RINGING OF GRAPES 285 



ringed, however, and this maintains the growth of the 

 plant. But it is a question if this renewal wood is sufficient 

 to keep the plant strong and healthy. Grape-ringing is 

 practiced by many growers in the Hudson Kiver Valley, and 

 mostly with good success so far as the precocity and en- 

 largement of grapes is concerned. It is yet a question if it 

 is profitable throughout a series of years and with all varie- 

 ties of grapes. 



"Girdling or ringing various fruit-trees was certainly 

 practiced by the Romans, and the Agricultural Society of 

 France awarded a premium to Buchatt about a century and 

 a half ago for a method of ringing the grape-vine. The 

 practice, both with grapes and other fruits, has had an in- 

 termittent history, and it appears never to have become an 

 accepted practice for any number of years. This fact is 

 presumption against the operation. But its application to 

 the American vine is comparatively recent. The first valu- 

 able experiments made with the ringing of the grape vine 

 in America were begun in 1877, at the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College, and the practice has been employed there 

 more or less continuously since that time. A valuable re- 

 port was made upon the composition of ringed grapes in 

 the report of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture for 

 1879. 



"The status of grape-ringing in this country may be 

 expressed as follows: Ringing usually hastens maturity 

 and increases size of fruit; it is supposed to lessen the 

 quality of the fruit ; its effect upon the vine is not clearly 

 determined. 



" The quality of the fruit of girdled vines has been made 

 the subject of much chemical inquiry at the Massachusetts 

 Experiment Station, and as this point is an exceedingly 

 important one, and is under much discussion at present, we 

 have reproduced Dr. Goessmann's analyses very freely. 

 The following table is from Dr. Goessmann's report for 

 1889: 



