382 



THE FRUIT GARDEN 



from each other ; and the first is at om.25 from the soil. One or two shoots 

 are taken each year according to their vigour. 



Horizontal cordons are obtained and treated in the same way as simple 

 cordons. 



As for varieties with long shoots, every year one growth should be trained 

 in to produce fruit, and another should be cut down to two eyes in order to 

 secure successional shoots. This cultivation produces much fruit, but vigorous 

 vines are necessary ; and to secure them much manuring is needed. 



Of all these forms the palmate is by far the most practical. 



Grapes for the table are furnished chiefly from the southern regions, and 



!^^ 



Another Method of Forming the T for the Thomery Form of Vine Training 

 By pinching the shoot a little below the T and training two growths from there. 



next from the neighbourhood of Paris, especially from the districts of Thomery, 

 Conflans, &c. 



Thinning the grapes, which consists of removing with the scissors the inner 

 berries, and of thinning those which are too close together, takes place at the 

 end of June, and continues till mid- July. It serves to hasten the ripening, to 

 increase the size of the individual berries, and to make their preservation easier. 



Gathering should be done in dry rather than wet weather. Bunches of 

 dried grapes can be preserved by placing them upon racks, or by suspending 

 them. Bunches of fresh grapes can be kept by inserting the stems in flasks of 

 fresh water, with a little charcoal in it to prevent decomposition. In this case 

 the grapes must be gathered with a sufKcient length of shoot to fix them in 

 the flasks and to enable them to draw up moisture. Double partition walls in 

 fruit-rooms are even more necessary for grapes than for apples and pears. It is 

 a good thing to burn a very little sulphur now and then to lessen the atmos- 

 pheric moisture. 



