g06 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAKDENING. 



offer favourable positions for tlie fermenting mate- 

 rial, from whicli warmtli and ammonia soon find 

 their way into the drainage, and produce more genial 

 conditions than can be obtained from dry fire-heat, 

 no matter how carefully the pipes may have been 

 arranged. 



Disbudding. — ^As soon as the young shoots get 

 fairly on the move, disbudding must be commenced 

 by the removal of all the weak side growths, from 

 each eye, leaving only one to furnish the fruit ; and 

 as more than one bunch must not be left on each 

 break, all but that. which appears to be the best may 

 be removed as the work of disbudding and regulating 

 the growths is proceeded with. By the removal of 

 aU the bunches that show on a lateral except one, and 

 that the most compact and symmetrical, the strength 

 of the vines is husbanded for a period when all 

 their energies are brought into, action through the 

 stoning and later stages of growth. Having dis- 

 budded to a single shoot from each eye, the next 

 question wUl be the removal of a certain number 

 of breaks altogether, as overcrowding the spurs is 

 quite as bad as overcrowding the young rods. Some 

 defer this part of this very important operation vmtil 

 they can see the bunches ; but as young canes five 

 feet in length will always give plenty of fruit, it is 

 better to rub off aU that are not wanted before they 

 attain much size. Therefore the first important 

 point is the selection of a good leader, from which 

 the bunches should always be pinched as soon as 

 they can be seen ; then will follow the removal of 

 the side shoots, so as to leave those intended for 

 permanent spurs about twelve inches apart all the 

 way down the vine. It may be well to remark that 

 great caution should be brought to bear upon the 

 final disbudding or thinning, as any accident to one 

 of the shoots left to form a permanent spur wUl 

 cause a disfigurement which no after-management 

 can remove. 



Stopping. — The vines being five feet apart, a 

 distance of two feet six inches each way may be 

 allowed for the lateral growths ; but as these will 

 throw out sub-laterals, to be again stopped in their 

 turn, the first stopping should be made at the 

 second or perhaps the third leaf beyond the bunch. 

 Soon after they are tied down, sub-laterals will 

 begin to push. These, as well as the laterals on the 

 growing leaders, must as a rule be pinched at the 

 first leaf, and afterwards re-pinched unless there is 

 a vacancy which requires covering ; as every part of 

 the trellis should be evenly covered with foliage, 

 when the first sub-laterals may be laid into any con- 

 venient length. The leaders should be loosely tied 

 every other day until they reach the top of the 



rafter, when they also must be pinched to strengthen 

 theback buds from which the next year's laterals 

 will proceed. 



GJSNEBAL MANAGKMENT OP FIFES. 

 Setting the Truit. — Preparations must be 

 made for fertilising the bunches as the fiowers open. 

 A temperature ranging from 65° for Hamburghs, to 

 70° for Muscats, is quite sufficient early in the season : 

 later on, when-fire-heat is at the lowest, a few degrees 

 higher may be advantageous, but this is doubtful. 

 Recently scientists have pointed out that the pollen 

 and the stigma in some varieties do not ripen at the 

 same time, so that fertilisation cannot take place, and 

 the action of foreign pollen becomes necessary. In 

 some cases also the pollen is found to be inert. HeiT 

 Stefan Molnor, director of the School of Vine Culture 

 at Buda-testh, has observed that "free setting" 

 varieties of Grapes have the stamens erect, forming a 

 cluster round the stigma, whilst " bad setting " varie-< 

 ties have the stamens deflected from the pistil. The 

 kinds of grapes which require daily attention are Mus- 

 cat of Alexandria and its allies, all the Sweet- waters. 

 Black Morocco, Alnwick Seedling, Mrs. Pince's Mus- 

 cat, and Lady Downes Seedling. "V^Tien they com- 

 mence flowering, the highest temperature given 

 should be maintained, with a free circulation of air 

 and atmospheric moisture in moderation on bright 

 fine days. Wl^en the weather is dull and cold this 

 may be reduced, but not entirely suspended. Some 

 grape-growers fertilise with the syringe ; but grapes 

 which set with the syringe set equally well, if not 

 better, with the camel-hair pencil. The middle of 

 the day, when maximum heat prevails, is the best 

 time to fertilise, and foreign pollen should always be 

 used, of which there is none better than that from 

 the Hamburgh. If a Hamburgh house is not likely 

 to be in bloom when the kinds named are ready, a 

 good supply should be secured in advance by shaking 

 the Hamburgh bunches over a sheet of paper or into 

 a small box, which can be put away in a dry place 

 for future use. 



One of the most difficult grapes to fertilise is 

 Black Morocco, and as it is one of our best winter 

 grapes, it should receive a little extra attention. 

 If the" flowers are closely examined, a viscid kind 

 of substance will be found adhering to the pistil 

 and the anthers, and so completely clogging those 

 organs as to render natural fertilisation almost 

 impossible. This should be removed by passing a 

 camel-hair pencil over the bunches, then follow- 

 ing with the pollen, when every berry wiU set 

 as freely as a Hamburgh. Fig. 16 represents a 

 neglected bunch of this variety, upon which nearly 

 all the berries are seedless, and although they would 

 ripen, the bunch would be worthless. In order to 



