VITIS. 



puij to thefe circumftances. Where the vines produce 

 imall bunches, ihey fliould be cut down to two or three 

 eyes, in order to have ftrong wood for the enfiiing year. 

 And as it has been feen that vines bear their fruit on the 

 wood that waj produced the preceding ycai', when there is 

 a great deal of old naked wood on them, as generally is 

 the cafe, with fome fmall weak fhoots at tbe extremities, 

 they fliould always be cut down as near to the ground as 

 pollible, in which cafe there will be no fruit for that year. 

 But another mode is fometimes praftifed, which is, to cut 

 every other (hoot, leaving the old ones to produce fome 

 fmall grapes ; when in the following year there will be 

 plenty of fine wood, provided care be taken to nail in the 

 ilrongeft (hoots, and pick off all the fide-flioots that are pro- 

 duced from the eyes, pinching them off with the finger 

 and thumb, or cutting them off with a (harp penknife clofe 

 to the bud or eye ; but never twifting them ; as by twilling 

 them, the bud that produces the grapes the next year is 

 hurt ; being always attentive to cut as near to a Ijud as 

 pollible, and taking care to lay in the wood very thin in the 

 fummer feafon, that the fun and air may be freely admitted 

 to ripen it well, as by thefe means it will grow very ftrong. 

 Great care (hould alfo be taken to keep the (hoots nailed to 

 tlie wall, which will prevent their being broken by high 

 winds ; picking off all the flide-(hoots every time they are 

 nailed, v.'hich (hculd be done feveral times during the fummer 

 months, according to the quicknefs of their growth. In 

 fine weather they grow fo very rapidly, that it is necelTary 

 to look them over once every fortnight or three weeks to 

 have them in good order. The vines (hould never be fuf- 

 fered to run together in a clufter, and mat, as it infalHbly 

 ruins them for bearing the fucceeding year. The (hoots 

 that have been trained in a ferpentine manner, are advifed 

 by Mr. Forfyth to be topped, as foon as the grapes come 

 to the fize of very fmall green peas, at a joint or two above 

 the fruit ; but neither the leading flioot, nor that which is 

 intended to bear fruit the next year, (hould ever be topped. 



In the fecond year Mr. Forfyth never recommends the 

 pruning of vines to be performed till the beginning of Fe- 

 bruary, except in fuch feafons as are very forward. It is, 

 liowever, the common praftice with fome to begin pruning 

 foon after the fall of the leaf, before the wood becomes hard ; 

 but if a froft fots in before the wood is hard, in particular 

 after wet fummcrs and autumns, it is apt to be very much in- 

 jured ; he has frequently feen it almoft killed after autumnal 

 pruning. And he obfervcs, that there is often fine weather 

 in the months of Oftober, November, and December, with 

 fun and drying winds, which helps to ripen the wood after 

 wet autumns. 



It in likewife advifed, when the vine-leaves begin to fall, 

 10 take a foft broom and fweep them off upwards in a gentle 

 manner, which will be of great fervice in alFilling to harden 

 the wood. In beginning to prune in February, it is recom- 

 mended always to make choice of the ftrongeil and longell 

 (hoots, leaving tliem as long as the eyes are found good and 

 plump, and the wood round ; but by no means to leave them 

 when they become flat, as in that cafe they feldom bear fruit ; 

 and if they do, it will be very fmall. Mr. Forfyth never 

 lays in any that has lefs than fifteen, and from th.it to thirty 

 good eyes, according to the ftrength of the flioot, which 

 will produce two bunches from every good eye. He Ins 

 had feventy bunches of grapes from one (hoot. The (hoots 

 that have borne fruit in the preceding year (hould be cut out 

 the next year, except where the wall is to be filled and the 

 (hoots are very (Irong. Plenty of fine healthy young wood 

 is eafily provided, if care be taken in the winter pruning ; 

 therefore, none (hould be left but the fine ftrong wood, 



cutting conftantly at the fecond, iliird, or l<^u«ti) eye ; rub- 

 bing the lowed bud off, and that which comes out at llie 

 joint between the new and laft year's wood. By tlitfe 

 means as much fruit will, he contends, be procured from 

 thefe (hort (hoots, as by the common way of pruning. It is 

 neceflary to leave two or three of the (Irongeft (hoots for 

 next year's bearing wood, and never to top them. When 

 there is not room to train them, they may be led over tit* 

 tops of the other trees, if the vines ire planted ag.iinft 

 piers ; or be run behuid the ilandards, if there be any, which 

 is generally the cafe where the walls are high. In this way 

 aU the wall will be covered, which will have a very beautiful 

 appearance when the fruit is ripe, befides furnifliing a plen- 

 tiful fupply of fine grapes. The flioots at the bottom of 

 the wall may be run behind the dwarf-trees, or be tacked 

 down over the top of the wall on the other fide where the 

 walls are lovi'. Mr. Forfyth has had very fine grapes on ealt 

 and weft walls, in good feafons, between peaches, plums, 

 &c. particulaily when the trees are young. In thefe cafes 

 he advifes to keep cutting in the vines as the other trees 

 grow and fill up the walls. He alfo trains them over the 

 tops of trees on each fide ; which, he alTerts, liever does 

 any harm to the trees below, provided they are kept nailed 

 to the wall. He has alfo planted vines between trees on 

 north and eaft afpefts, and trained them over the tops of the 

 fouth and weft walls to fill the upper parts, till the peaches 

 and ncftarines cover them. He then cuts away part of the 

 vines, leaving only as many (hoots as he may think neceffary. 

 Two years ago, he ftates, he removed fome old apricots that 

 covered a wall about 1 65 feet long, and planted them againlt 

 a new wall, leaving five vines that were planted againft the 

 piers. Thefe five plants have, in the courfe of two years, 

 covered the above wall from top to bottom, and bear plenty 

 of fine grapes every year. He remarks that he alfo moved 

 an old vine on a wall near to the above, and cut it in pretty 

 clofe, when it has in three years fpread twenty-fix yards, 

 and bears very fine fruit. And againft one of the piers 

 had, he obferves, been planted a black Hamburgh grape, 

 and at the other fide of the fame pier a mufcadine, at die 

 diftance of about two feet from each other ; he pruned 

 them both according to his method, and the fecond year 

 alter, they prod ni.«d iioo bunches of fine grapes. It is 

 added, that he alfo tried an experiment by taking fome 

 (hoots from a fouth wall, opening the ground deep enough 

 to lay them in acrofa the footpath at the diftance of about 

 four leet from the wall, and tied them to (lakes, training 

 them as efpaliers, laying in the wood as direfted for walls, 

 and keeping them as low as polfible, that they might not 

 (hade the bottom of the wall ; he alfo pruned them as he 

 does thofe againft walls, laying the fiioots in very long, ex- 

 cept thofe that were intended to bear fruit next year, from 

 which he took oft' all the fide-fhoots and runners againft the 

 wall and efpaliers. In a favourable feafon llicfe bear, he 

 aflcrts, very fine fruit, better than what is got from the walls 

 by the old method of prniiing. 



The ufe of the compofition prepared by him is advifed as 

 foon after pruning as polFiblc ; for as the vine is very porous, 

 it foon imbibes the wet and moifturc, which brings it quickly 

 to decay. He adds further, that if at .^ny time a viae fliould 

 be cut late in the feafon, it will be apt to bleed much; in 

 wliich calc the powder fliould be applied, repenting the ap- 

 plication till the bleeding ftops. He ftates, moreover, that 

 he cut two ftrong vine-branches in the month of .huir, and 

 three more in July, in very liot weather, on purpofe to try 

 the fffeft of the powder in flopping the bleeding. The lap 

 rofe fo ftrong, that it worked out at the top in a fiolh ; he 

 applied the powder, which in a Ihorl time entirely ftoppcd 



it. 



