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third leaf and tlie first cluster may b« followed by another, as a rule a 

 smaller cluster, or by a tendril. Two clusters together are always 

 followed by a barren node and that by either another cluster or a ten- 

 dril. So soon however as a tendril appears there is no further hope 

 for fruit on that cane. These facts go to prove that cluster and ten- 

 dril are identical organs and are an illustration of the resourcefulness 

 of natural laws in adapting an organization when no longer needed 

 for one purpose to another very different but equally useful end. The 

 leaves are attached to the node very slightly and may easily be broken 

 off. It is not so with the peduncle of the cluster or the tendril — the 

 fibres in their case run through into the cane and their tensile strength 

 if very great. The influence of the tendrils has a great deal to do 

 with the growth of a young vine. Give it nothing to lay hold upon 

 and so to speak to pull itself up by, and it will sprawl upon the ground 

 and never make a good plant ; but put something that it can climb up 

 conveniently near, and you will soon see it reaching out to it and 

 when it once lays hold it will not let go but if exposed to wind will 

 tie a knot and so make itself secure. 



It is on this green shoot when developed into ripe cane that the 

 fruit of the following season is to be borne. The more perfectly this 

 process of ripening has been performed, the more sure we are of the 

 coming crop and the better also for the crop itself. Half ripened cane 

 is seldom of much good and growth of over two seasons seldom or ever 

 bears fruit. The point we wish to make here is this : — that it takes 

 two seasons to produce a bunch of grapes — one to grow the fruiting 

 cane and a second to grow the fruit itself — no possible manipulation 

 of the vine can shorten this process. Whether fruit is taken from the 

 cane that bore last season crop or a new cane is grown from the old 

 wood the result is in each case the same. The shoot that has borne 

 fruit once never bears fruit again, and further the cane that might have 

 borne this season but from any cause did not do so never gets another 

 chance. It can at the time of pruning be cut out, or it can be trained 

 in and so become part of the main body of the vine, but it can never 

 give fruit. 



You will see from this that one essential condition of successful vine 

 culture is constant cai eful attention from first to last. Each season 

 the vine has a twofold office to fiil, first to carry to maturity its crop of 

 fruit and next to ripen properly the canes for the following year. A« 

 a rule a vine that can do either, can do both and to secure these desirable 

 ends over-cropping must be avoided and only sufficient shoots should be 

 allowed to grow as may be required for fruiting cane for the next season 

 and the more you can moderate your demands under both these heads 

 the more likely are you to succeed. 



The selection of a site for either a vine or a vineyard is a matter of 

 some importance. In towns as a rule there is little room for choice in 

 the matter. It is indispensable however that sunlight and plenty of 

 air should be secured. Any good garden soil will do fairly well and 

 our natural drainage is generally ample. Where such is not the case 

 it should be provided. Good drainage means good ventilation of the 

 soil, and that means that all the processes essential to fertility are at 



