188 



TJie Grape Culturist. 



completely defoliating them, and 

 broakini; the tender and succulent 

 shoots at a height of about two feet. 

 The vinos were growing rapidly, and 

 the dormant bu<ls in the axils of the 

 leaves immediately pushed out later- 

 als, which made very fair sized canes. 

 In the following fall, when we com- 

 menced to prune, we found from three 

 to five of these strong laterals on each 

 cane, and accordingly shortened them 

 in to from three to five and six buds 

 each. On these laterals we raised as 

 fine a crop of grapes as we ever saw, 

 certainly much finer than we had ever 

 before raised on the strong canes; and 

 we have since learned to imitate hail 

 storms, by pinching the leaders of 



3^oung shoots when thc}^ have grown 

 say two feet, forcing out the laterals, 

 and growing our fruit on the latter: 

 thus meeting with another illustration 

 of the old proverb, " It is an ill wind 

 which blows nobody" any good," 



In our next number we shall take 

 up the third and last pinching, thus 

 giving our system of summer pruning 

 complete. Will not some of our 

 friends give us their methods, and the 

 reasons for them ? We expect to 

 differ Avith man}', and as we think 

 a proper course of summer pruning 

 one of the moet important questions 

 in grape culture, wculd like to have 

 it fully discussed. 



HISTORY OF THE NORTON GRAPE. 



By John J 

 This valuable member of our pres- 

 ent family of wine grapes was intro- 

 duced to public notice about forty 

 years since by Dr. D, N. Norton, an 

 amateur horticulturist, residing at the 

 time at iragnolia, near liichmond, Ya. 

 For many years after its introduction, 

 Dr. Norton's authority was quoted to 

 sustain its character as a hybrid be- 

 tween Miller's liurgundy (a Mtis Yiyii- 

 fera) and the Bland (a Yitis La- 

 brmca). I think, however, the most 

 that Dr. N. ever claimed for it was 

 that it was a seedling of the Bland, 

 maturing near a Miller's Burgundy, 

 and probably a hybrid, as this is the 

 extent of a i)ub]ished account made 

 about that time on the authority of 

 Dr. Norton. 



. Werth. 



However this may be, it is very 

 clear, from the appearance and charac- 

 ter and habits of the vine, that neither 

 of its reported progenitors had any 

 agency in its production, and public 

 opinion, in the region of its early his- 

 tory, has many years since settled 

 down in the conviction that the Nor- 

 ton, or Morton's Virginia, or Norton's 

 Seedling, as it is variously called, is a 

 true native from our forest. 



My venerable friend. Gen. Wm. II. 

 Richai'dson, Avhoso attention was at- 

 tracted to the grape on its first intro- 

 duction, has repeatedly assured me 

 that he at once, and unbesitatiuglj', re- 

 cognized it as identical wuth a wild 

 grape growing on a locality familiar 

 to him in Hanover county, about nine 



