Other Operations. 189 



ing the ground the dampness of which would cause 

 them to rot ; to prevent the young shoots from being 

 torn from the plants by high winds ; and, finally, to al- 

 low of the summer cultivation of the soil. 



The fastening should be done so soon as the shoots 

 have exceeded by about six inches, the point at which 

 they are to be fastened. They are then about twenty 

 inches long. The operation must be executed so as to 

 place the shoots side by side, in a vertical position, and 

 so as not to confine the leaves in the fastening. 



The ties most usually employed to fasten the shoots 

 are wisps of rye-straw, cut twelve inches long, and 

 softened in water ; rushes, cut green, and dried in the 

 shade ; willow-bark softened in water, etc. 



Of whatever kind the tie may be, it must make a 

 complete turn around the wire before the shoot is fast- 

 ened ; otherwise the shoot might be cut by the tie. 



PINCHING THE SHOOTS. This operation consists in 

 nipping the ends of the buds, when they have exceeded, 

 by about twelve inches, the point at which they are 

 fastened. This nipping is applied to the fruit-stems C, 

 D, E, F, only. The shoots A, B, intended for the 

 next year's pruning, must be excepted. 



The object of nipping the buds is, to diminish the 

 chances of the grapes blighting, and to favor their de- 

 velopment. For the bunches, like the leaves, have 

 the power to draw the sap from the roots. If the leaves 

 are numerous on the shoot, their power of absorption 

 exceeds that of the bunches, and they are apt to fail. 

 If the number of leaves is diminished by pinching, the 

 power of absorption of the bunches is no longer inter- 

 fered with, and they are more fully developed. Be- 



