121 



varies with the season and the sort of vine, and should be fixed 

 accordingly. In a general way the middle of May is not too early to 

 commence pruning, especially for early sorts, such as PinotSj Chas- 

 selas, &c. 



In certain cases it may be an advantage to prune very late. If 

 spring frosts are to be feared, by pruning the early sorts only when 

 the buds are beginning to swell, their coming into leaf will be delayed 

 for as much as a fortnight, a sufficient time in most cases to enable 

 them to escape injury from this cause. 



Again, late pruning is an excellent preventative of the non-setting 

 of the grapes, to which some sorts are liable. The copious bleeding 

 thus produced counteracts in a great measure the excess of sap in the 

 vine, which we saw (p. 12) was in the majority of cases the cause of 

 the abortion of a large number of flowers. It is well on this account to 

 prune such sorts as are liable to set their fruit badly very late; these 

 are chiefly the Cabernet, Malbeck, Riesling, as well as some others. 



Instruments for Pruning. In olden days the vine was pruned with 

 a sort of hooked knife, termed a " serpette "; such an instrument was 

 slow as well as dangerous, and has been replaced by the secateur, or 

 pruning scissors, which is too well known to require description. A 

 small garden-saw will also be found convenient for removing any old 

 arms, &c., which cannot conveniently be cut with the secateur. 



