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former all that is possible should be done to promote the ripening; of 

 the grapes, whilst in the latter they easily get over-ripe. 



In the warmer parts of Victoria vines are extensively trained goose- 

 berry style, and topped in an excessive manner, the idea of the vine- 

 growers being that, by removing the extremities of the shoots, they 

 strengthen the vine. No more fatal error could be made. As we saw 

 (p. 11), the greater part of the solid substance of the vine is derived 

 from the air by the green leaves; it stands to reason that by continually 

 removing the fresh leaves the plant must eventually suffer consider- 

 able injury. Although vines topped even to a considerable extent 

 may for the first year give excellent results, both as regards quantity 

 and quality, they will gradually lose their vigour, and after a few 

 years appear to be completely exhausted. The following passage 

 from Dr. G-uyot's work, " Culture de la Vigne et Vinification," amply 

 proves this. He says : " If one tops all the shoots of a vine evenly, 

 without allowing any to extend as a long shoot, all the bunches 

 succeed well, and the crop is abundant the first year, if the number 

 of branches does not exceed that which the vine ought to bear ; the 

 second year the bunches are scarcer, looser, and smaller ; the third 

 year the vine has lost some of its vigour, and its buds are almost 

 sterile. It remains in this state the following years, and only 

 resumes its fertility when, by ceasing to top, it is allowed to renovate 

 itself. The more vigourous the vine which is topped the more 

 rapidly will it become sterile. It has occurred to me to see under 

 these conditions the second buds develop with energy, and carry 

 away the bunches in an exaggerated vegetation, in spite of a second 

 topping executed on them ; this topping which, when practised 

 partially and only on one or two special branches of the vine, opposes 

 itself to all non-setting of the fruit, becomes sometimes a cause 

 of non-setting if applied to the entire vine, but in every case absolute 

 and repeated topping ^becomes a cause of sterilization and final 

 decline." 



Dr. Guyot recommends topping to be only executed on the fruit 

 branch left according to his system of pruning (Fig. 38 p.,1 17), the two 

 shoots growing off the wood spur being tied to a stake, and allowed 

 to fully develop themselves. 



This would be impossible on vines trained gooseberry-bush style, 

 for which reason the system is not to be recommended in the warm 



