^04 The Fruit Garden. [Nov. 



flioot, and on thefe young Ihoots the grapes are produced 

 the fame fiimmer; for vines feldom produce bearing 

 ihoots from any but one year old wood. 



Therefore the main article to be obferved now is to 

 leave a fufficient fupply of the lail fummer's (hoots in 

 every part. 



Choofe the llrongell and beft fituated ihoots, with the 

 fhorteit joints, cutting out the fuperabundancy, with 

 part of the old wood, as above faid ; and let each re- 

 maining fhoot be fnortehed according to its ftrength. 



The general rule is to jfliorten the Ihoots to three, four, 

 five or fix eyes of joints in length ; which rule fhould be 

 always obferved according to the ftrength of the differ- 

 ent fhoots; and never leave the ftrongeil fhoots more 

 than four, five, or fix eyes, or joints ; for when the Ihoots 

 are left longer, they only fill the vines in the cnfuing 

 fummer with more fhoots than you can find room to lay 

 in ; and, befides, the fruit upon fu'ch fhoots, would be 

 fmall and ill grown, in proportion ; therefore it is beft 

 ■to fhorten the Pnoots to the length above mentioned; 

 then each fhoot, fo fliortcned, will, next fummer, produce 

 three, four or five good fhoots, with two or three bunches 

 of fruit upon each, and the fruit upon thefe fhoots will 

 be found to grow large, and will ripen well, and in due 

 tim.e, and one large bunch of grapes is at any time worth 

 three fmall ones. 



In fhortening the fhoots, mind to cut them about half 

 an inch above an eye, and make the cut floping be- 

 hind it. 



Let the branches or fnoots in general be left ten or 

 twelve inches apart, or more, but that at leail. 



Take care to prune in iuch a manner as that there may 

 always be.a fucceffion of young branches towards the 

 bottom to come in to fupply the place of the old naked 

 wood, which muflbecut out occafionally, as it becomes 

 unferviceablc. 



Never fuffer old naked branches to rem.ain in any part 

 of the vine where there is younger branches or fiioots 

 properly fituated to come in to fupply their place. 



When you have finifhed pruning, let the branches, be 

 nailed up neatly, obferving to lay them in llrait and '•e-" 

 gularly ten or twelve inches diilant. 



If you have left too many br.;nchcs when you pruned, 

 let that be remedied in nailijig, by cutting out tl.e fu- 

 pcrabundant wood in a regular manner. 



P.; 



