TIIE VINE AND ITS FRUIT. 



307 



prevent the .condensation of moisture, a chink of air 

 at the back and front of the house should he kept on 

 all night, unless the weather is frosty, and the proper 

 temperature cannot he maintained. 



Some grape-growers fertilise their grapes by 

 giving the vines a sharp rap with the hand to set 

 the pollen at liberty; others trust to the natural 

 energy of their vines and a brisk buoyant atmo- 

 sphere ; while others draw the 

 hand lightly down the bunches 

 when they are in flower, but 

 this is a bad practice, as the 

 pressure and moisture, how- 

 ever slight, often injure the 

 embryo berries, notably of 

 Muscats, which show a sinaU 

 brown spot at the points when 

 they are ripe. 



Thinning. — The art of 



thinning grapes well cannot 

 be properly acquired without 

 practice and a thorough ac- 

 quaintance, not only with the 

 diiferent sections, but also 

 with particular vines of the 

 same varietj'. Take as an 

 example the numerous varie- 

 ties grown under the name of 

 HambTirgh. Some produce 

 loose hunches of medium-sized 

 berries which require mode- 

 rate thinning ; others produce 

 heavy - shouldered bunches, 

 which set thickly, and pro- 

 duce large, short - stalked, 

 hammered berries, half as 

 large again as the first. Both 

 are called Hamburghs, but 

 directions for thinning the 

 first would not apply to the 

 second, and vice versa. Lady 

 Downes, Alicante, and Gros 



Cohnar are three late kinds, which require totally 

 distinct thinning to insure perfect clusters when 

 they are ripe. When thoroughly acquainted with 

 the peculiarities and capabilities of different houses 

 jf vines, a good practical hand can thin to a berry ; 

 but as no amount of writing can convey that ex- 

 perience, the subject must be here confined to general 

 principles. 



The best time to thin is as soon as all free-setting 

 kinds are out of flower, and the berries approach the 

 size of No. 1 shot. Muscats and shy-setting kinds 

 should he allowed to get a little more advanced, and 

 \phen those which are properly fertilised begin to 



rig. 16.— Black Morocco Badly Set.' 



take the lead, those left behind in point of siza 

 should, as far as possible, be removed, as stoneless 

 berries never take the second swelling, and no 

 matter how symmetrical a bunch may be, uneven 

 berries greatly detract from its appearance. 



When properly thinned, a hunch of grapes should 

 contain as many even-sized berries as will form a 

 compact cluster, vfrell berried up to the stalk, and 

 close enough to retain its per- 

 fect form when cut and laid 

 on the dish. If the berries 

 fall about and expose the 

 stalks it is over-thinned; if 

 they bind and force each other 

 out of place it is under- 

 thinned. Early and mid- 

 season grapes that are in- 

 sufliciently thinned do not 

 suffer so much as late ones, 

 which have to hang through 

 the dead months, when a free 

 circulation of air to prevent 

 the berries from rotting is 

 indispensable. As grapes 

 should never be touched by 

 the flesh or hair, either of 

 which produces rust and de- 

 stroys the bloom, the operator 

 should begin at the point and 

 work upwards, holding and 

 turning the bunch with a 

 small hooked peg. All the 

 smallest and plenty of the in- 

 side berries should be taken 

 at the first thinning, and the 

 work should be carried on 

 early in the morning and late 

 in the evening, when the body 

 is cool and the fingers free 

 from perspiration. Fig. 17 

 on the next page is a fair 

 representation of u, bunch of 

 Hamburghs after the first 

 thinning. It is possible that a few of the berries 

 left at the first thinning may not be perfectly 

 fertilised ; if so, they will be weak in the foot-stalk, 

 small, and slightly transparent. These are the 

 berries which should be taken out at the second 

 thinning. 



Lady Downes and all the late kinds, including 

 Gros Colmar, the largest of all grapes, should be 

 thinned untU there is no danger of binding ; other- 

 wise, all other points being satisfactory, their keep- 

 ing for any length of time after the leaves fall will 

 he very doubtful. The inexperienced, who have to 

 feel their way, should make a point of going over 



