96 



THE GRAPE. 



and very pretty object, but much depends upon tlie nicety 

 of training. To gain this advantage, the plant ought not 

 to be longer than is actually necessary, and the fruiting 

 branches should be as near the surface of the pot as is 

 consistent with securing good plump buds to start from, 

 which can be mostly gained with a cane of two feet six 

 inches to three feet long. After it is seen which shoots 

 will produce the best bunches, choose six or seven which 

 a:e nearly equidistant from each other, between the top 

 and bottom, and as they elongate tie them 

 out horizontally, diverging on all sides 

 from the stem, which may be very neat- 

 ly done by fixing a wire trellis, as seen 

 in fig. 15, inside the pot. This is also ser- 

 viceable to suspend the shoulders of the 

 bunches to, and if not made of too heavy 

 material, is scarcely visible, being decidedly 

 preferable to a display of wooden supports. 

 It should, however, be put over the plant 

 before much growth has progressed, or there - 

 is danger of breaking the young shoots. rig. 15. 



When the plants are to be fruited more than one season, 

 the double spur method, page 117, is best, as it gives a 

 greater choice of good buds, — a matter of some conse- 

 quence Avhen the wood is not over strong, and under these 

 circumstances the bearing shoots may be cut clean away 

 so soon as the fruit is cut, which admits the light and sun 

 to the remaining leaves on the maiden spurs, thereby 

 enabling them to have full scope, and uninterrupted free- 

 dom during the after part of the summer. Immediately 

 after the leaves are fallen is the best time to prune, and 

 at the same time, the roots that have gone into the soil 

 below may be cut away, the pots cleaned, and the vines 

 washed over with tke mixture, page 65, Let all now g(^ 



