56 



ON THE MANAGEMENT 



that the best sorts of grape, hitherto known, will, 

 at some future days, be esteemed only as secondary 

 or inferior kinds. Since we know that the collec- 

 tion of gooseberries have been improved by seed, 

 within the space of a few years, to a most astonish- 

 ing degree, surely, with the same care, attention, 

 and public encouragement *, as much may be done 

 in the list of Vines. This I can aver, that the 

 method of raising seedling plants is neither uncertain 

 nor difficult ; as seed from grapes, perfectly ripe, 

 will vegetate with the utmost facility and certainty. 

 In this place it will be necessary to observe, that 

 the bunches entwined together should be separated 

 as soon as the farina has fallen and the grapes begin 

 to swell, as the important parts of fructification 

 have then performed the office for which nature in^ 

 tended them, viz. the propagation and increase 

 of the species. 



1 In Lancashire, and some of the adjacent counties, public 

 annual meetings are established and held for the encouragement 

 of increasing the variety of gooseberries, and premiums are 

 annually given to persons that produce the best new kinds.. The 

 acquisition of the many new and valuable kinds of this species of 

 fruit, which have lately been obtained from seed, may, in a 

 great measure, be attributed to this public incitement. The 

 consequence is evident, that a similar establishment for the 

 increasing the varieties of grapes, would, undoubtedly, be 

 crowned with equal success. If such a plan as here proposed 

 were established in various parts of the kingdom, and public 

 notice given thereof, it would certainly excite the admirers of 

 this elegant branch of gardening to exert themselves on the 

 occasion. Let but the project be begun and tried, and, I am 

 persuaded, that the success it would be crowned with, would 

 soon make it a fashionable recreation. 



