1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



171 



' gained in favor and has been adopted by them, as 



, it shows tliat they arc still "oiicn to conviction," as 

 I hope wc^ all arc. The first step or process in sum- 

 mer pruning, stopping, or pinching the fruit 

 bearing shoot just beyond the last bunch of grapes, 

 has been well described by Dr. Warder. He does 

 not, however, lay so much stress upon the second 

 and third pinching, — that is, stopping and pinching 

 the laterals which appear from the dormant buds in 

 , the a.\ils of the leaves, — and as this may reach your 

 readers just in time for the operation, it may be of 

 use til them to say a few words about it. 



The pinching of the leading shoot of the fruit 

 he.iring branches has not alone the tendency to 

 more rapidly develop tlic embryo fruit, but also to 

 t'oreo out the laterals into stronger growth. About 

 a week after the first pinching these will have de- 

 \-eloped several leaves, and should all be pinched 

 above the lirsl leaf, which leaf will now rapidly 

 develop, and by its position just opposite the young 

 liuneh will afford the most perfect shade and pro- 

 tection to it, and at the same time will serve as the 

 most natural elaborator and conductor of sap. 

 .simuld these laterals start out again, as they will 

 u'euerally do, they may be stopped again, leaving 

 one leaf the young growth. This is the last opera- 

 tion, and is here finished by about the middle of 

 Tune, after which time they are left to grow uu- 

 liiekcd. Your readers will thus perceive, that 

 iistead of robbing the plant of its leaves, as by the 

 ■nnnnon old ))roce.ss of summer slaughtering, the 

 •aieful operator will by this process "make three 

 eaves grow where but one was before," and should 

 ■eriainly be called as great a benefactor, as the one 

 .\ lio makes two blades of grass grow where only 

 mr grew before, as the leaves are the lungs of the 

 ilant. Moreover, these leaves arc just where they 

 ihould l)e, and will remain fresh and green, the 

 nost perfect shade for the young fruit against the 

 eorching sun of August, when the first leaves have 

 ilready fallen oil'. 



To sum up, summer pruning has a three-fold 

 ibject, which the operator should keep constantly 

 n view. First, to remove all superfluous growth, 

 vhich will absorb and rob the vine of its strength. 

 Therefore we will not allow any more canes to 

 row unchecked than are necessary to produce bear- 

 ng wood for the next season, and rub oft' all blind 

 ml superfluous shoots. Secondly, to develop the 

 ruit to its greatest perfection, and those who will 

 arcfully watch this process will be astonished how 

 nuch this is aided by an early and timely pinching; 

 ■nd thirdly, the development of the most perfect 

 ;rowth, to bear fruit the next season. To do this, 

 le should grow no more young shoots than are 

 leedcd for the purpose ; should grow these in the 

 ight place and in the right shape. In fact, summer 

 irnning is but the first step, but the most important 



one, of which fall pruning is the continuation, for 

 how can the operator prune well in the fall if he 

 has not the vine in the proper shape to do it ? The 

 pinching of the shoots destined for bearing fruit 

 next year has a tendency to force out the laterals 

 into stronger growth, and is advisable with nearly 

 all of our strong growing kinds, such as Concord, 

 Nortini's, Herbemont, Cunningham, Taylor, etc., 

 and I have even practiced it with good success uj)- 

 on the Catawba. 



I would here again remark that the vine dresser 

 must be a thinking and reasoning being, not a mere 

 machine. In performing every operation, he must 

 ask himself the why and wherefore, and he will 

 soon find that practice makes perfect. — Geo. Huss- 

 vmn, in Jcwnal of Agriculture. 



Eflectm of Sulphur in TTIne. 



Mr. AVm. J. Flagg, in his Hand Book of the 

 Sulphur Cure as applicable to the Vine disease in 

 America, thus speaks of its eflects in the wine made 

 from sulphured fruit : 



A bad flavor is sometimes communicated to wine 

 from the remains of sulphur on the grapes, and 

 serious objections to the use of the remedy were at 

 one time raised on this account. This taste it has, 

 however, been found easy to get rid of by drawing 

 oft". If one operation does not suffice, a second in the 

 manner described below will be sure to succeed. 



Rinse carefully your empty cask, first with cold 

 and then with warm water, then again with cold ; 

 for every forty gallons it will hold, pour in a quart 

 of clean water, and leave it there. Burn within the 

 cask, for every forty gallons it will hold, one square 

 inch of rag or wick incrusted with sulphur by being 

 dipiied in it while melted ; close the bung tightly, 

 and roll and shake the cask to let the water within 

 it absorb well the vapors of sulphurous acid pro- 

 duced by the burning. Into the cask thus prepared 

 draw your wine, doing this by means of buckets, 

 and not by any of the modes contrived to exclude 

 the air, since contact with it helps to disinfect the 

 wine. 



But be careful to leave all lees behind ; therefore 

 do not tip the cask. The thicker wine remaining 

 with the lees must be settled by putting it in a 

 smaller vessel, and then drawing oft" by itself in the 

 same way as the other. Any portion of the lees 

 carried into the fresh cask under the influence of a 

 slight subsequent fermentation will again form sul- 

 phureted hydrogen, which constitutes the bad taste 

 in question. 



The above is from De la Vergne's " Practical 

 Instructions." 



This sulpliureted hydr(igcn decomposes when 

 brought in contact with the sulph\irous acid pro- 

 duced by burning the sulphur coated rag or wick, 

 and thus the objectionable flavor passes off. But it 



