510 



THE GRAPE. 



on the fact that every branch of a vine which produces little or no 

 foliage appropriates for its own support a portion of the juices of the 

 plant that is generated by those branches that do produce foliage." 



Routine of Culture. In a vinery without heat this is compara- 

 tively simple. As soon as the vines commence swelling their buds in 

 the spring they should be carefully washed with mild soap-suds, to free 

 them from any insects, soften the wood, and assist the buds to swell re- 

 gularly. At least three or four times every week they should be well 

 syringed with water, which, when the weather is cool, should always be 

 done in the morning. And every day the vine border should be duly 

 supplied with water. During the time when the vines are in blossom, 

 and while the fruit is setting, all sprinkling or syringing over the leaves 

 must be suspended, and the house should be kept a little more closed 

 and warm than usual, and should any indications of mildew appear on 

 any of the branches it may at once be checked by dusting them with 

 flower of sulphur. Air must be given liberally every day when the tem- 

 perature rises in the house, beginning by opening the rear windows a 

 little in the morning, more at mid-day, and then gradually closing them 

 in the same manner. To guard against the sudden changes of tempera- 

 ture out of doors, and at the same time to keep up as moist and warm a 

 state of the atmosphere within the vinery as is consistent with pretty 

 free admission of the air during sunshine, is the great object of culture 

 in a vinery of this kind. 



Thinning the fruit is a very necessary practice in all vineries, and 

 on it depends greatly the flavor as well as the fine appearance and size 

 of the berries and bunches. The first thinning usually consists in taking 

 off all superfluous blossom-buds, leaving only one bunch in the large 

 sorts, or two in the small ones, to each bearing shoot. The next thinning 

 takes place when the berries are set and well formed, and is performed 

 with a pair of scissors, taking care not to touch the berries that are left to 

 grow. All this time one-third of the berries should be taken off with 

 the point of the scissors, especially those in the centre of the cluster. 

 This allows the remainder to swell to double the size, and also to form 

 larger bunches than would otherwise be produced. Where the bunches 

 are large, the shoulders should be suspended from the trellis by threads, 

 in order to take off' part of the weight from the stem of the vine. The 

 last thinning, which is done chiefly to regulate the form of the bunch, is 

 done by many gardeners just before the fruit begins to color — but it is 

 scarcely needed if the previous thinning of the berries has been thor- 

 oughly done. 



The regular autumnal pruning is best performed about the middle 

 of November. The vines should then be taken down, laid down on the 

 border, and covered for the winter with a thick layer of straw or a slight 

 covering of earth. 



Culture under Glass With Fire-heat. As the foreign Grape is 

 almost the only fruit of temperate climates which cannot be raised in 

 perfection in the open air in this climate, we shall give some concise 

 directions for its culture in vineries with artificial heat. Those who 

 only know this fruit as the Chasselas or Sweetwater appears, when 

 grown in the open air, have little idea of the exceeding lusciousness, 

 high flavor, size, and beauty of such varieties as the Black Hamburgh or 

 Muscat of Alexandria, when well grown in a first-rate vinery. By the 

 aid of artificial heat, which in this climate is, after all, chiefly required 



