26 PRESENT METHOD OF CULTURE. 



perabundance of foliage, but with little fruit, and that of 

 an inferior description, and requiring in its manage- 

 ment a ten-fold portion of time and trouble beyond 

 what would be necessary under a proper mode of 

 culture. 



To these characteristics of the usual method of 

 managing a vine, may be added two others, namely, 

 that of suffering the stem and principal branches to be 

 covered with several years' accumulation of decayed 

 layers of bark, and of continually digging the border 

 in which the roots run, and cropping it with vegeta- 

 bles, even close up to the very stem. 



This brief description of the method of cultivating 

 vines on open walls, will apply, I believe, to ninety- 

 nine out of every hundred throughout the country. 

 And it may be remarked of it, that during the very 

 first year of the plant having been suffered premature- 

 ly to ripen fruit, and throughout every successive year 

 afterwards, not a single point of culture has been prac- 

 tised but what may be described as most erroneous. 

 Every step taken has been apparently for the purpose 

 of rearing a superstructure of old barren wood, rather 

 than the production of abundant crops of fine fla- 

 voured fruit. 



Can it be matter of surprise, therefore, that under 

 such a mode of culture, grapes grown on open walls 

 do not, in general, attain to a higher degree of per- 

 fection ? 



