THE GRAPE VINE. 



631 



the plants are pruned, which is immediately after 

 the fruit is gathered and the wood properly ripen- 

 ed, to remove them from the roof of the house, 

 and to train them horizontally along the bottom 

 of the front; for, as will be seen by a glance at 

 fig. 414, vol. i., the vines are planted in a nar- 

 row border between the cavity in which the 

 hot-water pipes are placed and the front parapet 

 wall, which latter being built on piers, the roots 

 have free egress to the outer border. The front 

 sashes are then removed and fitted to a portable 

 framework resting on the 4-inch brick wall c c, 

 excluding the vines, and placing the house in a 

 fit state for forcing asparagus upon a tank which 

 in one house covers the centre pit g, and in the 

 others suspended shelves are attached to the 

 roof and occupied with strawberries. The vines 

 remain in this horizontal position until every 

 bud has broken and attained the length of 1 or 

 2 inches, when they are again taken up to the 

 roof, but for the first ten days trained loosely 

 in a diagonal manner along the roof, after which 

 they are taken up the trellis in the usual way. 

 In our late vineries we allow them to remain in 

 the horizontal direction till the buds begin 

 naturally to swell in spring, at which time we 

 replace the front sashes in their former place to 

 secure them from frost, but at the same time 

 we exclude them from the heat of the house 

 within by placing felt shutters in the spaces 

 they have just been removed from, thus retard- 

 ing the breaking of the buds till the end of 

 March or middle of April. Those we wish to 

 bring in sooner we treat much in the same way, 

 only replacing the front sashes in their proper 

 place at an earlier period. By this means the 

 stems are not in any way strained, and from 

 the flow of the sap being moderated on account 

 of the vines being placed in a horizontal posi- 

 tion, every eye breaks strong, those at the bot- 

 tom as strong as those at the top. 



Bleeding of the vine. — The judicious cultivator 

 will avoid late pruning of the vine to prevent 

 its loss of energy by bleeding, and where this is 

 avoided no doubt it is the best course. Duhamel 

 treats the matter lightly, and even asserts that 

 vines, after a copious bleeding from severe late 

 pruning, grow as vigorously and yield as plenti- 

 fully as others which were pruned at the usual 

 season. All plants bleed most freely about the 

 time of the opening of the bud; but in propor- 

 tion as the leaves expand the sap flows less 

 copiously, and when they are fully expanded it 

 nearly entirely ceases. At such times, there- 

 fore, amputations may be made with impunity. 

 Many remedies have been proposed to prevent 

 the bleeding of the vine; the best assuredly is to 

 prune in autumn or early in winter, before the 

 sap begins to flow. Should bleeding occur, we 

 have found nothing so effectual as selecting 

 small potatoes about the size of a hen's egg, 

 with their skin perfectly entire, and sticking one 

 firmly on the end of each shoot cut. 



Colouring grapes. — Erroneous notions are 

 often entertained regarding this process, many 

 exposing the fruit to the fullest light and sun, 

 while others, following more closely the example 

 of nature, allow the necessaiy shade which the 

 leaves are calculated to produce. Hence grapes, 



ripened where the vines are trained well over 

 the roof, colour in the fullest degree of excel- 

 lence, even when the wood and foliage are 

 between them and the light. Abundance of air, 

 a total suspension of syringing, and a steady 

 moderate temperature after the berries begin to 

 change colour, is all that is required, provided 

 the vines are in a healthy state and the roots in 

 a congenial soil. Lowering the temperature at 

 the period of changing colour is bad ; it should 

 be maintained during the day, and so increased 

 as to admit of the fullest ventilation being 

 given. 



Thinning the fruit. — The vine, when in a 

 vigorous state, frequently shows double and 

 sometimes triple the number of bunches it is 

 able to ripen in perfection, without evident 

 injury to itself, and. a lessening of the crop 

 during succeeding years. This should be at- 

 tended to as soon as they have little more than 

 made their appearance. The smaller and most 

 crowded bunches should be removed first, as 

 well as those on weak shoots; and in the course 

 of a week a second examination should take 

 place, and a further reduction be made. The 

 number of bunches left on a vine, or the dis- 

 tance they should stand from each other, is 

 dependent on the sort, whether it be a strong 

 or weak grower; whether its bunches are natu- 

 rally large or small ; whether the vine is in a 

 vigorous state of growth or the reverse; and 

 also whether fruit of the greatest excellence 

 be desired, or a heavy crop, although indi- 

 vidually the bunches and berries be of a less 

 perfect character. No two bunches should 

 be left on a spur unless the vine is unusually 

 vigorous, and the variety of small size. Indeed, 

 there is no real gain in having too many bunches, 

 as the weight of twelve, at proper distances, 

 will often be greater than that of sixteen on the 

 same space. The same holds good in regard to 

 thinning the berries, which process should com- 

 mence as soon as it is ascertained that they are 

 all perfectly set. Some sorts set their fruit much 

 better than others, and only such as indicate 

 that seeds are in them should be retained, re- 

 moving all the small ones, which would only 

 disfigure the bunch, and never arrive at matu- 

 rity: the removal of these should form the 

 first thinning. After the berries have attained 

 the size of small peas a second thinning should 

 take place, and at this time the shoulders should 

 be gently elevated, and suspended by threads to 

 the trellis above, so as to admit air and light 

 into the thickest part of the bunch: should any 

 of the points of the shoulders or bottom of the 

 bunch appear thinly set with berries, these 

 points may be removed. When thinning is 

 completed, every berry should hang clear of 

 another, to admit of their swelling to their proper 

 size. In thinning, it requires care not to prick 

 any of the berries, for if this is done they in 

 general speedily decay. 



Gathering the fruit. — The berries towards the 

 point of the bunch are the latest in ripening ; 

 these should be taken as a test of the maturity 

 of the rest, and this can only be determined 

 by tasting them. It more frequently happens 

 that grapes are cut before they are fully ripe 



