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Selection of cuttings. As a rule, when purchasing cuttings one is 

 obliged to take what one can get, and hope for the best, but whenever 

 it can be done they should be selected with the greatest care. 



The vine the cuttings are taken from has in many cases a marked 

 influence on the character of the young vine. In a block planted 

 exclusively with one variety there will often be differences between 

 some of the individual vines. These differences bear upon such 

 qualities as the size of the fruit or prolificacy of the vine, the latter 

 being the more important. Some vines identical to the others in 

 every other respect are almost completely sterile, whilst others are 

 remarkably heavy bearers, and this may be observed on the same vines 

 year after year. Cuttings taken from such vines would perpetuate 

 the characteristic of the parent, and be either almost sterile or remark- 

 ably prolific, as the case may be. During the summer or autumn, 

 before the cuttings are taken, all vines in the vineyard which are 

 remarkable for the quantity or quality of their fruit should be care- 

 fully marked, and cuttings only taken from them. The sorts which 

 require most care in this direction are the Chasselas, red and white 

 Hermitage, and Pulsart. 



The portion of the vine the cuttings are taken from must also 

 receive attention. Only such shoots as have borne or have been 

 capable of bearing fruit should be selected for this purpose. The 

 wood which fulfils this condition is that which, instead of growing 

 directly off the old stem, grows off the wood of the previous year. 

 Shoots growing off the old stem are termed in French "gourmands;" 

 they, as well as suckers, should never be employed for cuttings; in 

 certain cases the vines they give rise to are sterile. 



The age of the vine the cuttings are taken from is not of any 

 consequence provided it be older than three years. 



There are two sorts of cuttings, viz., ordinary cuttings, which consist 

 of any part of the shoot; and those which formed the lower end of the 

 shoot, and have a small piece of two-year-old wood at their base. 

 These, known in French as " crossettes," present the advantage of 

 enabling the purchaser to see that they fulfil the condition of having 

 been capable of bearing fruit, and are principally to be recommended 

 on this account. They also strike more easily, as at the junction with 

 the older wood there is a ring of buds, which facilitate the emission 

 of roots. A cutting off any other part of the same shoot would 



