40 ON ASPECT. 



The full force of this wind fell on a remarkably 

 fine Black Hamburg vine, trained on a wall, having 

 a south-south-western aspect, and its effects were, 

 therefore, proportionately destructive. Many of the 

 principal branches were torn so completely from their 

 fastenings, that their extremities swept the ground. 

 The bunches of fruit were knocked about, and por- 

 tions of them, as well as single berries, lay scattered 

 on the ground in every direction. On the fruit, 

 however, that survived the wreck, the effects of the 

 wind were remarkable. It must be stated, that the 

 wall on which the vine is trained, is ten ieet high, 

 and is so situated, that, to the height of about three 

 feet from the ground, the wind had but little power 

 over it, its force being broken by an outer wall, stand- 

 ing at a little distance off, in front of it. On the 

 lower part of the wall so protected, the grapes, not 

 having been much injured, began to change their 

 color and ripen about the twentieth of September, and 

 on the twelfth of October every berry was perfectly 

 matured ; while all those that remained on the vine 

 above three feet from the ground, were, on the first 

 of November, as green and as hard as on the thirtieth 

 of August, when the high wind occurred. Shortly 

 afterwards these began to change their color, and ulti- 

 mately ripened tolerably well by the first week in 

 December. Thus, solely through the effects of a 

 strong wind, there were to be seen at the same time, 

 on the same branches of this vine, and within nine 

 inches of each other, bunches of grapes, the lower- 

 most of which were perfectly ripe, while the upper- 

 most were quite green and hard, and not within seven 

 weeks of reaching the same state of maturity. 



These facts, which might be multiplied indefinite- 

 ly, sufficiently show the injurious effects of strong 

 winds, and the necessity of protecting vines as much 

 as possible from their destructive consequences. Nor 

 V must it be supposed that fdgh winds are those only 

 \ which injure the vine. Every wind that blows on 

 I the foliage of a vine deranges its functions, and 



