122 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



some of the ligbts at night, unless there is danger ol 

 frost, or rain. 



About the last of May, the shoots will be from one to 

 three feet long ; train up the leading one the same as last 

 year, and cut back the others to one leaf beyond the 

 bunch of fruit to be retained for ripening ; the bunch 

 nearest the cane is the one usually left on for this 

 purpose ;* cut off all the others ; never leave more than 

 one bunch on a spur, and cut away all the fruit from 

 every altei'nute spur ; when this is done, and there are 

 still more than eight good-sized bunches remaining, 

 reduce them to this number ; these will be quite enough 

 for the vine to mature the first year of bearing ; if the 

 bunches are very large, you must cut off still more ; do 

 not allow over ten pounds of fruit to ripen on each vine ; 

 they probably will average not less than one pound to 

 the bunch. 



Occasionally, it will be necessary to go over the vines 

 and stop the laterals that push on the leading cane and 

 on the spurs, by cutting them back to one eye ; it will be 

 found a saving of labor, to perform this pruning at regu- 

 lar intervals of a fortnight during the season ; continue 

 this until they cease growing ; the leading cane should 

 be stopped as soon as it reaches the top of the house, 

 leaving one or two laterals at the top to grow a few days, 

 when 3'ou should cut back one of them, and leave the 

 other a few days longer, when that must be cut back also. 



* It somelimes happens, that a spur will have four or five bunches on 

 the shoot, the nearest one to the cane being at the second leaf; when this 

 occnrs, it is 1 3st to leave, for ripeningr, the second bunch, cutting away the 

 others. 



