140 



FRUIT CULTURE. 



have grapes throughout the entire year. With 

 this artificial protection of glass, and with a dry 

 air during the period of inflorescence, most of 

 the European varieties will set fruit too thickly, 

 and not only clusters must be removed, but also 

 one half, or even more of the berries must be 

 cut out from the remaining bunches, soon after 

 setting, and before they begin to crowd. This 

 is the only tedious item in the whole process. 

 It is wise to prepare a border about two feet 

 in depth, and well supplied with potash, 

 bones, and horse manure, for vines running into 



houses. By furnish- 

 ing this excess of food, 

 and by close pruning, 

 enormous crops can 

 be concentrated with- 

 in a limited space. 



The ringing proc- 

 ess is a curious mode 

 of developing and 

 hastening the matu- 

 rity of the fruit. It 

 Fig. 13. consists in the entire 



removal of the bark just below a fruit cluster, 

 about a month before its time of ripening. Fig. 

 13 shows the position of the cut, which may be 

 half an inch in width. The sap, ascending 



