278 Vineyard Culture. 



atmosphere exceeds the limits of its ■ beneficial action, 

 it may become very prejudicial to vineyards. 



Abundant and continuous rains, falling while the 

 vines are in bloom, are injurious to fructification, by 

 cooling the atmosphere and suspending the vegetation 

 of the plants. 



[Another result of continued rains, during the period of 

 inflorescence, appears to have escaped the attention of the 

 careftil observer who has prepared this manual. I refer to 

 the injurious eiFect produced when they occur too profiisely 

 at this critical period — the washing away of the pollen-grains. 

 This has been observed repeatedly, with different kinds of 

 fiuit, and has sometimes resulted most unfortunately. Only 

 last year, many of the vineyards in Northern Ohio were se- 

 riously injured by this cause.] 



If these rains, which are frequent in summer, be- 

 come almost continuous in September and October, the 

 damage is quite as great. The vegetation of the vine 

 then lasts too long, and the ripening begins too late. 

 The grapes being watery, ripen very imperfectly, and 

 rot before they are completely matured. The result 

 of these circumstances is the production of very inferior 

 wines, as was the case in i860, in all the vineyards of 

 the northern and middle regions. 



[In our delightful climate of bright sunshine, we do not 

 often have reason to complain of injuries from such a cause, 

 and yet they do sometimes occur, and the excess of rain-fall 

 during the summer months is known to have as serious an effect 

 upon the fruit as a diminution of the mean temperature of the 

 same season. This matter has been very fully set forth by 

 Mr. James S. Lippincott, to whose essays on this subject, the 



