Treatment and Management of the Vines. 389 



medium, between very wet and dry, is the course to follow. 

 Disbudding, or the thinning out of the shoots from the spurred 

 vines, will now have to be attended to. I prefer leaving the 

 whole to grow to the length of from four to six inches, before 

 they are taken off, in order to stimulate the roots and to put 

 them into action ; this is giving the roots, if I may be allowed 

 the expression, their jir^st meal. From each spur, there will 

 spring from three to six shoots ; this gives the operator some 

 choice in his selection of the one to leave. In my practice I 

 only leave one to bear the fruit, and on young vines that are 

 short jointed, only one bunch on every other shoot ; and I am 

 certain that experience will amply satisfy all, who will not 

 be taught by any other means, that over-cropping the vine is 

 the bane of grape-growing. The fruit does not arrive to per- 

 fection either in size or flavor, and therefore, instead of hav- 

 ing fruit of the best quality, very little short of sour grapes 

 will be the result of all the anxiety and labor in producing 

 them. 



Stopping the shoots. — This must now be attended to, at the 

 first joint above the fruit, on the bearing spurs, and also on all 

 the other lateral shoots which have no fruit on them ; stop at 

 about the same length from the main stem ; if this is not done 

 the fruit-bearing ones would be impoverished. The leading 

 shoot must not be stopped until it reaches the top of the house. 

 The training of the vines may now be commenced ; this con- 

 sists in tying each shoot to the trellis, in regular order ; those 

 growths that are strong and not pliable must be handled with 

 care, or they will be broken off; therefore bringing them into 

 the desired position must be done by degrees, and as the wood 

 becomes tougher, the end will generally be accomplished. On 

 the nice adjustment of the shoots, and in the arrangement of 

 the bunches of fruit, some practical skill is wanted ; the good 

 effect it gives amply pays for the time taken to do it. As the 

 vines grow rapidly at this time, say May 16th, it will be 

 necessary to go over the vines again, in order to stop the lat- 

 erals, which have pushed at the extremities of the fruit-bear- 

 ing shoot, (as well as those without fruit,) at the first joint 

 above, where they were stopped the first time ; the laterals 

 below the fruit must be kept stopped at the first joint through 

 the season. 



