1 10 THE FLORIST AN1> 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 



FRUIT. 



Grapes.— Among the various systems of training and pruning grapes it 

 seems there are scarcely two authorities alike. This is much to be regret- 

 ted, and arises chiefly from the fact that the grape will produce more or less 

 under any system of management, .consequently those who make a first essay, 

 if they can procure even a miserable crop, are so overjoyed with their suc- 

 cess that they extol it to the skies, and chronicle their great success as pro- 

 ceeding from some trilling circumstance or other, which is henceforth con- 

 sidered indispensable. " These grape vines will never do any good, because 

 they are planted inside the house," was a remark made in our hearing by 

 one who wished to be considered an authority in these matters, having plant- 

 ed a few acres of vineyard. "You leave your young wood too long for the 

 first year," says another, who reads in the books that vines should not be 

 allowed to fruit until the third year after planting, overlooking the fact that 

 a well managed plant will be in better condition for fruiting in its second 

 year than a neglected one in its fourth. We have heard remarks similar to 

 the above made in cases reminding one of the commissioned officer of six 

 months' standing, instructing the private veteran of many battles how to 

 handle his musket. We propose to offer a few remarks upon the various sys- 

 tems of pruning ; and before proceeding to details a few preliminary remarks 

 will be necessary. 



When a seed germinates, its first effort is to lengthen downwards into the 

 soil and upwards into the air ; the starch contained in the seed affords suffi- 

 cient nourishment for this process. The plant being now formed will hence- 

 forth derive its food from the air and soil, the young roots immediately be- 

 gin to absorb nutriment from the earth, which passes into the stem and 

 leaves, where it undergoes decomposition, is then returned downwards to the 

 roots, extending their formation. The carbonic acid and other matters that 

 enter the system of the plant through the roots, are of no value until decom- 

 posed by the leaves. This relative action continues during the growth of 

 the plant, the increase in size, the quantity of its secretions and extension 

 of roots are the result either of immediate or previous elaborating functions 

 of foliage. 



Such is the generally recognised process of vegetable growth. Leaves are 

 the principal agents ; any system of pruning, therefore, that involves their 

 removal must exercise a corresponding check of root growth; and if these 

 principles are kept in view, we shall be better able to discuss the merits of 

 pruning in all its modifications. 



