704 



AMPELIDE.E. IV. VITIS. 



Distance. This must depend entirely on the kind of vine 

 planted. Speedily recommends 6 feet between each plant for 

 the weak and delicate kinds, and 12 for the more robust, on a 

 wall or trellis 12 feet high. At first temporary plants may be 

 introduced between them ; these should have been grown in 

 large pots 2 or 3 years previous, so as to come immediately into 

 bearing, and to be trained so as to occupy the upper part of the 

 wall, while the permanent plants are furnishing it below. 



Pruning and training. Each author lays much stress on his 

 own mode of pruning and training ; but as M'Phail observes, good 

 crops depend more upon management, soil, and climate, than upon 

 any method of pruning or training that ever can be adopted. The 

 long or new method of pruning has been adopted, and reduced 

 to a regular system by J. M earns of Shobben-court, Hertford- 

 shire. The vines are planted in the inside of the house at 2^ 

 feet apart, nearly close to the front wall, and are headed down 

 to within a foot of the soil, one shoot only is allowed to proceed 

 from each plant, which at the end of the first season is cut down 

 to the second or third eye ; next year two leading shoots are 

 encouraged, the strongest of which is stopped when it has grown 

 three or four joints beyond the middle of the roof, and the 

 weaker after having grown 3 or 4 feet, for the purpose of 

 strengthening the eyes. At the fall of the leaf, the leading 

 shoots are reduced, the main one to the length of the middle of 

 the roof, and the lower one to the third eye. In the third sea- 

 son, one leading shoot is trained from each shoot, and fruit- 

 bearing side shoots are produced, and no side shoot is allowed 

 to proceed from the spur. The leading shoot from which is to 

 become the bearing shoot next year. Thus in the autumn of the 

 third season, the lower part of the house is furnished with a 

 crop of grapes from a shoot proceeding from the wood of the 

 preceding year ; and parallel to this bearing shoot, is a young 

 shoot for next year's crop. In winter, the shoot from the ex- 

 tremity of the bearing branch is cut off at the top of the roof, or 

 within a few inches of it, and the shoot from the stern is cut 

 down to the middle of the root, and all the spurs which had 

 borne grapes are cut out. Each vine is now furnished with 2 

 shoots of bearing wood, a part of old barren wood, and a spur 

 for producing a young shoot the following year. In the fourth 

 summer a full crop is produced both in the upper and lower 

 part of the house, the longer shoot bearing on the upper part of 

 its length, and the shorter one its whole length ; a leading shoot 

 is produced from the short shoot and another from the spur. 

 In the pruning season of the fourth year the centre shoot is 

 entirely removed and replaced by the side shoot, and this side 

 shoot is supplanted by a shoot from the spur in its turn, while a 

 spur is prepared to succeed it. J. Mearns has followed this 

 system since 1806, and has had abundant crops and large 

 bunches, and he considers that it may be continued for any 

 length of time. 



M'Phail describes three modes of pruning. The first he calls 

 the old method, the general shape of the plant when pruned 

 being that of a trained peach. The second is what is called 

 spur pruning, which is to head down the natural leader, so as to 

 cause it to throw out 2 or 3 or more principal shoots ; these are 

 trained as leading branches ; laterals from these are cultivated 

 about 12 inches apart, as mother bearers, those in fruit are 

 stopped, and after the fall of the leaf are cut into one or two 

 eyes. The third is the long or new method described above. 

 J. Seton, of Stamford-hill, plants his vines at the front and ends 

 of the house, and trains the leading branches horizontally along 

 long rods, and spurs are left annually on the old wood to 

 produce fruit, and when these leading branches have reached the 

 end of the house, they are then returned to the end from which 

 they proceeded. 



Mr. W. Smith (Hort. trans. 6. p. 522.) gives a description 



of arched hanging trellises in certain vineries of Scotland, 

 which he considers a superior plan to training vines on the 

 rafter, or to one or more wires, that while it admits air to the 

 house it increases the space for training considerably. He 

 thinks the plan capable of further improvement, and that the 

 principle might be extended to peach-houses, in which case the 

 trellis would require to be somewhat differently constructed. 



Mr. Beattie (Hort. trans, vol. 5. p. 495.) gives an account of 

 training his vine-trees in a vinery at Scone in Perthshire. To 

 enlarge the surface to the utmost he has erected a trellis under 

 each rafter, and from these the vines are trained along the 

 back wall horizontally, not exactly to the top of the house, but 

 so as to allow the free admission of air and sun to the trellis, as 

 well as to the back wall, this method gives a great extent of sur- 

 face. The vines are planted in the inside of the house, and the 

 glasses are never taken off, but are ventilated by means of a 

 ventilator at the top of each sash, and he has always had large 

 crops of grapes. 



Summer pruning depends generally on the necessity of admit- 

 ting light and air to the fruit and young wood ; and particularly 

 on the sort of winter pruning to be adopted. The gardener 

 must therefore have a predestinating eye to the following season. 

 " Whatever methods of pruning are used," M'Phail remarks, 

 " the grape-vine, through the whole course of the growing sea- 

 son, requires constant attendance, so as not to suffer the plant to 

 be crowded in any part with superfluous branches or leaves, and 

 no more fruit ought to be suffered to dwell on the plant than it is 

 well able to bring to perfection. The berries also on each buncli 

 should be thinned, so that they may have room to swell, without 

 pressing too hard upon each other." M'Phail and Abercrombie 

 agree in directing, that " as the shoots advance on newly planted 

 vines, they must be kept regularly fastened to the rafters. 

 Divest them of their tendrils, and also take off their lateral 

 shoots as they appear. Vines may in general be allowed to ex- 

 tend 25 or 30 feet before they are stopped. Stop the shoots by 

 pinching off their tops, after this 2 or 3 lateral shoots will come 

 out near the top, let these extend 12 inches, then pinch off their 

 tops ; these again will send out lateral shoots, which should be 

 stopped at the second joint. In the second season, as soon as the 

 shoots are half a span long, the rudiments of the flower-bunches 

 will be perceptible. Having thus ascertained the most pro- 

 mising shoots, divest the vines of supernumerary branches as 

 they rise. On the leading shoots preserve the best laterals 3, 4 

 or 5 feet distance, according to the strength of the plant. Train 

 the shoots retained on each side the rafter, tying them with matt- 

 ing to the trellis. Pinch off the bearing laterals at the second 

 joint above the fruit, leaving only one or two bunches of fruit 

 on each. Rub off water-shoots from the older wood. Pinch off 

 inferior laterals and tendrils. After selecting the shoots to be 

 trained for the production of a crop next season, and others 

 necessary for filling the trellis from the bottom, which shoots 

 should generally be laid in at the distance of 1 foot or 15 inches 

 from each other ; rub off all the others that have no clusters. 

 For this purpose go over the plants every 3 or 4 days, till all 

 the shoots in fruit have shown their clusters, and shorten those 

 one joint above the uppermost cluster, at the same time rub off 

 all water-shoots that may rise from the old wood. Train in the 

 shoots to be retained, using fresh matting, and allowing sufficient 

 room for the shoots to swell. The spurs or short shoots on 

 which the clusters are placed will probably push again after 

 being stopped, if so stop them again and again." 



Hayward (Hort. trans. 1. p. 172.) takes off all collaterals as 

 they arise, and any shoots, although laid in for fruit, that turn 

 out unproductive, that the whole strength of the tree may be 

 properly applied. 



J. Mearns (Hort. trans. 4. p. 225.) stops the bearing 



