V I T 



V I T 



A method is made use of by Mr. Speechly 

 and others, oF propagating the vine from one 

 eye, and a few inches of the preceding year's 

 wood, which they prefer to those raised by cut- 

 tings in the common way, on these accounts : 

 " they have n)ore abundant roots, grow shorter 

 jointed, are more prohfic, and will, if permit- 

 ted, come into bearing the second year." 



It is advised that choice should be made of 

 cuttings after a warm dry season, when the 

 wood ripens well; each cutting having two 

 inches of the old wood, with one eve of the 

 new. When the vines are pruned there is great 

 choice ; they should therefore be then selected 

 of a middling size, the wood round and per- 

 fectly ripened. 



After this, pots are to be filled with rich light 

 mould, that has been \«ell meliorated and pre- 

 pared some time before. The cuttings being 

 then prepared for planting, by the bottom 

 part being cut perfectly smooth ; if any of the 

 old dead snags remain, they should be cut off 

 close to the quick wood, and the top cut sloping 

 towards the back of the hot-house or frame, 

 when placed in them. Mr. Forsyth recom- 

 mends " planting only one cutting in each pot, 

 which as to size should be a deep forty-eight; 

 by that means he thinks the plants will grow 

 much stronger and quicker than when many are 

 crowded together, and the sun and air will have 

 a freer admission to ripen the wood; for, when 

 many are planted in one pot, they shade one 

 another, and in a considerable degree prevent 

 the sun and air from passing freely among them. 

 When the plants begin to get strong, and the 

 pots full of roots, it will be necessary to shift 

 them from the forty-eights to thirty-twos." 

 "This mode is," he says, "best adapted for pri- 

 vate gardens; but for nurserymen, &c., who 

 raise plants for sale, and cannot conveniently 

 spare so much room, it may be necessary to 

 plant three or more cuttings in each pot." 



And in these cases the same rules for water- 

 ing, transplanting, shifting, &c., are to be at- 

 tended to as was directed for the seedling plants. 



Mr. Forsyth observes, that it is " a method 

 very frequently practised by nurserymen and 

 gardeners, when they wish to have their plants 

 fit for sale the same year, to plant them in pots, 

 and place them in the hot-house among the tan, 

 on the flues, or round the curbs of the pit. And 

 he has seen it employed with great success. In 

 this way they may," he says, "be raised either by 

 planting them singly in small pots, or several in 

 a pot, according to its size, planting them out 

 separately when they have taken root, having a 

 hot-bed ready to plunge the pots in as soon as 

 they are transplanted. In this manner they be- 



come much forwarded in their growth, and are 

 before the autumn in a state fit for sale." 



In raising vines in the layer manner, the 

 method usually made use of is by stools, in the 

 open quarters of the garden, in the same man- 

 ner as nursery-men propagate forest-trees and 

 shrubs : but the best way, according to Forsyth, 

 is to take layers from these on walls or palings, 

 training the shoots at full length during the sum- 

 mer ; when about the month of February some 

 of the finest and strongest shoots should be cho- 

 sen, laying them across the foot-path into pots 

 (twenty-fours or sixteens) filled with fresh 

 mould, and plunging them in the ground about 

 two inches below the surface; at the same time 

 making an incision or two in the old wood, or 

 giving it a twist just below a joint; and though 

 they will generally take without notching or 

 twisting, it is nevertheless advised, as the surest 

 way, to have that done. The layers should then 

 be cut, leaving two or three strong eyes upon 

 each. And when the shoots begin to run, they 

 should be tied to long stakes, to prevent their 

 being broken by the wind ; all the runners and 

 side-shoots being picked off, leaving only two 

 or three fine strong shoots on each plant, which 

 should be trained at full length during the sum- 

 mer season. 



As soon as the shoots are laid down, it will be 

 necessary to mulch them with good rotten dung, 

 or rotten leaves, which will keep the mould 

 moist ; and in very dry summers, a good water- 

 ing should be given once or twice a week : this 

 will wash in the dung or leaves about the roots, 

 and induce the layers to shoot with more vigour. 

 Mr. Forsyth says, " that in this method of lay- 

 ing, two or three rows of layers may be had 

 from one wall : taking care to lay the branches 

 alternately, and to keep the pots plunged about 

 two inches below the level of the ground." 



Thesame writeradvisesin choosing vines from 

 the nursery, to select " those which have the 

 strongest and longest shoots." 



He observes that where the above directions 

 are properly attended to, the plants will be well 

 rooted in the pots before autumn, and fit for 

 planting in vineries, hot-houses, or other situa- 

 tions. And when they are to be planted out, 

 they should, he thinks, be carefully cut off from 

 the mother vine and carried in the pots to where 

 they are intended to be planted ; taking care to 

 preserve the balls as much as possible when they 

 are turned out of them. 



It is added that •' if the season be warm and 

 fine, the grapes of the early kinds ripen very 

 well on these layers before they are taken up; 

 and, if properly managed, they will bear some 

 fruit the first year after planting. One of the 



