BOOK IV. XXIX. 11-14 



loosened when moved by the wind, or the tender 

 shoot be pulled out. And when this shoot has in- 

 creased in size it must be deprived of its secondary 

 shoots, unless because of the poverty or baldness of 

 the place they are reserved for layers. Then autumn 

 applies the pruning-knife to the matured branches. 

 But the following method of pruning is observed in 

 grafted vines — that, where there is no desire for a 

 layer, one shoot is brought up to the frame ; and 

 a second is cut back to such an extent that the wound 

 is flush with the stock, though in such a way that 

 nothing is pared from the hard wood. Excess foliage 12 

 must be removed just as in the case of the young 

 quickset ; but the pruning is to be done in such a way 

 that demands are put upon it very sparingly up to the 

 fourth year, until the wound of the trunk forms a scar. 

 This, then, is the method of procedure in cleft -grafting. 



The procedure by terebration or boring is as fol- 13 

 lows : " first, to take note of the most fruitful vine in 

 the vicinity, from which you may draw over a traverse 

 branch, so to speak, still clinging to its parent vine, 

 and pass it through the hole. For this is a safer and 

 surer way of grafting because, even though it does not 

 take hold the next spring, at any rate it is forced to 

 be united in the spring following, when it has grown 

 larger ; and presently it is cut loose from its mother, 

 and the upper part of the grafted vine is lopped off 

 close to the place where the scion was admitted. If 14 

 there is no opportunity for such a traverse branch, 

 then a twig is selected — one taken as fresh as 

 possible from the vine — and, being lightly pared all 

 around in such a way that the bark alone is removed, 

 it is fitted to the hole ; and then the vine is cut back 

 and daubed over with clay, that the whole stock 



445 



