THE GRAPE. 47 



and a troublesome emission of the sublaterals, conse- 

 quent upon such supply being more than can be con- 

 sumed by the one bunch. I think, upon the whole, 

 that this indication may be a good guide in judging of 

 the strength of a Yine, and a fair criterion as to 

 whether it will carry one or two bunches of fruit to a 

 lateral. A Vine may not be able to do this every 

 season, but it may do so as long as the indications are 

 good in reference to its strength. 



The Colouring of Grapes. 



Various are the reasons assigned for Grapes not 

 colouring, and although this has little or nothing to do 

 with the pruning of the Vine, yet I feel bound to refer 

 to it here. Some theorists say that the colouring of 

 Grapes depends upon the light, and some that it 

 depends upon heat, while others assert that it is 

 affected by the strength of the roots, i.e. the healthy 

 state of the root ; but I am convinced that it depends 

 upon none of these individually. 



The colouring of the Grape is caused solely by the 

 oxygen of the atmosphere. It has nothing to do either 

 with the kind of Grape or the state of the Vine. Those 

 who cannot see this should go to Texas, where all sorts of 

 Grapes grow wild on trees in the forests, in which country 

 they are enveloped in shade and are crowded with other 

 shrubs, which eat out a great deal of the virtue of the 

 ground. In consequence of this the Grapes are small to 

 what they would be if they were cultivated. Notwith- 

 standing this drawback to the production of fine Grapes, 

 the fruit ripens as black as jet throughout the whole 

 bunches, although it is as sour as vinegar. The air of 

 Texas is hot and dry. The black cluster Grape grown 

 on walls out of doors will ripen as black as sloes in this 

 country, notwithstanding that the ground is poor and 

 the fruit small. So also will the Frontigniacs colour 

 well on a good wall out of doors, while often they will 

 not do so in a house. All this brings us to one con- 

 clusion, viz. that heat and air are the only conditions 



