GRAPE VINES MOISTURE. 295 



and the floor of the house moistened. When the vines are flowering it is advisable 

 to have the ventilators slightly open at all times to maintain a buoyant atmosphere and 

 favour fertilisation. When the grapes commence colouring air must be freely afforded 

 both day and night. During other periods of growth a little air should be admitted 

 by the top lights as soon as the temperature has risen to the required artificial 

 maximum, and this ventilation should be increased as the heat advances, and after 

 midday be reduced gradually, so as to close early and conserve the sun heat to secure 

 a long day's work for the vines. 



Moisture. In the early forcing of vines it is advisable to syringe them several times 

 a day in bright weather, but much less frequently on dull days, and always early enough 

 in the afternoon to allow them to become fairly dry before nightfall. The higher the 

 temperature the greater the syringing required. The first syringing should be given 

 soon after the temperature rises in the morning, repeating early in the afternoon, if 

 not sooner, and always at closing time. Keeping the rods moist favours a good break. 

 Syringing may be continued until the bunches are visible in the points of the shoots, 

 and should then cease or the foliage may be spotted by the substances the water 

 holds in solution, and besides, much moisture on the leaves weakens their tissue. 

 With command of clear rain-water, however, syringing may be practised early in the 

 afternoon or at closing time until the vines come into flower, when it must cease. 

 After the berries form, the vines may be syringed two or three times, to cleanse them 

 of the remains of the flowers. The syringe should then be laid aside till the grapes 

 are cut, then freely employed again to cleanse the foliage of dust and insects, for it is 

 imperative that the leaves be kept clean and healthy until they ripen. 



Damping down, or sprinkling the paths and borders with water for the purpose 

 of creating a moist atmosphere, requires to be done at least twice a day in early forcing. 

 In bright weather walls, floors, and borders should be damped in the morning, at 

 closing time early in the afternoon, and again before nightfall. In dull weather less 

 moisture is needed. Atmospheric moisture is essential to prevent excessive evaporation 

 from the leaves, to prevent attacks of red spider and thrips, and to insure the free 

 swelling of the fruit. The greatest benefit is derived from damping immediately after 

 closing the house early in the afternoon, It is not desirable that the floors and borders 

 be continually moist, but the surfaces should become dry occasionally, damping those 

 near the hot- water pipes more frequently than the cooler parts of the house. Aeration 

 of the border is important, and, therefore, it is best t^> allow its surface to become dry 



