WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 121 



indeed, and may not improperly be called pruning of the 

 fruit, in contradistinction to the pruning of the wood. 

 To form a proper estimate of the advantages of thin- 

 ning the berries, it must be remembered, that during 

 the spring of the year, and until the fruit has blossomed, 

 and is fairly set, the vine has been emitting its shoots, 

 principally by the aid of sap generated in it during 

 the preceding year. In doing this, its vital energies 

 have not been taxed in the slightest degree ; for, if it 

 had emitted a hundred shoots, and every shoot were a 

 hundred feet long, the vine would not only not be 

 weakened by them, but such shoots would form a cer- 

 tain index to its increased strength and vigour, created 

 by a corresponding extension of its roots. But far dif- 

 ferent is the case with respect to the production of the 

 fruit, the perfecting of which, from the exhaustion it 

 occasions to the vegetative powers of the plant, may be 

 properly designated as a task. Other fruit trees are en- 

 dowed with the faculty of throwing off, to a considera- 

 ble extent, any excess of fruit which they may shew 

 at the commencement of the season, before its size is 

 such as to draw on their vital energies, but no such 

 faculty is possessed by the vine. The absence of this, 

 therefore, must be remedied by the cultivator, on whose 

 knowledge of the extent of the powers of maturation 

 possessed by the vine depends entirely the quality of 

 the crop when perfected. Now, the primary object of 

 every cultivator must undoubtedly be, to obtain every 

 year in succession the most valuable crop possible ; and 

 the qualities that confer value on a crop of grapes, are, 

 first, high flavour ; secondly, largeberries ; thirdly, large 

 bunches ; and in proportion to the degree in which 

 these three grand requisites are combined, will the crop 

 become really valuable. And, that neither high fla- 

 vour, nor large-sized berries, can be produced without 

 reducing the number of them on the bunches, will ap- 



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