276 PROPER PERIOD FOR PRUNING. 



are in many instances not trimmed at all, and the wild and un- 

 tutored vines which cover our hedges and mount our loftiest 

 forests, bend beneath the abundance of their produce. 



Much greater space must be in such case allowed in plan- 

 tations of native vines, and to show the extent to which this 

 may be carried, an instance will be hereafter detailed where 

 eight Scuppernong vines cover a quarter of an acre, and pro- 

 duce crops of amazing quantity. The opinion has also been 

 already advanced, that many of our native vines require a 

 different mode of treatment from that bestowed on foreign 

 ones, and to render the information as complete as possible 

 on that head, I shall introduce in the course of the work the 

 most approved modes that have been adopted by our coun- 

 trymen. 



Proper period for pruning. 



The celebrated Olivier de Serres affirmed, that late pruning 

 was advantageous in the greater produce of fruit thereby 

 caused, and advanced the maxim in his work, that the earlier 

 the vine is pruned, the more wood it makes, and the later the 

 more fruit ; and he founds that opinion on the circumstance, 

 that when the pruning is done late, there is a loss of sap, and 

 that when vegetation is weakened, but not in too great a de- 

 gree, it augments the number of bunches and lessens the 

 chances of abortion in the flowers. 



It is nevertheless acknowledged in all vine countries, that 

 the earlier the pruning and the sooner the sap flows, the more 

 vigorous are the shoots and the more abundant their produce. 

 Pruning therefore immediately after the fall of the leaves is 

 advantageous in all climates where there is no danger that 

 frost during the winter may injure the branches, nor that the 

 spring frosts may affect the young shoots ; but in cold climates 

 it is necessary to retard this operation as much as possible, and 

 likewise mother localities, where the expositions are subject to 

 spring frosts. The pruning of the vine before winter in cold 

 climates renders the remaining part of the shoots more sensi- 

 ble to hard frosts, therefore it is not pursued in French vineyards 



