384 OFTHECULTURE .Partlll. 



duce any fruit from immature branches. Thefe things, being duly 

 obfervedj are all that is neceflary in the management of young vines. 

 I fliall therefore proceed to lay down rules for the government of 

 grow^n vines, which I {hall do as briefly as poflible. 



" Vines feldom produce any bearing {hoots from wood that is more 

 than one year old : therefore great care {hould be taken to have fuch 

 wood in every part of the trees : for the fruit is always produced up- 

 on fhoots of the fame year, which come out from buds of the laft 

 year's wood. The method commonly pradlifed by the gardeners in 

 England is, to {liorten the branches of the former year's growth, 

 down to three or four eyes, at the time of pruning ; though there 

 are fome perfons who leave thefe {lioots much longer, and affirm 

 that by this pradtice they obtain a greater quantity of fruit : but how- 

 ever this may be, it is a very wrong praftice, fmce it is impoffible 

 that one {hoot can nourifli forty or fifty bunches of grapes, fo well 

 as it can ten or twelve; fo that what is gotten in numbers, is \oi\ in 

 their magnitude. Befides, the greater quantity of fruit there is left 

 on vines, the later it is ripened, and the juice is not fo rich. This 

 is fo well known in the wine countries, that there are laws enaiSed 

 to diredl the number and length of flioots that are to be left upon 

 each vine; led by over-bearing them, they not only exhauft and 

 weaken the roots, but thereby render the juice weak, and fo deftroy 

 the reputation of their wine. 



** The be{l method therefore is, to flaorten the bearing {hoot, to 

 about four eyes in length, becaufe the lowermo{l feldom is good, 

 and three buds are fufficient : for each of thefe will produce a {hoot 

 which generally has two or three bunches of grapes ; fo that from 

 each of thofe {hoots there may be expedted fix or eight bunches, 

 which are a fufficient quantity. Thefe ffioots mu{l be laid about 

 eighteen inches afunder : for if they are clofer, when the fide {hoots 

 are produced, there will not be room enough to train them again{l 

 the wall, which {hould always be provided for : and as their leaves 

 are very large, the branches lliould be left at a proportionable dif- 

 tance from each other, that they may not croud or {hade the 

 fruit. 



*' At the winter pruning of your vines, you {hould always obferve 

 to make the cut jull: above the eye, flopeing it backward from it, 

 that if it {liould bleed, the fap may not flow upon the bud : and 

 where there is an opportunity of cutting down fome young {hoots to 

 two eyes, in order to produce vigorous {hoots for the next year's 



bear- 



