THE GRAPE. 127 



proportion to the rapidity of its formation." " It 

 is a mistake," continues he, " to imagine that the 

 sun must shine on the bunches of grapes in order 

 to ripen them. Nature intended no such thing, 

 when heavy clusters were caused to grow on 

 slender stalks, and to hang below the foliage of 

 the branches, attached to trees by their strong 

 and numerous tendrils. On the contrary, it is 

 evident that vines naturally bear their fruit in 

 such a way as to screen it from the sun ; and 

 man is most unwise when he rashly interferes 

 with this intention. What is wanted is the full 

 exposure of the leaves to the sun ; they will pre- 

 pare the nutriment of the grape ; they will feed 

 it, and nurse it, and eventually rear it up into 

 succulence and lusciousness. Struck at that 

 time with the soundness and the force of this 

 reasoning, we immediately put in practice the 

 suggestions it contained. We abandoned, for the 

 most part, summer pruning on our vines, and 

 recommended it verbally to many others. The 

 result of three years' trial has fully convinced us, 

 and we believe all others who have tested it, of 

 the entire superiority of the grapes, both as re- 

 gards maturity and the weight of the crop, in all 

 cases where the common and severe system of 

 summer pruning is abandoned." 



" All that we find it necessary to do now, with 

 grapes in the open air, is, at the beginning of 

 July, to go over them, and tie up to the trellis or 

 frame, all rambling shoots. If, from any neglect 

 at the season of winter (spring) pruning, or 

 when the buds were thinned in May, too many 

 young shoots have been suffered to grow, a few 

 of them may be cut close down to the point 



