304 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



and compact. Large bunches are much improved by tying up the shoulders. They are 

 secured with twisted strips of raffia from the shoulder to the trellis, taking care to 

 leave sufficient space in the loop, and to let the shoulders hang easily. Long branchlets 



require two or three ties to keep them in position and prevent the stem being damaged 

 \ 



by the weight of the fruit. Loose bunches may be improved in shape by crossing the 

 shoulders at the top. Experts defer this work until the small and unfertilised berries are 

 removed, and, if those left are so distant as to admit the thick end of a lead-pencil 

 between them, they are sufficiently thin for the tying-up to be completed. In 

 thinning the berries the bunches must not be rubbed with the head or the hand. A 

 smooth, thin, forked stick about 6 inches long may be used to raise or steady the bunch 

 or branchlet, and the superfluous berries are quickly removed with a pair of grape-scissors. 

 Always give preference to the upper berries on a branchlet, and the central berry of 

 each small cluster for retention. Cut out the small berries, also those in the interior of the 

 bunch, and then commence at its point, where the thinning needs to be the most severe. 

 Two-thirds of the berries at the lower part of the bunch, half at the middle, and one- 

 third at the top may be regarded as about the proper number to remove. There is no 

 need to have the berries at strictly regular distances apart ; choose the best, and if 

 there should be an inch of space and then two or three berries closer together, they 

 will as they grow push one another into their proper places. This particularly applies 

 to the shoulders, where too many berries must not be cut out, for when this is done the 

 bunches spread through lack of solidity, instead of retaining their form when cut and 

 placed upon the exhibition board or dessert dish. Aim at giving the berries just 

 room to fully develop and form a compact mass, yet without being wedged. 



Grapes differ in size of berry, form, length, and stiffness of footstalk in nearly every 

 variety. The Muscadine and Frontignan varieties should have the berries left about 

 J inch apart. Sweetwater grapes, such as Black Hamburgh, require free thinning at 

 the point of the bunch, but few beyond the small berries removed from the shoulders, 

 yet all compact bunches need more thinning there than do large and loose ones. Buck- 

 land's Sweetwater merely requires to have the small berries taken out ; Foster's Seedling 

 needs free but not over thinning, as the berries are oval. Muscat varieties require the 

 greatest care, first taking out the stoneless berries when the fertilised ones are the size 

 of peas ; then thin the rest that need removal for securing full uniform bunches ; leave 

 the berries a little closer around any gaps, and such will probably be quite filled by the 

 time the grapes are ripe. Muscat of Alexandria, Canon Hall Muscat, Black Muscat and 



