58 MASSACHUSETTS HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



At the end of the second year the vines should be trimmed and 

 cut back, leaving them one-third the length of the rafter. After 

 this is done let them remain a few days, until the wounds caused 

 in trimming become dry and hard, when they may be bent down 

 in front of the sill, tied together and covered carefully with cloths 

 or mats to shade them from the sun and protect them from extreme 

 cold. Continue to keep the house well aired ; open the upper 

 ventilators whenever the sun shines during winter; and, towards 

 spring, as the sun heat becomes stronger, give more air by open- 

 ing the lower windows and the doors. 



When the buds begin to push the vines should be taken up, tied 

 to the rafter near the front wall, and the ends bent down near the 

 floor, to check the flow of sap to the top and cause the buds to 

 break evenly near the base. Let there be care and no haste in tying 

 out the laterals to the side wires, as the tender growth is easily 

 broken from the cane. When the woody fibre is formed and firmly 

 attached they may be fastened looselj' at right angles to the cane, 

 and cut off from twelve to fifteen inches from the cane, according 

 to the space between the rafters. If the vines are in good condi- 

 tion they may each be allowed to carry ten pounds of fruit. Train 

 the leading shoot to the central wire as before. As soon as the 

 fruit is formed remove all superfluous bunches, never leaving more 

 than one bunch upon a single shoot. Cut in the side branches 

 every two weeks, and when the fruit begins to color commence 

 giving air at the lower windows, a little at first, inci'easing moder- 

 ately as the berries make their last and most rapid growth, and 

 when this is completed a free circulation of air may be given in 

 bright days. At the end of the season the vines should be cut 

 back, leaving tliem two-thirds the length of the rafters, and treat- 

 ing them as before during winter. The fourth year, if the vines 

 are in good condition, they may be allowed to bear fifteen pounds 

 of fruit each, and at the end of the season may be cut off at the 

 full length. 



To prove that a full average quantity of fruit, of more than 

 average quality can be grown in the manner which I have briefly 

 and imperfectly described, I will refer to a vinery upon the place 

 owned and occupied by Mrs. Charles B. Shaw, in Dedham. This 

 house, which is of unusual height, the rafters being twenty-four 

 feet in length, was built, and the vines were planted in 1851. It 

 contains eighteen vines, mostly Black Hamburg, Victoria Ham- 



