272 AMERICAN POMOLOGY. 



crop, as well as the vine itself, is often much injured by a 

 ■want of attention to this particular. So avaiicious is man, 

 that few persons will exert the needed firmness and perse- 

 verance to remove the excess which the beautiful A'iue an- 

 nually affords. The result of this neglect is apparent at 

 the vintage, especially when from any fault of the season, 

 or from the invasion of insects or of mildew, the foli- 

 age may have been damaged, as it frequently is, to a con- 

 sidei-able extent. Then we find Inrge quantities of the 

 grapes so deficient in color and flavor as to be worthless ; 

 in some varieties whole bunches w'.U hang flaccid, wither- 

 ed, and insipid — while perhaps a few, more favorably situ- 

 ated, will have their proper flavor. The grape vine is well 

 called beautiful, and it is capable of sustaining most won- 

 derful amounts of fruit ; but on young vines, especially, 

 it is very bad policy to allow of this over-production. 



The tendency to fruitage may be met in different ways, 

 a few of which will now be pointed out, and all planters 

 are urged to observe and to practice some of these plans 

 for reducing the exuberance of this kind of fruit. In the 

 first place we practice winter pruning, regardless of its 

 established and well-known effect of producing an increase 

 of wood-growth, for this is what we desire to obtain in the 

 vine, on account of its habit of yielding its fruit on wood 

 of the previous year's growth ; by this means we are able 

 to pursue the renewal system, which is so generally pre- 

 ferred, and thus we may keep our vines perpetually cloth- 

 ed with new wood, or canes as they are technically called. 

 By this winter ' pruning we can reduce the amount of 

 wood that is of a> bearing char.acter, to any point which 

 may be deemed desirable, according to the strength and 



