308 CULTURE OP THE VINE AT THOMERY. 



by strong iron wire. The vine shoots are generally tied to 

 the different parts of the trellis with old soaked rushes. 



When the heat of the summer is past, and the benefit to be 

 derived from the foliage is nearly suspended, a part of the 

 leaves that hide the grapes from the sun are taken off, which 

 allows the fruit to become more highly coloured. The Tho- 

 mery cultivators deem an easterly exposition the most favour- 

 able, on which the sun shines until one or two o'clock. 



In order to hasten the formation of new plantations against 

 walls, many persons use at the commencement rooted vines 

 that have been propagated in baskets, by which means a crop 

 is obtained much sooner than by cuttings. 



Another mode of culture adopted by many of our intelligent 

 cultivators, is detailed in the Massachusetts Agricultural Re- 

 pository, from which I make the following extracts. After 

 going through the preparatory culture for the first three years 

 in rearing young vines from cuttings, and concluding the la- 

 bours of the last one, by leaving two shoots to each vine, the 

 weaker one with two eyes and the stronger with three eyes, 

 the writer commences the fourth year thus : If you keep your 

 vines properly dressed, you may have your first fruits without 

 injury to your plants. After this the system to be pursued 

 must depend on the strength of your vines, and this will de- 

 pend on the goodness of the soil and the care you take of your 

 plants. But as a general rule, the following points must be 

 attended to. 



" 1. The number and length of your fruit branches must 

 always depend on the strength of your plant, the wood branches 

 are always to be cut down to two eyes. 



2. No more branches should be left on the vine than it can 

 nourish well, and abundantly ; this will depend on its age, 

 and the soil in which it grows. 



3. The branches should be cut in alternately for wood and 

 fruit branches, observing to cut for wood branches as low 

 down on the plant as possible, so as to renew your wood near 

 the bottom annually. No shoots should be permitted to grow 

 from the old wood, unless wanted for this purpose. 



