By Mr. William Griffin. 103 



season, (about Christmas), it must be cut down to where it 

 is perfectly sound, and with only a small pith in the middle. 



If the plant be in health, and well managed, the sound 

 part of the shoot which will remain, after it has been short- 

 ened, will, together with the last year's wood, extend from ten 

 to fifteen feet along the rafter. On the spurs which will be 

 formed afterwards on this second year's shoot, the best of 

 the future crops of grapes will be borne ; and of course, on 

 the two essential qualities of the shoot, viz. good substance 

 and shortness of joints, will the future prospects of the gar- 

 dener depend. The laterals on this year's shoot must be 

 shortened, and subsequently cut down to the eyes, as di- 

 rected for those of the former year. Whilst the leading 

 shoot is in growth, the eyes reserved on the preceding year's 

 wood, will break and shew fruit ; the shoots on which the 

 fruit appears, must be shortened to within two or three eyes 

 of the fruit, and when the pruning season comes, these 

 shortened shoots must be pruned down to single eyes, at 

 the base of each shoot, on the same plan as the pruning 

 was managed in the former year. After two or three years, 

 however, the spurs which are formed by the cutting down to 

 the single eye in the young wood, will put out two or more 

 shoots, on which fruit will be borne ; in cutting down these 

 shoots in the autumn, one eye may be left for each, so that 

 in process of time, as the spurs grow older, several eyes will 

 remain and will break on each spur, even to the number of 

 six or eight. 



In the third year, the leading shoot must be suffered to 

 grow without being stopped, until the winter, when it must 

 be cut off at the upper end of the rafter, and its laterals 



