V I T 



V I T 



wrappina; tlie pnrt exposwd round with moss, 

 fastened ibiek with bass matting ; which cover- 

 nig shmild remain on till s'sring frosts are over, 

 and then the stem be washed well to clean it. 

 The vinesshoiild lie divested of the least promis- 

 ing and snpernnnierary shoots as soon as pos- 

 sible, and great care siiould be taken not to leave 

 too abundant a crop ; as a few bunches in a high 

 state of perfection are preferable to many in a 

 poor state. 



At the thne of flowering, should the weather 

 prove hot and dry, with brisk wnids ; to prevent 

 the berries of diflerent sorts from falhng off at 

 the time of their setting, it is proper to water the 

 roots of the vines plentifully, to keep the house 

 as close as the weather will permit, and to water 

 the walks and flues in the hot-house constantly, 

 especially late in the evening, when the gla«ses 

 should be immediately closed, by which abetie- 

 fieial sort of dew is produced. 



In these situations, when the grapes are at 

 their last swelling, are becoming transparent, 

 and change from green to red or black, and till 

 they are nearly on the point of being ripe, plen- 

 tiful supplies of water, especially if the season 

 prove hot and dry, should be given to the vines. 



After the fruit is cut, no other management 

 is required till the pruning season, but that of 

 taking off the lateral shoots in the same man- 

 ner as in the preceding case. But in the next 

 vyinter's pruning all the vines that produced a 

 ftill crop of fruit, should be cut down nearly to 

 the bottom, that is, to the lowermost summer 

 shoot, which should also be cut down to the 

 first or second eye; vvhi^le all those that were 

 cut down nearly to the bottom the preceding 

 season, and which will, in general, have made 

 very strong wood, must be left to the leiiffth of 

 twen'y-onc or twenty-two feet each, witli the 

 intention of producing a full crop of fruit the 

 following season. 



The management of them during the next 

 summer will be nearly the same as in the pre- 

 ceding ; only, as they have increased in strength 

 and size, they will be enabled to produce and 

 support a larger burthen of fruit. But the crop 

 should aKvays be proportioned to the size and 

 vigour of ihe plants ; but whilst they are young, 

 great moderation should be used as to the num- 

 ber of bunches th it arc allowed to stand and 

 ripen. They should be well thinned when the 

 berries are about the size of a small shot. And 

 the main shoulders, as also the It-ss projecting 

 parts of the bunch, should be suspended by 

 small strings to the rafters, and every part raised 

 to a h'^rizontal position. In thinning the ber- 

 ries, great care should be taken to leave all the 

 most pro'iectiuii ones on every side of the bunch. 



Vol. iJ. 



In very c lose-grou ing bunches it will be neces- 

 sary to clip out more than two-thirds of the 

 berries ; in sonu', one half; but in the loose- 

 growing kinds, one third is generally sufficient. 

 By this means the remaining b-jrrics ^^ ill swell 

 well, grow to a great size, and not be siibjeet to 

 rot ; as thcv are apt to do it; a hot-house, when 

 they are wedged together in a close manner. 



It is observed that " not only the rafters or 

 roof of the hot-house, but the back wall also 

 above the flue, may be furnished with fruit. 

 For this purpuse, let every fourth or fifth vine- 

 plant be trained in one shoot quite to the top of 

 tiie rafter, and then directed sideways ten or 

 twelve feet along the top of the back wall. At 

 the winter's pruning, bring down that part of 

 the shoot perpendicularly, and cut it off at one 

 foot above the top of the fine. The next spring- 

 encourage only two shoots from the two extreme 

 or lowermost eyes of each shoot so brought 

 down, and train them in a horizontal direction 

 one foot above the top of the flue. These sfioots, 

 however, will grow with greater readiness, if 

 they are trained upwards during the sunnner; 

 and they may easily be brought to the desired 

 [TOsition at the next winter's pruning. They will 

 then form against the back wall the figure of 

 the letter T inverted. And in the next season 

 the horizontal shoots will produce new wood 

 from almost every eye, provided all the shoots 

 be pinched off from every other part as soon as- 

 they appear;" laying in the shoots from one 

 to two feet apart, according to the kind of vine. 

 It is advised in these cases, to " train all the 

 shoots in a perpendicular direction, and, pro- 

 vided they are strong and vigort)us, to suffer 

 them to grow to the length of five or six feet 

 befoie they are stopped; but all these must be 

 cut down to two or three eyes at the next win- 

 ter's pruning." And "only one shoot should be 

 permitted to rise from each spur the following 

 season ; and although they will in general be 

 sufficiently strong, and produce two or three 

 bunches apiece, yet only one bunch should re- 

 main on each shoot : these will then be large 

 and tine, and the wood will be greatly benefited 

 by such practice. But these shoots must be 

 pruned next winter very differently. One shoot 

 must be left four feet, that ne.xt it only a few- 

 inches long, and so alternately." It is added 

 that " tlie vines on the rafters will require a 

 management in future seasons nearly similar to 

 that described above ; and though it may not be 

 advisable to prnire them alternately so near to the 

 bottom of the rafters as was directed for the two 

 preceding seasons, it will be frequently found 

 necessary to cut an old shoot down to the lower* 

 most summer shoot^ as near to the boltoui of 

 3X 



