178 OF VINES. 



on : as the coarser sorts grow more vigorous tlian 

 the finer, they are for that reason fitter for graft- 

 ing or inarching. 



The best manure for vines is a mixture of ve- 

 getable mould ""y rotten spit-dung, and fresh loam 

 (turf and all) ; this should be thrown in a heap, and 

 frequently turned, for a year or two, before it is 

 used. 



Observations and Experiments on the Training and Pruning 



of Vines, 



The following is the method that I pursued 

 with some vines which were planted against the 

 piers of a south wall, and among old peaches, nec- 

 tarines, plums, &c. 



When I took them in hand, the fruit was so small 

 and hard as to render it unfit to be sent to the 

 table. The vines were trained upright, which 

 caused them to grow so luxuriantly that the sap 

 flowed into the branches instead of the fruit. 



In the year 1789, I let two strong branches 

 grow to their full length without topping them in 

 the Summer. In 1790, I trained them in a ser- 

 pentine form (See Plate X.), leaving about thirty 

 eyes on each shoot, which produced one hundred 

 and twenty fine bunches of grapes, weighing from 

 one pound to a pOund and a quarter each. Every 

 one that saw them, said that the large ones were 

 as fine as forced grapes ; while the small ones 



* For producing vegetable mould, see p. 122. 



