i24 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



heat of summer, some leaves are necessary over the fruit 

 to shelter it from the sunbeams until it is half ripe, and 

 then bareness* is requisite to bring it to maturity." — 

 The Complete Gardener, 'etc., hy M. De la Quintiney, 

 London, 1719, page 157. 



" Nets may be used to prevent birds eating the fruit, 

 and vials with water and honey, or a little sugar, hung 

 upon the branches, will induce flies to drown themselves, 

 which, (when a considerable number are in,) must be 

 emptied, and renewed as before." — Hid, 157. 



When ripening oif, if the berries do not swell or color 

 well, and, in black varieties, are of a pale red color, feeling 

 soft, if touched, you may be assured the vines are not 

 strong enough to ripen the crop ; cut off the lower part 

 of the bunch of some, and the whole of others ; selecting, 

 for this purpose, the bunches which are the most affected 

 in this way, and reducing the quantity on the vine one 

 third, or one half, and do so as soon as you suspect this 

 is the case ; by these means, you may save the residue 

 of the crop, and, at the same time, relieve the vine from 

 the exhausting effort of attempting to mature it. This is 

 a trouble caused by overcropping, and is entirely distinct 

 from what is usually termed shanking jf for this disease, 



* The leaves on the shoot bearing the fruit must never, on any consider- 

 ation, be removed ; if necessary to let in air and light, prune out the laterals 

 and cut back to the bunch. The whole tenor of this remark is only 

 applicable to European culture ; with our American varieties, this practice 

 would be highly improper. It would be better never to prune or stop a 

 shoot than to do thus. I would advise the opposite, and say, if a shoot is 

 very vigorous, and is drawing an undue share of the sap to itselfj to the 

 detriment cf other parts of the vine, check it by stopping the end of the 

 branch, to promote the growth of the weaker ones. 



+ Shrivel or shanking in grapvi is caused by a disease on the skin of the 



