May 18, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



381 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



MAY 18—24, 1876. 



Royal Hort. 800. of Ireland Sacond Spring Show. 

 Crjstal Palace Show. Royal Uotanio Society— Lecture 



[ at 4 P.M. 



RoOATtON SONDAY. 



Royal Geographical Society f AnniverBflry) at 1 p.m. 

 Messrs. Jackmau's Clematis Exhibition closes. 

 Royal Botanic Society First Summer Exhibition. 



Moon 

 Kises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon'a 

 Age. 



h. m. ' h. m. 







2 10 j 



2 22 I 



2 85 ! 



2 61 I 



8 16 I 



8 60 I 



6 69 



8 83 



9 68 



Daya 

 24 

 25 

 28 

 27 

 28 



o 

 1 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



8 47 

 8 44 



Day 



of 



Year. 



1S9 

 140 

 141 

 142 

 143 

 144 

 145 



49.2'. 



From observations taken near London daring forty-three years, the average day temperatore ot the week is 66.6^; and its night temperatoie 



STOPPING AND TYING VINE SHOOTS. 



■ UST now, •wlien so many Vines are grow- 

 ing rapidly, the stopping and tying of the 

 young growths require considerable atten- 

 tion. Stopping the shoots is most impor- 

 tant. There is nothing more injurious to 

 the prosperity of Vines than allowing the 

 growths to ramble and form dense masses 

 of fohage before they are removed. Skilled 

 Grape-growers seldom or never allow their 

 Vines to make more wood than is actually 

 necessary ; but amateurs, who, as a rule, are afraid to 

 remove or restrict young shoots, err greatly in permitting 

 these slioots to become too long before etopping them, 

 and the consequence is that the wood is neither thick 

 nor short-jointed, but small and pithy; besides, when 

 the shoots run to a great length and are suddenly cut 

 back the whole Vine receives a severe check which 

 would never have been felt if the small points had 

 been constantly pinched-out at the proper length of the 

 shoot. 



Stopping should begin when the shoots are, at the very 

 most, a foot long ; on many of them the bunches are 

 quite visible at that length, and there should not be 

 the slightest hesitation in nipping the point out with 

 the finger and thumb at one leaf beyond the bunch. At 

 this time the wood may be very small and the point 

 leaves scarcely visible, but that does not matter. If the 

 Vines are in ordinary health and vigour the shoots when 

 stopped like this thicken in a remarkably short time, and 

 strong short-jointed wood is secured where it is most 

 needed. 



In the course of a week or ten days the Vines should 

 be gone over again : at this time it will be seen that 

 many lateral shoots are pushing from the axils of the 

 leaves, especially towards the point of the shoot. The 

 whole of these should be stopped at one leaf from the 

 main shoot, and not one of them should be allowed to 

 proceed an inch further throughout the whole season. 

 Subsequent growths to the one last removed should not 

 be allowed to make more than two leaves before they 

 are taken off. Sometimes when a shoot has failed to 

 start from the old rod there is a vacancy in the leafage 

 of the Vine ; in cases of this kind the next lower shoot 

 may be allowed to grow a few joints longer to fill up the 

 gap, but it should be rigidly restricted like the others as 

 soon as this is accomplished. 



Where the Vines are young and the principal rod does 

 not reach the top of the house there is always a length 

 of young leading wood requiring careful attention. In 

 many instances this shoot is considered a very precious 

 article and allowed the free run of the house. Its length 

 is more conveniently counted by yards than feet, and in 

 the autumn it is generally found that the greater part of 

 the wood is badly ripened or quite green ; but such is 

 rarely the case with leading shoots which are stopped at 

 or near to where they will form the extension to the main 

 rod at pruning time. Fi-om 3 to 5 feet is a good addition 

 No. 730.-VOL. XXX., New Sebhs. 



yearly until the top of the house is reached, and if the 

 leading shoot is stopped at cither of these lengths, accord- 

 ing to the strength of the Vine, it will be found much 

 more serviceable the following season than one six times 

 its length. When it has been stopped once the next top 

 shoot formed may be allowed to go a few feet further. 

 Up to the first stop will always remain the thickest and 

 best in every way, and this part will ripen when the 

 point is quite green. 



As there are always shoots which either do not pro- 

 duce hunches or that have to be cut off to moderate the 

 crop, a word may just be said about them. Very pro- 

 bably the spurs with no fruit this season will be the most 

 prolific next year. Plump well-developed buds or eyes 

 are of more use close to the spur than the other end of 

 the shoot. The closer the shoot is restricted the better 

 do the back buds swell, and tho nearer these fruitless 

 shoots are kept to a consistent length the greater is their 

 chances of doing well at a future time. One foot is quite 

 long enough for them. They do not at this length take 

 up much space, and they are sure to perfect the wood 

 thoroughly. 



Young Vines growing in pots either for planting or 

 fruiting are frequently allowed to grow to the length of 

 8 and 10 feet before they are stopped. When they come 

 to be used the half of this wood is cut away. Those 

 raised from eyes in the spring are generally thickest at 

 the far end, so that the very best of the wood is lost. 

 When the Vines are stopped at the length they are 

 desired for planting or fruiting, which is from 3 to 6 feet, 

 they make much superior canes to the long straggling 

 Vines. For early-fruiting pot Vines there is a great 

 advantage in keeping them short, as they perfect their 

 growth early and do not take so long to ripen the wood. 

 As in the case of long leading shoots on planted-out Vines, 

 long canes in pots often do not ripen their wood to the 

 extreme point. This is more particularly the case with 

 Muscats, and if the sap continues to How, as long as there 

 is green wood and leaves at the top, it must be extremely 

 injurious to cut these unripe points off, as is often done 

 when the cane looks brown far enough up for the purpose 

 for which it is required. 



The mistake which occurs oftenest in connection with 

 tying Vice shoots is in delaying this operation too long. 

 It is not uncommon to see the young shoots breaking 

 their points against the roof; and having grown so long 

 in this erect direction, when they come to be tied down 

 many of them snap off at their connection with the old 

 wood, and others of them with their point bent down 

 break in two halfway. All this may be avoided by look- 

 ing over the Vines frequently from the time the first 

 shoots are 6 inches long until the last of them have been 

 fixed in their proper places. Pinching and tying may be 

 done at one and the same time. Strong thick shoots 

 should only be slightly inclined at tho first tying ; nest 

 time they wDl yield freely to the wires without any danger 

 of breaking. Leading shoots should not be allowed to 

 twine amongst the wires. Soft strong matting is a good 

 material for tying with. Shoots bearing fruit should be 



No, liti,—\OU liV., Ou> Sebies, 



