ON FRUIT CULTURE. 



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Start naturally, i.e., without the aid of artificial heat ; but when 

 once the rods have commenced to break into growth, a gentle 

 fire-heat, coupled with copious syringing early in the morning, 

 and again early in the afternoon, is advisable. The house should 

 be shut up with a good sun-heat and plenty of moisture in the 

 atmosphere ; this is secured by well damping the rods, paths, 

 borders, and walls. The heat and moisture thus derived will 

 prove highly beneficial to the vines and their growth. When 

 they are in flower, syringing of the plants should cease until all 

 the Grapes have been cut. For all Muscat varieties of Grapes a 

 rather high temperature may be given with a slightly reduced 

 amount of moisture in the house. If the vines are in good 

 health a good set will be secured by simply shaking the rods 

 vigorously about mid-day. With shy-setting varieties, like Muscat 

 of Alexandria, some gardeners introduce pollen from other sorts 

 such as Alicante, but this is seldom necessary if the weather is 

 bright at the flowering period. 



Before describing the process of thinning Grapes it should be 

 mentioned how important are disbudding and the stopping of the 

 laterals. From nearly all spurs on the rods more shoots will show 

 than it is advisable to permit to grow. No hard-and-fast rule can 

 be laid down as to how many shoots should proceed from each 

 spur, but sufficient should be left to cover all the roof without 

 overcrowding the foliage. The best should be selected, rubbing 

 off" all the worst placed and weakest ones while small, thus 

 avoiding any check to the vines. As the shoots lengthen to 

 i5in. or a little less, the points should be nipped out with the 

 finger and thumb ; or if the shoot, or lateral, as it is called, is 

 carrying a bunch, the point should be taken out one or two 

 leaves beyond where the bunch is showing. All this "stopping," 

 as gardeners term it, is best done early, v/hile the growth is tender, 

 and while the operation can be effected with the finger and thumb. 

 After the first stopping, " sub-laterals " will quickly form. As 

 these appear, no time must be lost in stopping them at the first 

 leaf, unless a shoot is wanted to cover a vacant space on the 

 roof. With young vines, the leading shoot may be allowed to 

 grow on unchecked. One of the worst mistakes it is possible to 

 make is to neglect promptly attending to stopping, yet it 

 frequently happens ; the consequence is that a mass of useless 

 growth is made, and to reduce this to reasonable limits the knife 

 is freely employed in cutting out or cutting back the shoots. A 

 great check is thus given the vines, followed by badly-coloured, 

 shanked, or inferior flavoured Grapes. There should be none of 

 this ^yeakening of the vines if high-class Grapes are wanted for 

 home use or exhibition, or even for market. All bunches not 

 desired for the crop should be cut off early, say immediately 

 after setting ; indeed, with free-setting varieties, surplus bunches 

 may with advantage be cut off before they blossom. 



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