8^2 THE CANADIAN lIORTICCTLTtJKIST: 



a deficiency of healthy sap, makes it more easily assailable by diseases 

 such as mildew, rot, &c., and may have the effect of rendering it less 

 able to endure the severity of the winter. 



It would be easy to ascertain by actual experiment whether ex- 

 posing the fruit to the direct rays of the sun has the effect of accele- 

 rating the ripening process; but in the absence of such evidence, it will 

 suffice to say, that without leaves fruit will neither grow nor ripen ; 

 and in some cases it would appear that it ripens more rapidly in the 

 shade, for it has been observed that grapes grown nearest the ground, 

 and therefore most in the shade, are n«t only the largest and finest 

 flavored, but ripen several days earlier than those grown near the 

 tops of trellises. What says the editor of the Pacific Rural Press? 

 "The largest, sweetest, and best flavored fruit to our taste, is to be 

 found on vifies trained about two feet from the ground and well screened 

 from the direct rays, of the sunr 1 have been advised to take the 

 leaves off tomato plants with a view of hastening the ripening process, 

 and have seen that course followed by others, but never could perceive- 

 any beneficial results; in fact, it rather appeared as though the plants- 

 devoted their whole energies to renewing or replacing the leaves 

 that had been so ruthlessly cut away; and the ripening, while this 

 was going on, was rather retarded than otherwise. 



The annual pruning of vines so generally practised, Avhetlier done 

 in the fall, the winter, or the spring ; whether on the renewal system 

 or any other system, is not less injurious to the general health and pro- 

 ductiveness of the vines than that above referred to as summer pruning.. 



There is throughout the vegetable kingdom, when nature is allowed 

 to take its own course, a certain balance preserved between the roots' 

 ©n th& one hand, and the leaves and branches of all trees and plants 

 on the other; and to secure the best results, it is necessary that tliis 

 balance should be maintained. It is just as important for the health 

 of the roots, that a certain surface of leaves and branches should be 

 exposed to the sun and air, as it is that there should be a sufficiency 

 of roots to keep those leaves and branches in a healthy condition; and 

 nature when left to herself always preserves this uniformity. The 

 annual pruning of grape vines destroys this balance, by continually 

 cutting down the branches, while the roots are allowed to grow un- 

 checked; and the sap that should be chemically changed by the action 

 of the- sun on the surface of the leaves, is not so acted upon as to allow 



