178 



THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



REMOVING THE LEAVES. 



There are many persons, in cities especially, who are in 

 the habit of removing a portion of the leaves from their 

 grape vines just before the fruit begins to ripen, for the 

 purpose, as they say, of hastening it. This is perhaps one 

 of the most absurd ideas that could be possibly entertained, 

 as the grape ripens better in the shade than when exposed 

 to the sun ; besides, the ripening process is conducted al- 

 most entirely by the leaves, the grape being one of those 

 fruits that must be ripened on the vine or not at all ; and 

 if it is picked before ripe, the process is immediately stop- 

 ped, there being no further improvement in flavor. If the 

 leaves near the fruit are taken off, ripening is not only 

 checked, but often entirely stopped. 



The fruit that is exposed to the direct rays of the sun 

 after the leaves have been taken away, may change its 

 color, but it seldom ripens. It is not only necessary that 

 ^ there should be good healthy 



leaves on the fruiting cane, 

 but they should be near the 

 fruit. Every one who has 

 seen grapes upon the vine must 

 have observed that there is al- 

 ways a leaf opposite to every 

 bunch of fruit ; that this leaf is 

 of great importance to that par- 

 ticular bunch is certain. In 

 Fig. 65 the connection between 

 the two is shown ; a is a portion 

 of the stem of a bunch of fruit ; 

 c is the leaf-stalk; the pith is 

 shown in the center, being the 

 broad dark line running length- 

 wise of the cane ; this occupies 

 - 65 more than one third of its di- 



