766 



VIT 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL, 



V IT 



four, or five eyes, or to about twenty-one or twenty-two 

 feet; but if they have grown moderately strong, the shoots 

 should be pruned down to about eleven feet. By this alter- 

 nate pruning, the former shoots will make fine wood for the 

 succeeding season, and the latter will produce a crop of fruit ; 

 after which, these fruit-bearing shoots must all be cut down 

 nearly to the bottom of the rafters. But when any of the 

 plants appear weak, and have not made shoots more than 

 eight, ten, or twelve feet long, it will be proper to prune 

 every shoot down to two, three, or four eyes. In pruning, 

 take off the shoots, with a clean sloping stroke, about half an 

 inch above the eye, making choice of a bold eye to terminate 

 the shoot, and fastening it completely to the rafter. Vines in 

 Pine-stoves begin to make weak shoots early in January ; the 

 house being then kept warm on account of early crops raised 

 in most hot-houses. But when it is kept to a proper degree 

 of heat for Pines during the winter months, the Vines will 

 seldom begin to push till about the middle of February. It 

 is usual to see them push only towards the ends of the shoots, 

 the other eyes remaining in a dormant state, and causing a 

 long space of naked wood. To make the eyes push more 

 generally, as soon as the sap is in motion, keep the house, for 

 a short time, a few degrees wanner than usual. In the morn- 

 ing the thermometer should be 5 or 6 above temperate, 

 and in the day-time the house should be kept as warm as the 

 weather will permit. It will also be necessary to guard the 

 stem of the Vine on the outside against frost; for one severe 

 night would greatly injure, if not totally destroy, the hopes 

 of a crop. This may be done, by wrapping the part exposed 

 round with moss, fastened thick with bass-matting. Leave 

 this covering on till spring frosts are over, and then wash the 

 stem well to clean it. When Vines break out freely, they 

 push at almost every eye, nearly at the same time. It is 

 easy to distinguish which will make the most promising 

 shoots, even as soon as the eyes begin to break ; jjnd by the 

 time they are three or four inches long, the bunches are very 

 distinguishable. The Vines should be divested of the least 

 promising and supernumerary shoots as soon as possible, as 

 it will greatly contribute to invigorate the remainder. Caution 

 should be observed not to leave too abundant a crop ; for 

 few bunches in a high state of perfection, are preferable to 

 many in a less. Therefore in case the shoots which are 

 pruned to about twenty-two feet, should shew two or three 

 bunches at almost every eye, as they will frequently do, no 

 more should be permitted to stand than the leading shoot, 

 and four or five on each side; and the remaining shoots 

 should have only one bunch left on each, which should be 

 the best proportioned and most regularly formed. The 

 shoots should be left four or five feet apart on each side, and 

 one shoot as near the bottom as it can be got. Train them 

 regularly on each side of the rafter, and pinch off the top of 

 each, as soon as it begins to interfere with the adjoining 

 shoot above; or, in general, let the shoots be stopped at the 

 second or third joint above the bunch. During the time of 

 flowering, should the weather prove hot and dry, with brisk 

 winds, the berries of many kinds of Grapes, particularly the 

 Blue Frontinac, White Sweetwater, and Black Damascus, are 

 liable to fall off at the time of their setting, and the remainder 

 are in general small, and without stones. This proceeds from 

 the calix adhering to and drying upon the germ, and thereby 

 preventing its impregnation. It is proper, therefore, at this 

 period, to water the roots of the Vines plentifully, to keep the 

 house as close a the weather will permit, and to water the 

 walks and flues in the hot-house constantly, especially late in 

 the evening, when the glasses should be immediately closed. 

 The heat of the house will exhale the moisture, and raise a 



kind of artificial dew, which, by falling upon the calix, will 

 cause it to expand and fall off. But although Grapes set 

 best in a close moist air, yet the house should not be violently 

 hot during the time of their setting. When the weather is 

 serene, transparent drops of dew will be observable in a 

 morning on the points of the leaves. This is the most 

 favourable indication that can happen at the season of the 

 Vine's flowering: for the Grapes set well, and the growth of 

 the berries is extremely rapid, when the Vines are in this state. 

 Pull off all superfluous shoots, and divest the youug shoots 

 of all their laterals, during the summer. Do this without 

 reserve, because every shoot left more than twenty feet long 

 at the last year's pruning, with intent to produce a crop of 

 fruit, must be cut down nearly to the bottom at the next 

 winter's pruning. But all the rest of the Vines that were 

 cut down at the last year's pruning, suppose one at every 

 alternate rafter, must be trained with one shoot each, exactly 

 the same in every respect as in the preceding season. When, 

 Grapes are at their last swelling, are becoming transparent, 

 and change from green to red or black, and till they are 

 nearly on the point of being ripe, the Vines will require a 

 plentiful supply of water, especially if the season prove hot 

 and dry. The situation of Vines in a Pine-stove, may be 

 considered as similar to that of very hot climates, where they 

 cannot have Vineyards without a command of water. After 

 the fruit is cut, the Vines will not require any other manage- 

 ment till the pruning season, but taking off their lateral shoots 

 in the same manner as in the preceding year. At the next 

 winter's pruning all the Vines that produced a full crop of 

 fruit, should be cut down nearly to the bottom, that is, to the 

 lowermost summer-shoot, which should also be cut down to 

 the first or second eye. But all those Vines that were cut 

 down nearly to the bottom the preceding season, and which 

 will, in general, have made very strong wood, must be left to 

 the length of twenty-one or twenty-two feet each, with intent 

 to produce a full crop of fruit the following season. The 

 management of the Vines during the next summer, will be 

 nearly the same as in the preceding one : only as they have 

 increased in strength and size, they will be enabled to pro- 

 duce and support a larger burden of fruit. The crop should 

 at all times be proportioned to the size and vigour of the 

 Vine: but especially whilst Vines are young, great modera- 

 tion should be used as to the number of bunches that are 

 allowed to ripen. The shoots may now be laid rather closer 

 than in the preceding season, and two bunches may remain 

 on strong and vigorous shoots, especially of those kinds 

 which do not produce large bunches. The bunches should 

 be well thinned when the berries are about tlie size of a small 

 shot. The main shoulders, as also the less projecting parts 

 of the bunch, should be suspended by small strings to the 

 rafters, and every part raised to an horizontal position. In 

 thinning the berries, great care should be taken to leave all 

 the most projecting ones on every side of the bunch. In 

 very close-growing bunches, it will be necessary to clip out 

 more than two-thirds of the berries; in some, one-half; but 

 in the loose-growing kinds, one-third is generally sufficient. 

 Thus the remaining berries will swell well, grow to a great 

 size, and not be subject to rot, as they are apt to do in a 

 hot-house, when they are wedged together. Not only the 

 rafters or roof of the hot-house, but the back-wall also above 

 the flue, may be furnished with fruit. For this purpose, let 

 every fourth or fifth Vine-plant be trained in one shoot quite 

 to the top of the rafter, and then directed sideways ten or 

 twelve feet along the top of the back wall. At the winter's 

 pruning, bring down that part of the shoot perpendicularly, 

 and cut it off at one foot above the top of the flue. The 



