectures and ideas have been submitted 
from time to time as to the probable cause of this 
defect. The pollen and the stigma in some varieties do 
not ripen at the same time, so that fertilisation cannot 
take place, and the action of foreign pollen becomes 
necessary. In other cases the pollen is found to be 
inert; and some varieties—notably, Black Morocco—have 
the point of the stigma exceedingly moist, which seems 
to prevent fertilisation, although this is a condition 
generally supposed to be favourable for the reception. | 
of the pollen. 
Attention has also recently been directed to the fact 
that certain shy-setting Grapes—e.g., Alnwick Seedling, 
Chaouch, and some American sorts — have the stamens 
deflexed, or falling away from the stigma, so that they 
cannot readily be fertilised (the ordinary Vine flower 
has the stamens erect, and pressing round the stigma). 
In such cases, the defect of non-setting being due to a 
The last plan is frequently 
Many ` 
structural or constitutional peculiarity, artificial impreg- ` 
nation is the only remedy to adopt. | 
Thinning the Fruit. The Vine is an extremely fruitful 
plant; so much so, that were the whole crop of the bunches 
produced by it allowed to remain, the plant would soon 
succumb through over-fertility. It is impossible to state 
how many bunches, or what crop, a Vine should carry, 
so much depends upon its health and constitution, on 
its surroundings, and on the subsequent management 
accorded it. A rule something like this might be laid 
down: According to the surface of properly-developed 
leaves, &c., so should be the crop of fruit taken. We 
know we must have so many good leaves for every 
pound of fruit. The greater the amount of properly- 
developed foliage allowed, the better. If we bear in 
mind that all the colouring and sweetening matter, 
which goes to the perfecting of the berries, has first to- 
pass through and be elaborated by the leaves, we shall 
see that without a certain amount of healthy 
whose foliage gets destroyed 
exactly the same condition. . 
S FL 
leaf-surface ` 
good fruit cannot be produced. A Vine with weak, sickly ` 
foliage cannot produce or bear much fruit, and a plant ` 
by Red Spider, &e. is in ` 
