RINGING GRAPES 297 



fear, are killing the goose that lays the golden egg. If all 

 take to girdling, where is the advantage? It is like the 

 crowd all getting up on chairs at the show; what better off 

 are they? Girdling hastens the coloring up of most varieties 

 of grapes, but hastens the ripening very little, while it dis- 

 tinctly injures the quality of certain kinds. Girdled Dela- 

 wares are uneatable. People who buy them probably lose 

 their appetite for Delawares for some time. They are as 

 sour as vinegar. Bed grapes seem to be injured by girdling 

 more than black ones. Girdled Niagaras are large and 

 pleasing to look upon, but their quality is not equal to the 

 ripe ungirdled fruit. Moore Diamond is ruined by girdling. 

 Wordens are not increased in size by girdling, but they 

 color four or five days earlier. They are, however, much 

 more liable to crack, as are all other girdled kinds. Fruit 

 on a girdled Moore Early is larger and earlier, and the qual- 

 ity is not much injured, but it may crack badly. A vine 

 heavily loaded will not ripen its fruit any earlier by being 

 girdled. Girdle other kinds if you will, but when you come 

 to the Delaware, hands off!" 



PRUNING TOOLS 



It is often said that all pruning should be done 

 with a pocket knife, meaning thereby that the 

 pruning should receive such constant attention 

 that the removal of large branches is unnecessary. 

 It is even said that the only safe pruning tool 

 is the thumb and finger, which should be used 

 to pinch out the objectionable growths as soon 

 as they start. Theoretically, these statements may 

 be true, but practically they are of little value, 

 because it is impossible for any person who has 



