CULTIVATION OF FRUIT 301 



strong well-ripened Vines in small pots from a good firm in January. 

 Prune them back to within fifteen inches of their base, and keep them 

 dry and cool until the end of March, when they may be planted. Turn 

 the Vines out of the pots, remove the crocks from the base of the balls, 

 loosen the roots a little with a pointed stick, and plant, covering the 

 roots with three inches of soil, and ram it firmly. When planting 

 against a bare wall, place the Vine in the centre, and train a rod horizon- 

 tally to the left, and another to the right, some two feet or so from the 

 ground these to furnish the main bearing rods to be trained in an 

 upright direction, three feet apart, the second and following years, until 

 the wall is furnished. When planting against a dwelling-house, place 

 the Vine in the most convenient position, and train the main rods over 

 all available spaces, three feet apart. The Vine must either be nailed 

 to the wall or tied to wires. 



Genera/ Remarks. As a rule, February is the best month for 

 pruning open-air Vines, and the main growths should be pruned back 

 into the well-ripened wood. When the Vines commence to grow, the 

 young fruit-bearing shoots on each side of the rods must be thinned out, 

 and evenly disposed eighteen inches apart. If left thicker, sun and air 

 will be excluded, and both foliage and fruit will be small and inferior. 

 The fruiting laterals must be pinched at two leaves from the bunch, re- 

 pinched when another leaf is made, and not allowed to make further 

 growth. 



When the berries are set, and are as large as No. 3 shot, they 

 should be thinned with Grape scissors. Remove most of the inside 

 berries, as they seldom colour properly, and thin out the rest, so that 

 when the ripe bunch is cut and laid on a dish it will not lose its shape. 

 When the Grapes are swelling, well water the roots once a week with 

 liquid manure, the colour of pale ale, or sprinkle a little artificial manure 

 on the surface and water it in. The foliage should also be freely 

 syringed occasionally on fine evenings to ward off red spider. Mulch 

 the border in June with short manure to keep it moist. Wasps and 

 flies often attack open-air Grapes when ripening, and the best way to 

 protect them is to envelop the bunches in muslin bags. Wasps may 

 also be trapped by half filling soda-water bottles with sugar and beer, 

 and laying them on the Vines. Each year when the Vines are pruned, 

 a little of the old soil should be removed from the border, and replaced 

 with fresh sweet compost. 



The best Grapes for open-air culture are Black Cluster, Cam- 

 bridge Botanic Gardens, a very sweet purple Grape ; Miller's Burgundy, 

 Old White Sweet Water, Royal Muscadine, and Chasselas Vibert, 

 a delicious Grape. The Vine, apart from its fruits, is valuable for 

 its picturesque growth. Many a sunny corner may be well clothed with 

 its beautiful foliage and in the autumn sweet fruit clusters, and Vines 

 are as appropriate as any wall plant for the old-world English homes 

 now built in many parts. A cottage or English home of the past was 

 seldom without its clustering Vine. 



The Strawberry. This is one of the most delicious of hardy 

 fruits, and gives its precious harvest in June and July. The Strawberry 



