330 FORCING GARDEN. 



to the practice of the vignerons of Fontainebleau, as de- 

 scribed in the Pomone Francaise, or in the Lond. Horiic. 

 Trans., vol. vii. (3.) From the peculiar mode of growth 

 in the grape-vine, the bearing-branches have a tendency to 

 recede from the centre to the extremities, and are often 

 found in abundance only at the top of the trellis. Every 

 young shoot near the front of the house should therefore 

 be carefully husbanded, and cut back by way of reserve. 

 Old wood ought to be removed as frequently as possible ; 

 and the skillful pruner will look at least two years before 

 him. Nothing contributes more to regularity in the suc- 

 cession of bearing wood than simplicity in pruning and 

 training ; and, therefore, all bending, and twisting, and 

 traversing of branches should be avoided. 



The summer pruning consists in removing with the 

 fingers useless lateral shoots, and especially buds not pro- 

 ducing shoots, and in pinching off the tender points of the 

 bearing branches. The extent to which these bearing 

 branches may be allowed to run must depend on their 

 vigor, and the position which they hold in the plant. Some- 

 ■times it may be needful to leave them ten or twelve feet 

 long, but, in general, two or three feet will be sufficient. 

 The shorter the better They seldom or never fail to send 

 out secondary laterals from their points : these and the 

 others which succeed them are stopped at the second or 

 even first eye, and the operation is continued until vegeta- 

 tion ceases. When the young grapes begin to swell, the 

 clusters are thinned out, that is, berries are removed when- 

 ever they are too much crowded together, and the shoulders 

 or sides of the bunches are supported by means of slender 

 threads of bast-mat attached to some fixed point above. 

 The quality and weight of clusters should be regarded 

 rather than their number. Nothing seems more contempt- 



