GRAPE. 303 



the growing season, and the mother bearers, or shoots of 

 the last year's growth, are thus managed. Soon after the 

 growing season has commenced, such rising shoots as 

 either are in fruit and fit to be retained, or are eligibly placed 

 for mother bearers next season, are laid in, either horizon- 

 tally, or with a slight diagonal rise, at something less than 

 a foot distance, measuring from one bearing shoot to the 

 next ; the rising shoots, intended to form young wood, 

 should be taken as near the origin of the branch as a good 

 one offers, to allow of cutting away, beyond the adopted 

 lateral, a greater quantity of the branch, as it becomes old 

 wood ; the new Spring laterals, not wanted for one of these 

 two objects, are pinched off. The treatment of those 

 retained during the rest of the Summer, thus differs : As the 

 shoots in bearing extend in growth, they are kept stopped, 

 about two eyes beyond the fruit ; the connate shoots, culti- 

 vated merely to enlarge the provision of wood, are divested 

 of embryo branches, if they show any, and trained at full 

 length as they advance during the Summer, until they reach 

 the allotted bounds ; were they stopped in the middle of their 

 growth, it would cause them to throw out tronblesome 

 laterals ; in the Winter pruning, there will thus be a great 

 choice of mother bearers. That nearest the origin of the 

 former mother bearer, or most comniodiously placed, is 

 retained, and the other or others on the same branch are cut 

 away ; the rest of the branch is also taken off, so that the 

 old wood may terminate with the adopted lateral ; the 

 adopted shoot is then shortened to two, three, four, or a 

 greater number of eyes, according to its place on the Vine, 

 its own strength, or the strength of the Vine. The lower 

 shoots are pruned in the shortest, in order to promote a 

 growth of young wood, at the bottom of the Vine." 



The second method is to head down the natural leader, 

 so as to cause it to throw out two, three, or more principal 

 shoots ; these are trained as leading branches ; and in the 

 Winter pruning are not reduced, unless to shape them to 

 the limits of the trellis r or unless the plant appears too 

 weak to sustain them 'at length. Laterals from these are 

 cultivated about twelve inches apart, as mother bearers ; 



