288 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



1888, when the berries were about one-fourth of an inch in 

 diameter. The girdled fruit showed color August 24, and 

 the ungirdled September 2, a difference of nine days. A 

 temperature of 29 on the morning of October 1 killed all 

 the foliage and froze the ungirdled berries, leaving the 

 others untouched, but though the girdled ones were nearly 

 ripe, the season was such that the appreciable amount 

 of sugar they contained was insufficient to give them 

 value for any purpose, and the entire crop was left 

 unharvested. 



"In 1889, I girdled, July 2 to 5, one each of two bearing 

 arms on sixty vines. This was done by taking out a ring 

 of bark from one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide 

 around the arm near the trunk. The result of this 

 operation was to increase by 30 or 40 per cent the 

 size of the berries at maturity, and they showed color 

 August 12, while those on the opposite half of the same 

 vines began to color August 18, six days later. Sep- 

 tember 20, grapes on girdled vines were fit for market, 

 while the others became fully ripe October 1, a difference 

 of ten days. 



"In order to get a good understanding of these results 

 and their value, I made a comparison as the matter then 

 stood. I was an earnest inquirer, with little faith, but en- 

 tirely open to conviction. I had gained ten days in time, 

 which, in an unfavorable season, might mean the difference 

 between success and failure. In addition to this gain, the 

 berries would weigh from one-fourth to one-third more 

 from their increased size, and this, again, would add to 

 their attractiveness and thus help their sale. On the other 

 hand, the normal amount of rain, 3.35 inches during Sep- 

 tember, resulted in splitting open from 20 to 40 per cent 

 of the berries, the larger proportion on the heaviest and 

 best clusters. This entailed not only the loss of these split 

 berries but also the time required in cleaning the clusters 

 for market, leaving them deformed and unsightly. The 



