84 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE 



their name, as regards the shape of the berry, than a 

 Black Prince resembles a Black Damascus ; yoii will al- 

 ways find that they are small finger, or oval-shaped, 

 whereas, grown by the practice I recommend, they are 

 large, and nearly globular. It is quite practicable to 

 grow fine, noble swelled fruit, and colored to perfection, 

 to be certain of which, you must not allow the vines to 

 carry too heavy a crop, keeping the temperature as re- 

 commended in all their stages of growth through this 

 work. In giving an opinion on the defect in the coloring 

 of grapes, it is not given as the sole cause, for, at the 

 time I am now writing, I have Hamburgh, Muscat, and 

 other vines, carrying forty, fifty, and even sixty pounds 

 weight of noble and good colored fruit, and have never 

 had a shanked berry on them, though the vines were 

 only planted three years in April last. 



" Pruning. It is my intention, in laying my practice 

 before the public, to show that single rod and spur- 

 pruning, in preference to long rod, will bring a vine the 

 soonest to bear a permanent crop of fruit. "We will pre- 

 sume your vines ready fer the jDruning knife ; the foliao-e 

 having shown indications of dropping, you may cut 

 back your lead to within one foot of the top of the bouse, 

 it will give you a little more cane ; having disbudded it 

 some time ago, you will have only left two eyes for 

 spurs, and the leading one proceed to prune downwards 

 on the vine, pruning your spurs to two, three, or four 

 eyes, choosing a bold, prominent eye or bud, (many may 

 say they look unsightly, but you will be repaid with 

 noble bunches on that head,) leaving the -uppermost eye 

 for fruit, cutting clean out the others with the exception 



