from the trunk and on both sides of it, alternately to the one and then to the 

 other wire, gave better results than the Cazenave system in the case of Flame- 

 Coloured Tokai, as sun-burning was thereby very much reduced. This 

 k ' fish-spine method " also seems very useful for the Almeria grape (Ohanez) 

 as well as for Sultana. 



The overhead trellising (Pergola and the Almeria system) has thus far 

 given good results in the case of table grapes. For the Almeria grape the 

 overhead trellis gave twice as big a crop as the low trellis, even with long 

 pruning. This trellising has thus far not given any special results in the case 

 of wine grapes. The sugar content of these grapes when ripe was a little lower 

 than in the case of vines not trellised, but the difference was not great. Sun- 

 burning practically never occurs on an overhead trellis. 



(b) Sunburning of Grapes. This a serious matter in hot places like Paarl. 

 Whilst it is certain that deep, cool soils with a loose soil mulch on the surface 

 will cause much less sunburning than dry soils, it still sometimes happens that 

 the air gets so hot (102-104 F. in the shade), that the grapes burn badly. 

 This is usually worst between the 30th December and 4th January. Later on, 

 as the grapes get sweeter and the acidity decreases, sunburning is less to be 

 feared. Experiments made with hessian to provide artificial shade .between 

 12 noon and 4 p.m., have given some useful results, but it is felt that this is 

 not the real solution of the problem. Trellising has done more than anything 

 else. The " fish-spine " method of trellising gave rise to much less sunburning 

 in the case of Flame-Coloured Tokai, which is a very susceptible variety, than 

 the Cazenave system. The experiment will now be extended to Gros Maroc, 

 which is another variety extremely susceptible to sunburning. High and 

 overhead trellising so far proved to be the most effective means of preventing 

 sunburning. It will, therefore, pay well in the case of Hanepoot, Flame- 

 Coloured Tokai, and Gros Maroc. 



(c) Thinning of Table Grapes. As is well known, this is an essential factor 

 in the production of the best table grapes. In order to determine approxi- 

 mately the percentage of berries that should be removed in case of the different 

 varieties of grapes, four to thirteen bunches of grapes of a number of varieties 

 were carefully thinned on the 30th November, 1st, 8th, and 9th December, 

 and the number of berries removed, as well as those remaining after thinning, 

 were counted, whence the percentage removed in each case was calculated. 

 The results were as follows : 



Variety Number of Percentage 



Bunches Thinned. Berries Removed. 



Laubscher's Gem 5 36^61, average 49 



Prune de Cazouls 13 23-57, 43 



Henab Turki 7 40-46, 48 



Trifere du Japon 4 41-53, 44 



Gros Colman 6 28-52, 43 



Bailey 4 48-54, 51 



*Kirsten 5 64-73, 67 



Barlinka 5 38-47, 42 



Gros Maroc 5 40-56, 48 



Bonnet de Retord 5 50-58, 53 



Tribodo Nero 5 39-50, 46 



Formosa 5 50-60, 53 



Cinsaut (same as Hermitage)... 5 42-53, ,, 48 



Schiradzouli Blanc 5 37-53, 44 



