32 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 



of the bunches began to show symptoms of ripening, by 

 becoming a little transparent, and, at the same time, 

 the berries at the extremities of the bunches began to 

 shrivel. As the month advanced, the ripening process 

 proceeded slowly, but tho shrivelling increased rapidly. 

 Towards the latter end of October the trial was over, 

 and the experiment complete ; on many entire bunches 

 every berry had shrivelled, and in no bunch had the 

 process of maturation proceeded farther down than the 

 shoulders. The whole crop was gathered about the first 

 of November, and the ripened portions being put togeth- 

 er,weighed nine pounds and a half. Not one of these 

 ripened berries, however, was more than half the usual 

 size, and, in point of flavour, not to be compared to 

 others of the same sort, ripened, at least, six weeks 

 previously. 



The vine was pruned immediately, and cut almost 

 to a stump, to give it every chance of recovering from 

 the blow it had received. But, in the following spring, 

 not a single bud unfolded till nearly a month after the 

 usual time, and at the close of the season the largest 

 shoot was only twenty-six inches in length, and no 

 larger than a packing-needle, although, in the previ- 

 ous year, the vine had emitted very vigorous shoots 

 twenty-five feet in length. It has been pruned very 

 closely every year since, and has in consequence gra- 

 dually acquired strength ; but although eight years 

 have elapsed since the experiment was made, it has 

 not yet recovered its former vigour. The effects pro- 

 duced on the other vines, have ultimately proved equal- 

 ly injurious, not one of them having yet acquired any- 

 thing like the same degree of health which it then 

 possessed. 



The result of these experiments was decisive as to 

 the proportion of fruit having very greatly exceeded 

 the strength of the vines, some of which, no doubt, 



