Pruning the Vine. 149 



which yielded, the very first summer, more abundantly 

 than any of the best preceding years. 



Nevertheless, there is danger that the general layer- 

 ing may injure, for several years, the quality of the pro- 

 duce of certain vineyards which, like the celebrated 

 products of Burgundy, derive a part of their good qual- 

 ities from the age of the stocks. The evil may be 

 remedied in this way : in those celebrated vineyards, at 

 least one-fifteenth of all the stocks are laid down yearly, 

 choosing the stocks promiscuously. In order to make 

 the change in question, it will be sufficient to lay down 

 an entire row, in the usual proportions, and so on, pro- 

 gressively, beginning on one side of the vineyard. 



ANNUAL PRUNING OF FRUIT-STEMS. All we have 

 said of pruning, until now, relates to the form of the 

 stocks only ; we shall now point out the care which the 

 annual pruning of the fruit-stems requires. Let us first 

 see on what principles this operation must be based. 



Principles on which the Operation must be Eased. 1st. 

 The shoots alone produce blossoms on the vine [Fig. 



so- 



[FiG. 51.] Fruit-Stems. 



2d. The shoots growing out of the stems from the 

 preceding year, are the only ones which produce grapes 



