348 FORCING GARDEN. 



quality and weight of clusters should be regarded rather 

 than .their number. Nothing seems more contemptible 

 than numbers of small and ill-ripened bunches of 

 grapes, smeared, as they often are, -with dust and honey 

 dew. Avarice not unfrequently cheats itself in thi^ 

 matter; and it generally happens in the vinery, as else- 

 where, that not he who desires most obtains most. The 

 ripening, color, and flavor of grapes on the tree are 

 said to be promoted by removing a portion of the foliage; 

 this is to be done, however, only after the fruit has at- 

 tained full size; and by some it is, with app^arent justice, 

 alleged that the foliage ought never to be abridged. 

 If it be abundant, and exposed to the sun, the grapes 

 will come to perfection although shaded by. the foliage. 

 Sometimes the berries, when swelling, seem suddenly 

 arrested in their progress to maturity, and remain 

 stunted and shriveled. This affection is called shank- 

 ing by gardeners, and is generally ascribed to damp 

 and noisome vapor, or the want of due circulation of 

 pure air. 



The forcing of the earliest vinery may commence in 

 January. At first the teijaperature may vary from 50° 

 to 55° Fahrenheit in the morning-S and evenings. AYhen 

 the buds have burst, it may be raised to 70°, and in the 

 flowering season it may be kept at 75°. At this period 

 it is necessary that the air should be preserved moist by 

 frequent steamings. Upon the appearance of color 

 in the fruit, the waterings should cease, and air be co- 

 piously admitted. In the early vineries, it is necessary 

 to continue the fire-heat without intermission : in the 

 later houses this is not required, but it must be used 

 occasionally, even in warm weather, to obviate the 

 effects of damp. 



