Commercial Gardening 



is very difficult to set well, but some growers have the knack of it. 

 One method in use by a large grower is to get the temperature up to 

 90, then go round the bunches with a soft piece of a boa or rabbit 

 skin and gently pass it over each bunch that is ready, and follow this 

 up with a light spraying of the bunches and a damping down of the 

 border. The reason some grapes are shy of setting is because the 

 stamens in those varieties fall away from the stigma (fig. 383, 6) before 

 the pollen is shed; and it seems reasonable to suppose that any treatment 

 that would make the stamens remain erect would be likely to ensure a 

 good "set", and the moist heat generated by the spraying when the 

 house is hot would cause the pollen which had fallen upon the stigmas 



to commence growth at once. After the blooming 

 is over the damping down must be resumed, and 

 the temperature may be reduced to what it was 

 before the appearance of the flowers. 



During all the growing time of the Vines strict 

 attention must be paid to keeping down all side- 

 growths from the laterals sub-laterals as they 

 are called. These are stopped at one leaf, and 

 the same every time they make fresh growth. If 

 Fig. 383. Flowers of Grape vine the leafage threatens to become too thick, they 

 (x 4) may be kept stopped altogether. All such growths 



ai>e best st pp Gd befOTe the y *i* an y thin g more 



than the finger and thumb to take them off. 

 Thinning. As soon as it is possible to see the character of the 

 bunches they must be thinned out, leaving only one bunch to a lateral, 

 and it is best to remove straggly shoulders from the black varieties; 

 the Muscats generally have them left on. The thinning out of the 

 Muscat bunches is generally left a little longer, so that the set can be 

 judged better. As soon as the bunches have berries as large as BB shot, 

 the thinning should be taken in hand. For this purpose there is nothing 

 much better for holding the bunches still while the berries are being 

 thinned than a piece of a bamboo cane about 6 or 9 in. long, cut with a 

 neat little fork at one end and the rest of it shaved down to a fine handle. 

 A good thinner will finish a bunch (fig. 384) at one thinning, and this 

 should be the aim of everyone who undertakes the job. The expense 

 of the operation is considerable, and it is a pity to have to repeat it. 

 No market house should want more than just looking over for a few 

 thick bunches after thinning. To get a bunch just right the thinner 

 must carry in his head an idea of the size the finished berry should be, 

 and enough berries must be left so that when the bunch is cut and laid 

 on a plate it will retain its shape. This is a most important point, for 

 a loose bunch will never travel well when sent to market. Alicantes 

 are a great trouble to thin, as they set so thick that, unless the thinning 

 is carried through quickly, the bunches get so tight that it is almost 

 impossible to thin them. Muscats will bear being left longer than 



