74 ON THE PRUiMNG OF VINES. 



great number of naked branches which the proper 

 juice in its descent has to clothe and nourish; then, 

 having to spread itself over a much greater surface, 

 the new layer will be comparatively a thin one, and 

 the surplus left to enter the roots, 'proportionately 

 lessened in quantity. And, further, if the foliage be 

 weak^ which is invariably indicated by the shoots and 

 leaves being small in size, and sickly in appearance, 

 and the vine contain many naked branches, then the 

 quantity of proper juice prepared in the leaves will 

 be so small, in proportion to the demands which in 

 its descent will be made upon it, that a new layer 

 will with difficulty be formed at all, while but a very 

 small 2^ortion of the proper juice will be left to de- 

 scend into the roots. 



Again, the formation of this concentric layer being 

 continued from the stem downwards on all the roots, 

 the latter become increased in their solid diameter, in 

 direct proportion to the quantity of the proper juice 

 which they thus receive. Whatever, therefore, con- 

 tributes to diminish this quantity of proper juice, pre- 

 vents in a proportionate degree the growth of the 

 roots ; while on the other hand, whatever causes an 

 increase of it, produces effects precisely opposite. 

 Further, there is no reason to believe that tlie naked 

 branches of a vine, especially such as are more than 

 two or three years old, are in any vv^ay instrumental 

 in increasing the volume of sap in its ascent; the 

 processes of transpiration and absorption which they 

 carry on, being limited in their effects to the preser- 

 vation of their own vitality. 



From the foregoing observations, therefore, it ap- 

 pears, that every naked branch of a vine, or one that 

 does not directly produce foliage, diminishes the ca- 

 pacity of the plant for the production of young bea.r- 

 ing shoots, inasmuch as it contributes nothing to the 

 growth of the vine, but, on the contrary, requires to 

 be fed annually with a certain portion of the elabor- 

 ated juice of the plant, which would otherwise be ex- 

 pended in the enlargement of the diameter of its stem, 



