V I T 



V I T 



strontrcst shoots must, he savs, be left nearly 

 at full length, cutting it as high as the upper- 

 most full bud, leaving nothing but round well- 

 ripened wood. If there are three shoots, the 

 remaining two should be cut so as to leave only 

 twofulleyesupon each, which should be trained 

 at length, as before directed, to produce fine 

 wood For the next year. The shoot which was 

 trained the preceding year should then be cut 

 down, leaving only two strong eves to produce 

 wood for the following vear ; and so on every 

 \'ear, cutting the branches alteriia'.ely : by this 

 means the walls always may be icept covered 

 with fine healthy bearnig wood, and a great 

 deal of time be saved in furnishing hot-houses, 

 vineries, and other places. It is remarked that 

 " this method of laying is practised with great 

 success, by many nurserymen in the neighbour- 

 hood of London." 



In the producing of vines by grafting, choice 

 should be made of cuttings for grafts, or scions, 

 from the best-bearing branches of the sorts in- 

 tended to be projwgated at the season of pruning. 

 In general the bottom part of the last year's 

 shoot is to be preferred ; but in well-ripened vi- 

 gorous wood, any part of the shoot will answer, 

 provided it be not too long jointed. These cut- 

 tings should be preserved in pots filled with light 

 sandy earth till the time of grafting. 



The periods for performing the operation are 

 different according to the vines ; for those in the 

 plnestove,thebeginningofJanuary may be proper, 

 but the middle of March for those growing in the 

 open air. In general they should be grafted 

 about three weeks before they begin to break in- 

 to bud And upon small stocks not more than 

 an inch in diameter, cleft-grafting is the most 

 proper; but upon larger stocks, whip-grafting is 

 to be preferred. In both methods care should 

 be taken in fitting the stock and scion together, 

 and the operatioli should be performed with 

 great exactness ; fastening them together with 

 bass matting, and covering them with clay in 

 the usual v\"ay. After the operation the scion 

 will sometimes begin to push in a few weeks, 

 but it frequently remains dormant two or three 

 months ; during this period the stock must be 

 stripped of all irs shoots as soon as they appear; 

 and to preserve the scion in a vegetative state, 

 the clay must be kept moderately moist, by 

 wrapping wet moss round it, and by keeping 

 the moss constantly sprinkled with water. And 

 when it has made shoots five or six inches long, 

 the clay and bandage must be carefully taken off. 

 The' method of grafting by approach is ad- 

 vised by some, however, as the best mode of 

 raising vines. In this case it is necessary to have 

 the plant mtended to be propagated, in a pot. 

 1 



Strong plants, that have been two or three years 

 in pots, are to be preferred; but plants from 

 the nursery may be potted, and crafted in the 

 same season, if brought into a 7iot-house or 

 vinery. It is suggested that fine grapes and 

 good wood may be obtained even the first sea- 

 son, by any of these methods, but particularly 

 by the last ; in which it is evident the graft has 

 a double support, as from the stock," and the 

 plant in the pot. 



In this sort of grafting the clav and banda<re 

 should remain two or three months after the 

 graft has formed an union ; for, if it be taken off 

 sooner, the graft will be very liable to sprint 

 from the stock. The pot should be plentifully 

 supplied with water till the month of Aueust, 

 ulien the graft should be separated from the 

 plant in the pot. Two -ir three inches of wood 

 below the bottom of the graft may be left, but 

 should be taken clean off at the next prunino in 

 winter. 



The Syrian V^ine is recommended as the most 

 proper for stocks, and plants of this sort raised 

 from seeds are greatly preferaljle for this pur- 

 pose to plants raised either from layers or cut- 

 tings. 



The principal advantages of the grafting mode 

 of raising vines are; that if a wall should have 

 been planted with bad kinds, instead of stub- 

 bing them up, and making a new border, by 

 which several years must elapse before the wall 

 can again be completely filled, in this way their 

 nature may be changed immediately ; as good 

 grapes may be obtained from the same year's 

 graft; and in a hot-house the grafts, if per- 

 mitted, will frequently shoot thirty or forty feet 

 the first summer; that in small vineries or 

 frames, where great variety could not be had in 

 the common way, it may be procured by this 

 means on the same plant ; — and that of the im- 

 provement of the various kinds, ]iarticularly the 

 small ones, which generally make weak wood. 

 The method by inoculation may likewise have 

 advantages in some cases of a similar kind. 



When any of the vines that have been raised 

 from seed do not prove of a good flavour, they 

 are proper for grafting or inarching the finer 

 sorts of vines on; for, as the coarser sorts grow 

 more vigorously than the finer, they are, on 

 tliat account, more fit for grafting or inarching. 

 It is remarked, that " the best manure for 

 vines is a mixture of veactable moukl, rotten 

 spit-dung, and fresh loam (turf and all); this 

 should be thrown in a heap, and frequently 

 turned, for a year or two before it is made use 

 of." 



Pninins: and Training Vines. — In the manage- 

 ment of the vines after being thus raised and 



