86 FRUIT GARDEN. 



The Autumnal Pruning or Training should take 

 place immediately after the falling of the leaves, and 

 the wood of the year jnst finished should never be 

 trimmed back to but one eye, instead of which a long 

 spur of three eyes must be left, since one or more may 

 be defective. The surplus eyes can be rubbed off after 

 securing the setting of the fruit during the earliest 

 stage of its growth the ensuing season. 



In Summer Pruning, every shoot must be stopped 

 two leaves above the bunch, after which new lateral 

 shoots will soon be produced. These again must be 

 stopped by pinching off about every fortnight, to pre- 

 serve the strength of the plant for the perfection of the 

 fruit. 



High training is generally pursued from observing 

 that the most vigorous shoots and best fruit are usually 

 found at the extremities of the branches, especially 

 'those situated highest. It has been observed that 

 native vines seldom or never throw out bearing shoots 

 before reaching the tops of trees on which they seek 

 support, when the branches generally assume a hori- 

 zontal direction. 



By far the most of the foreign grapes raised in the 

 United States, under glass, are brought forward with- 

 out fire-heat; the sun's rays, when properly taken 

 advantage of, being sufficient to produce maturity in 

 almost every variety. The routine of the grape-house 

 culture without fire-heat is as follows: The vines which 

 had been trimmed, and perhaps laid down in the be- 

 ginning of winter, should be raised up and washed 

 with strong soapsuds, to which some tobacco decoction 

 may be added. They should have all the rough bark 



