VITIS. 



it. Thefe direftions are chiefly for vines on the natural 

 wall, though tlie fame method has been advifed to be prac- 

 tifed for forced grapes. The lituations in which they are 

 placed (hould be towards the fouth, and the earth quite dry 

 and light. 



The above writer ftill further advifes, that after the grapes 

 are fet and begin to fwell, to water them with the barrow- 

 engine, fprinkling them all over the leaves and fruit, prefling 

 the fore-finger over the top of the pipe ; by which the 

 water can be thrown as fine as fmall rain, which vnll wa(h 

 all the duft off the vine and leaves, that are frequently co- 

 vered with it, efpecially where the garden is near a public 

 road. The infefts fhould likewife be wafhed off the trees. 

 In fine weather he fprinkles all the wall-trees three times a 

 week, which keeps them clear from infefts, and promotes 

 the fweUing of the fruit ; but this operation muft never, he 

 fays, be performed when the nights are cold and frofty. 

 The fprinkling of the trees fhould be begun when the fun is 

 in an oblique direction, or gone off the wall, which may be 

 about four o'clock on a fouth afpeft ; as by doing it at this 

 period the leaves will have time to dry before night, and fo 

 prevent the froll, if there fhould be any in the night, from 

 injuring them. In very hot and dry weather the trees fhould 

 have a good bottom watering once a week, which w'lU for- 

 ward the fwelling of the fruit. Vines require a great deal 

 of watering ; but when the fruit is fully fwelled, you fhould 

 leave it oiiF, particularly when the nights begin to get cold, 

 as it would hurt the flavour of the fruit. 



In order to preferve the grapes, as foon as the large fly 

 makes its appearance, plenty of bottles a little more than 

 half filled with fome fweet liquor fhould be provided to en- 

 tice the flies to enter them, where they will be drowned. 

 The bottles fhould be hung on the nails at proper diftances 

 all over the vines, and alfo fome of them placed at the bot- 

 tom of the walls. The blue fly comes much earlier than the 

 wafp, and is no lefs deftruftive to the fruit. It is therefore 

 neceifary to hang up the bottles betimes, in order to deftroy 

 as many of them as poflible before the wafp makes its ap- 

 pearance, to have the bottles ready for this fecond enemy. 



And when the grapes begin to ripen, the birds begin to 

 attack the fruit ; when it is neceflary to bag fome of your 

 fine handfome bunches, but to bag them all would be an 

 cndlefs trouble where there is a full crop and a large garden. 

 Of courfe where the bunches are very thick, the quickeft 

 way is, he thinks, to cover the trees with nets, or buntine 

 (a kind of fluff of which fhips' colours are made), which 

 will admit a free air to the grapes, and dry foon after rain. 

 They will alfo in the fpring, he thinks, be a good covering 

 for the trees in cold, wet, or fnowy weather. The bunches 

 of grapes fliould always be kept under the fhade of the 

 leaves till they begin to ripen ; when you may begin to pick 

 off the leaves which cover the fruit ( leaving thofe a httle 

 above it to be a flielter from the wet and frofl in the nights) : 

 this will affifl the ripening of the fruit ; and take off' only a 

 few leaves at a time, according to the quantity of grapes to 

 be gathered at once : by thefe means the fruit will continue 

 tliree times as long in fucceflion as it would if the leaves 

 were picked off^ all at one time. He has often feen all the 

 leaves taken off from the fruit foon after it was fet, which 

 prevents it from fvveUing, and it becomes hard and fmaU, 

 and generally cracks. When the leaves are not too thick, 

 they admit, he aflerts, the rays of the fun to pafs through, 

 and a warm glow of heat will be reflefted from the wall. 



Further, it is often convenient to let the grapes hang as 

 long on the walls as poflible ; he has often let them hang 

 till the middle of November, only covering them witli nets, 

 or buntine. But when the froll begins to fet in fliarp, 



they fhould then be gathered. Where there are feveral 

 bunches on one branch it may be cut off, leaving about fix 

 inches in length, or more, of the wood, according to the 

 dillance between the bunches, and a little on the outfide of 

 the fruit at each end ; both ends being fealed with fome 

 common fealing-wax, fuch as wine-merchants ufe for fealing 

 their bottles with, which you may buy at the wax-chan- 

 dler's ; then hang them acrofs a line in a dry room, taking 

 care to clip out with a pair of fciflbrs any of the berries 

 that begin to decay or become mouldy, which if left would 

 taint the others. In this way he has kept grapes till the 

 6th of February ; but if they are cut before the bunches 

 are too ripe, they may be kept much longer than that 

 period. 



They may alfo be kept, he contends, by packing them in 

 jars, (every bunch being firft wrapped up in foft paper,) 

 and covering every layer with bran, which fhould be well 

 dried before it is ufed, laying a little in the bottom of 

 the jar ; then a layer of grapes alternately, till the jar is 

 filled, then fliaking it gently, and filling it to the top with 

 bran, laying fome paper over it, and co^'ering the top with 

 a bladder tied firmly on to exclude the air ; when the top 

 or cover of the jar fhould be put on, obferving that it fits as 

 clofe as pofTible, placing them in a room where a fire is kept 

 in wet or damp weather. 



Methods of forcing Vines. — This is performed in different 

 forts of buildings contrived for the purpofe ; fuch as hot- 

 walls and vineries, as well as by hot-houfes or ftoves. See 

 Vinery. 



It is fuggefted by the Scotch Forcing Gardener, that in 

 the former cafes, when the borders have been prepared and 

 made up in the manner direfted under the head Vinery ; 

 when proper plants of one or two years' growth in pots can- 

 not be procured, cuttings (hould be made ufe of. Others, 

 however, prefer cuttings in all cafes, plaiuing two in each 

 hole, to guard againft failure, the weakeft, where both grow, 

 being afterwards removed. Thefe fhould be planted about 

 the beginning of April, being chofen from good-bearing 

 vines, and fuch flioots as are well ripened, otherwife they 

 never make good plants. The diftance they fhould be al- 

 lowed to remain is about fix feet. In planting them out, 

 holes (hould be opened with a fpade, about eighteen inches 

 deep ; the cuttings being laid in the holes a little doping, 

 the earth being then filled into the holes, and gently preffed 

 with the foot to them, and raifed in a heap fo as juft to 

 cover the uppermoft eyes, afterwards applying a little mulch 

 on the furface of the ground about them to prevent the fun 

 and air from drying the earth ; and when the fpring is very 

 dry, a little water fhould be given once a week. 



Under this management they ufually make ftrong (hoots 

 the firll fummer. 



But the above writer, where rooted plants are employed, 

 advifes the pits to be half filled with vegetable mould, and 

 the plants to be taken carefully out of the pots with their 

 balls entire, and, unlefs when rooted, be placed in that man- 

 ner in the pits, filling them in with vegetable mould, and 

 fettling them with a httle water. This work, in his opinion, 

 may be performed any time from the beginning of Novem- 

 ber to the ifl: of March, with equal fuccefs. But though 

 the above dillance of planting may be proper when the vines 

 are full grown, it may be beneficial to have them put in 

 at half that diftance at firfl ; as a crop or two may be ob- 

 tained before it is neceffary to thin them out ; two of a 

 kind being placed together for the greater convenience of 

 thinning. 



The management of tlie vines, for the three firfl years 

 after planting, is the fame as praftifed for thofe againft 



common 



