PRUNING ESTABLISHED VINES 71 



this can easily be regulated as the bunches are placed 

 in the bottles. The piece of wood attached to the 

 bunches should be long enough to reach to the 

 bottom of the bottles, leaving a good length of wood 

 beyond the bunch, also. In the case of some bunches 

 Black Alicante in particular sufficient length of wood 

 may not be available between bunch and main stem to 

 reach the bottom of the bottle, in which case the length 

 of wood beyond the bunch can be inserted in the water, 

 as it matters little, if anything, which end is inserted. 

 In either case, sufficient moisture to keep the berries 

 plump and fresh will be communicated through the 

 tissues for the purpose. The charcoal will keep the 

 water sweet in the bottles, which should be replenished 

 when necessary, as it is most important and essential to 

 the preservation of the berries in a plump state that the 

 wood attaching to the bunches should always be in 

 contact with the water. It is a good plan when re-filling 

 the bottles with water to cut off half an inch or so of 

 the wood before re-inserting it in the water. Treated 

 as recommended above, I have kept Lady Downe's and 

 Mrs Pince grapes nice and plump up to the middle or 

 end of April, and sometimes into May. 



i/ 

 PRUNING ESTABLISHED VINES 



There is little to be added to that already said on 

 the subject in the section on "The Treatment of 

 Vines First Year," further than to say that spur- 

 pruning is the practice generally followed. It consists 

 in cutting the laterals hard back to within one eye 

 of the main stem ; this tends to keep the bearing 

 shoots pretty close into the main stem, through which 

 channel the sap flows into all lateral growths. Still, 

 it is sound practice occasionally to prune back to 

 a large well-developed bud irrespective of its being 



