THE GRAPE. 221 



gardens of our cities, owing to the more uniform state of the at- 

 mosphere, the foreign grape thrives pretty well ; and, finally, in 

 all gardens of the middle states, the hardier kinds may, under 

 certain modes of culture, be made to bear good fruit. 



Without entering into any inquiries respecting the particular 

 way in which the mildew (which is undoubtedly a parasitical 

 plant,) is caused, we will endeavour to state concisely some 

 practical truths, to which our own observation and experience 

 have led us, respecting the hardy culture of the foreign grape 



In the first place, it is well known, to gardeners here, tha. 

 young and thrifty vines generally bear one or two fair crops of 

 fruit ; second, that as the vine becomes older if it is pruned in 

 the common mode, (that is to say the spurring-in mode of short- 

 ening the side branches, and getting fresh bearing shoots from 

 main branches every year,) it soon bears only mildewed and 

 imperfect fruit ; and, finally, that the older and larger the vine, 

 the less likely is it to produce a good crop. 



This being the case, it is not difficult to see that, as the vine 

 like all other trees is able to resist the attacks of disease or 

 unfavourable climate just in proportion as it is kept in a young 

 and highly vigorous state, it follows if we allow a plant to retain 

 only young and vigorous wood, it must necessarily preserve 

 much of the necessary vigour of constitution. And this is only 

 to be done, so far as regards training, by what is called the re- 

 newal system. 



The renewal system of training consists 

 in annually providing a fresh supply of 

 young branches from which the bearing 

 shoots are produced, cutting out all the 

 branches that have borne the previous 

 year. Fig. 91 represents a bearing vine 

 treated in this manner, as it would appear 

 in the spring of the year, after having been 

 pruned. In this figure, a, represents the 

 two branches of last year's growth trained 

 up for bearing the present year ; J, the in s- 



places occupied by the last year's wood, which, having borne, 

 has been cut down to within an inch of the main arm, c. The 

 present year, therefore, the two branches a, will throw out side 

 shoots, and bear a good crop, while the young branches will be 

 trained up in the places of b, to bear the next year when a, are 

 in like manner cut down. 



This renewal training will usually produce fair fruit, chiefly 

 as it appears to us, because the ascent and circulation of the sap 

 being mainly carried on through young wood, is vigorous, and 

 the plant is healthful and able to resist the mildew, while, on the 

 contrary, the circulation of the sap is more feeble and tardy, 



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