V I 



the Plant as the Shoots will admit 

 to be fafteii'd thereto j and the 

 Shoots fhould be drawn out on 

 each Side to the Stakes, fo as to 

 make an Angle of about forty-five 

 Degrees with the Stem, but by no 

 means fhould they be bent down 

 horizontally, as is by fome pra- 

 cStis'd, tor the Branches lying too 

 near the Earth are greatly injur'd 

 by the Damps which arife from 

 thence, but efpecially when they 

 have Fruit, which is never fo well 

 tailed, nor fo early ripe upon thofe 

 Branches, as when they are a little 

 more elevated. 



In May^ when the Vines begin to 

 flioot, they muft be carefully look'd 

 over, and all the weak dangling 

 Shoots fliould be rubb'd off as they 

 are produced, and thofe Shoots 

 which are produced from ftrong 

 Eyes, fliould be faften'd to the 

 Stakes to prevent their being broke 

 off by the Wind. This Manage- 

 ment fhould be repeated at lead: 

 every three Weeks, trom the Be- 

 ginning of May to the End of Ju- 

 ly^ by which Means, the Shoots 

 which are train'd up for the fuc- 

 ceeding Vear will not only be 

 Wronger, but alfo better ripen'd 

 and prepar'd for Bearing, becaufe 

 they will have the Advantage of 

 Sun and Air, which is abiblutely 

 neceffary to prepare their Juices ; 

 whereas, if they are crowded by 

 a Number ot fmall dangling weak 

 Branches, they will fhadc and ex- 

 clude the Rays of the Sun from 

 the other Shoots, and lb by de- 

 taining the Moiflure a longer time 

 amonp-ft the Branches, occalion the 

 Veffels ot the young Wood to be 

 of a larger Dimenlion, and hereby 

 the crude Juice finds an eafy Pal- 

 fage thro' them i fo that the Shoots 

 in Autumn fcem to be moftly 

 Pith, and are of a greenifli imma- 



V I 



ture Nature; and where-ever tM* 

 is obferv'd, it is a fure Sign of a 

 bad Quality in the V'lnei. 



The Soil alfo fliould be conftant- 

 ly kept clean, becaufe if there are 

 any Vegetables (either Weeds or 

 Plants of other Kinds) growing be- 

 tween the V'lnes^ it will detain the 

 Dews longer, and by their Perfpi- 

 ration occafion a greater Moiflure 

 than would be if the Ground were 

 intirely clear; fb that thofe who 

 plant other Things between their 

 Rows of Vimsy are guilty of a 

 great Error. 



At Michaelmas the Vines fhould 

 be prun'd, which Seafbn I approve 

 of rather than the Spring (for Rea- 

 fbns given already ;) and this being 

 the third Year from planting, the 

 Vines will begin to produce Fruit, 

 therefore they muft be prun'd ac- 

 cordingly. Now fuppofe the two 

 Shoots of the former Year, which 

 were fhorten'd to three Eyes, have 

 each of them produc'd two flrong 

 Branches the Summer part:, then 

 the uppermofi: of thefe Shoots up- 

 on each Branch fhould be fhorten'd 

 down to three good Eyes (never 

 including the lower Eye, which is 

 fituate juft above the former Year's 

 Wood, which feldom produces a- 

 ny thing except a weak dangling 

 Shoot i) and the lower Shoots fhould 

 be fhorten'd down to two good 

 Eyes each; thefe being defign d to 

 produce vigorous Shoots for the 

 fucceeding Year, and* the former 

 are deiign'd to bear Fruit : But 

 where the Vines are Vv^'eak, and h; ^;e 

 not produc'd more than two or 

 three Shoots the lafl Scalbn, there 

 fliould be but one of them left 

 with three Eyes for Bearing, the 

 reft muft be fhorten'd down to 

 two, or if weak, to one good 

 Eye, in order to obtain ftronsj 

 Shoots the tollov/ing Summer j for 



thtre 



