FRUIT CULTURE. 



567 



given in detail in the notes on forcing. Before being 

 started into growth the second season give a top-dressing 

 of fresh soil, and w hen the N ines are in lull growth liberal 

 supplies of manure water arc beneficial. Little water is 

 needed at the roots until the Vines arc growing freely. 



Vines Out Of Doors. — Vines were formerly more exten- 

 sively cultivated out of doors in this country than at the present 

 time. This is doubtless owing in a great measure to the facl 

 that better fruit can be obtained in glasshouses, which can 

 now be erected quickly and cheaply. The climate ol our 

 country is generally too cold and sunless to allow Grape culture 

 out of doors as a dessert fruit to form a profitable pursuit. 

 Certain varieties when planted against sunny walls facing 

 south produce and ripen their fruit in a blight summer, and 

 doubtless if more attention were paid to the cultural require- 

 ments of Vines on open walls better results would follow in 

 many cases. It 

 is no unfamiliar 

 sight in Southern 

 England to see a 

 cottage covered 

 with a Grape Vine 

 carrying a crop 

 of fruit, though 

 these had received 

 no attention as 

 regards regulation 

 of the grow th and 

 thinning the 

 bunches and 

 berries. To suc- 

 ceed with outdoor 

 Vines a good well- 

 d rained border 

 must be prepared, 

 as advised for the 

 inside border. 

 Plant in the 

 autumn before the 

 leaves have fallen. 

 If there is suffi- 

 cient space for the 

 horizontal train- 

 i n g o f the 

 branches follow 

 this p r a c t i c e 

 rather than keep 

 them in a n 

 upright position. 



In the winter, 

 after planting, cut 

 back the Vine to 

 the three lowest 

 good buds, so 

 that three shoots 

 may be produced 

 the following 

 season. Thee 

 should afterwards 

 be shortened, 

 and the top one 

 kept as a leader, 

 and one to 



A VILLA VINERY AND GREENHOUSE. 



the others being trained one to the 

 right and one to the left. Other horizontal branches 

 may be added annuallv from the new shoots produced 

 until the wall is eventually covered ; they must be 

 quite 2oin. apart. Each branch requires to be treated 

 as a Vine rod and spurred in the same way, except 

 that the spurs should be on the upper side only, and not less 

 than 15m. apart. Attention to disbudding, stopping the 

 laterals, and thinning the bunches and berries is also 

 necessary here as in a vinery. Royal Muscadine, syn. 

 Chasselas de Fontainebleau, is one of the best varieties for 

 cultivation on an open wall. Though not large, the berries 

 set well and are of good flavour. Chasselas Vibert, Black 

 Cluster, and Esperione are other varieties for outdoor planting. 



Early Forcing Of Vines. — For planting a vinery 

 intended for early forcing, Foster's Seedling and Blai k 

 Hamburgh are the most satisfactory. Madresfield Court also 



forces well in a second early house. The variety upon 

 which many mainly depend for late Grapes is Alicante; as 

 a black Grape for general purposes it is difficult to surpass. 

 Muscat of Alexandria is one of the most delicious of Grapes, 

 but requires a higher temperature than most others to bring 

 iis fruil to perfection. It is not exactly thai a higher tem- 

 perature is necessary, but the heat is required over a longer 

 period to properly ripen the Iruit. II the Vines were 

 forced early in the year, the temperature as maintained 

 for other varieties would be high enough. 



The Duke of Buccleuch, when well grown, is a remark- 

 ably fine and handsome Grape. The bunches are somewhat 

 short and broad, with large, round, amber-coloured berries 

 of rich flavour. This variety should be grow n on the Long 

 Rod System, as the wood is rather soft, and il annually 

 spurred back the spurs often die away. Although this 



Grape in many 

 gardens never 

 bears a heavy 

 crop, by retain- 

 ing plenty of 

 young wood it 

 bee omes fai rly 

 prod ucttve, 

 t rolden Champion 

 has the same 

 defects ; it makes 

 soft wood, Which 

 ripens badly, and 

 is by no means 

 certain to produce 

 a satisfactory 

 crop. 



One of the best 

 Grapes we have 

 for late keeping 

 is undoubtedly 

 Lady D 6 w n e ' s 

 Seedling. To 

 have good fruit 

 of this variety it 

 should not be 

 consumed before 

 t h e end of 

 January, for its 

 flavour until then 

 is not fully deve- 

 loped. G r o s 

 Colman, though 

 only second-rate 

 so far as quality 

 is concerned, is 

 now largelygrown 

 for market, chiefly 

 for its fine appear- 

 a n c e . V n 1 e s s 

 given liberal 

 treatment I h e 

 berries colour 

 badly, remaining 

 quite red. 



Some varieties produce exceedingly large bunches, though 

 these as a rule are not of good quality. Of these, Gros 

 Guillaume, Trebbiano, and Raisin de Calabre are the best 

 known. The first-named is a late Grape, with medium- 

 sized black berries and enormous bunches. The last ol the 

 three is a white Grape, rather flavourless, though it improves 

 in this respect and also in colour by hanging, and will 

 keep well until early spring. The berries are round and 

 the bunches large and loosely formed. Trebbiano is also a 

 late variety, with while berries, more oval in shape than the 

 former, and with more shapely and compact bunches ; the 

 flavour, though, is not first-rate. 



Vine PeStS. — There are several periods during the 

 growing season when the Vine is easily injured, as, for 

 instance, when the young shoots first make their appear- 

 ance, again when the flowers begin to open, and later when 

 the berries are swelling and stoning. A great pest is 



