CHAPTER XL 



OF CLIPPING, OR BUDDING. 



Clipping is an operation intended to divest the plant of superfluous 

 branches, and strengthen those which are bearing fruit. It is a 

 means of making the Vines flourish and yield grapes that are long, 

 full, well gilt, having much mucilaginous pulp, and fit to produce 

 superior wine. 



It has an influence on the duration of the stock, and the crops of 

 successive years. The execution of it is almost always abandoned to 

 women or even children, which would not be the case if it were only 

 generally understood that it requires as great a combination of ideas 

 as pruning ; in that case it would be reserved for sensible and instruct- 

 ed vine-dressers. 



A stock well clipped, with the superfluous sprigs shorn clean to the 

 stem, is easier to prune next year. But a female day-labourer or child 

 can scarcely be competent to judge what shoots to suppress or which to 

 leave, especially if the Vine has but few branches. Suppose there 

 are two or three weak stems, each with a bunch, and two vigo- 

 rous shoots, springing from the foot, but. without fruit, as often hap- 

 pens in years when there have been hard spring frosts, — they will 

 suppress those two fine shoots without perceiving that they deprive 

 the vine-dresser of one resource for the layering of the following 

 year. When there is a superflux of grapes, they are not apt to cut 

 off the foot-scions, because those too have grapes upon them j and 

 being left, they materially weaken the powers of the fruit-bearing 

 stems. If they find on the newly pruned wood, shoots too large to be 

 easily taken off by the hand, they generally twist them off rudely, 

 and make a large gash in the new wood, instead of cutting them off 

 with a sharp knife quite close to the knob of the eye. If the spring 

 Uas been unfavorable, and there are a great many branches without 

 grapes, they will not be likely to leave on the newly pruned wood 

 three, four, or perhaps five of the strongest shoots, according to the 



