282 VILLA GAEDENINa pakt hi 



difficult without some parts suffering injury. Hence the value 

 and importance of work done at its proper season. As soon 

 as the buds burst forth the weak ones should be rubbed off, and 

 as soon as the bunches can be seen a fiu'ther reduction in their 

 number sliould be made, leaving only as many as can be laid in 

 to the wall without overcrowding. Stop all shoots one leaf beyond 

 the bunch, and rub off all lateral growth in the bud state. This 

 may be taken as a general principle in the open-air cultivation of 

 the Vine ; but there may be cases in which a departure from this 

 principle is advisable in the matter of stopping the main shoots. 

 For instance, a little more growth may be permitted, say to two 

 leaves beyond the bunch, before stopping, and there may be cases 

 where the lateral growth may have a little more freedom. These 

 cases are usually Vines in sluggish action, and a little more growth 

 acts as a stimulus to exertion. 



Winter Pruning. — This shoidd be done as soon as the leaves 

 fall ; and any dressing or cleaning which may be necessary should 

 be done at the same time. The best system to keep the Vines in 

 a continuous bearing state is a combination of spur and long rod. 

 For instance, a certain number of old rods should be cut out 

 annually, and a similar number of yoiing canes trained up to supply 

 their places. In this way there would never be any old rods with 

 long spurs producing a thicket of weakly sprays which are com- 

 • paratively wortldess. Wlicn the Vine wall is first planted it will 

 be best to i^lant at a certain specified distance apart, say from 8 

 to 12 feet, with main rods starting away horizontally at right 

 angles from the trunk till the limit of width has been reached, and 

 then led upwards. Other canes would spring from the base, 

 and be trained 2 feet apart, vertically. The bearing rods would 

 be 2 feet ajiart, or in some cases a little more space should be 

 allowed, and between each two bearing rods will be trained a 

 young rod, growing up for bearing the next year. In shortening 

 these young shoots, cut to well-ripened wood. The spurs also 

 should be cut well back, for there is no advantage in leaving them 

 so long as is commonly done. It is always a good plan in the 

 management of Vines — and indeed the same rule applies to all 

 fruit trees — to allow those trees showing superior vigour to extend 

 at the expense of the plants growing near. If we plant on a south 

 wall a dozen, or any greater or lesser number of Grape Vines, some 

 of them will be sure to be stronger than the others ; and unless 

 they are of different kinds, and there is some special reason for 

 permitting all to remain, the strongest should be allowed to 

 occupy all the space, removing the weakly plants. There are two 

 great evils in connection with open-air Grape culture — one is the 



