108 On a Method of hastening the Maturation of Grapes. 



pletely exposed ; this was done in the months of June and 

 July. The following autumn the fruit growing on these trees 

 came to great perfection, having ripened from a fortnight to 

 three weeks earlier than usual : but in the succeeding spring, 

 the Vines did not shoot with their accustomed vigour, and I 

 found that I had injured them by exposing the alburnum 

 unnecessarily. 



Last summer these experiments were repeated : at the end 

 of July and the beginning of August, I took annular excisions 

 of bark from the trunks of several of my Vines, and that the 

 exposed alburnum might be again covered with new bark by 

 the end of autumn, the removed circles were made rather less 

 than a quarter of an inch in width. Two Vines of the White 

 Frontiniac, in similar states of growth, being trained near to 

 each other on a south wall, were selected for trial ; one of 

 these was experimented on (if I may use the term), the other 

 was left in its natural state, to form a standard of comparison. 

 When the circle of bark had been removed about a fortnight, 

 the berries on the experimented tree, began evidently to swell 

 faster than those on the; other, and by the beginning of Sep- 

 tember showed indications of approaching ripeness, while the 

 fruit of the unexperimented tree continued green and small. 

 In the beginning of October the fruit on the tree that had the 

 bark removed from it was quite ripe, the. other only just began 

 to show a disposition to ripen, for the bunches were shortly 

 afterwards destroyed by the autumnal frosts. In every case 

 in which circles of bark were removed, I invariably found 

 that the fruit not only ripened earlier, but the berries were 

 considerably larger than usual, and more highly flavoured. 

 The effects thus produced, I can account for only, by 



