THE VINE 



24s 



fertilised berries. This will be apparent in the course of a few days, as the latter 

 will remain small, while those fertilised will, even in the course of a day or two, 

 make appreciable progress. It goes without saying, therefore, that the small 

 berries must be cut out first ; afterwards any berries that cross one another in 

 the centre of the bunch, leaving them, as I said before, half an inch apart. The 

 best way of keeping the bunch steady while thinning goes on is to select a berry 

 towards the base of the bunch which can be spared after the bunch is thinned, 

 and take hold of it with the left hand, 

 pulling downwards slightly until the work 

 is done, afterwards cutting off the berry, 

 as it would be tarnished and of no use. 

 This answers excellently for small bunches, 

 but for long ones and those with heavy 

 shoulders a forked stick is necessary. There 

 is a special make of scissors for the purpose, 

 in several sizes ; I prefer the small ones. 

 They must be kept sharp and clean, so 

 that no pulling at the berries with blunt 

 blades or tarnishing them with dirty ones 

 may take place. The bunch must not be 

 turned round to suit the worker's position, 

 but he must move round the bunch, taking 

 care not to touch the berries with the 

 head, hands, or clothes, or they will be 

 disfigured permanently. After the first 

 thinning is over the grapes will swell 

 rapidly, and it will be necessary to go 

 over the bunches again ; if, however, the 

 first thinning is carefully done there will 

 not be very much to do afterwards. If 

 the grapes are forced early the berries will 

 not be large when ripe, so that this must 

 be remembered when thinning and the 

 berries left more thickly. With mid-season 

 and late grapes a greater distance must be 

 left between each berry, varying accord- 

 ing to the ultimate size. Gros Colmar, 

 Gros Maroc, and the Duke of Buccleuch, for instance, require double the space 

 sufficient for smaller varieties. 



In thinning a bunch of grapes the worker should have in mind a picture of 

 the bunch as he would wish it to appear when fully developed. In growing 

 grapes for exhibition it is especially important that the berries should be 

 thinned carefully. When fully developed they should rest firmly upon one 

 another without undue pressure. It is as easy to err by leaving too many 

 berries in the bunch as in having too few. The way to avoid this is carefully 

 to observe the bunches as the berries swell, and to remove a berry from that 



Bunch of Grapes not Thinned 



