AND ON COTTAGES. 



465 



quantity of grapes of superior flavour might be annually produced on the 

 same extent of surface ; and that for every square foot of cottage wall on 

 which vines are now trained, there are now twenty that are either entirely 

 vacant, or occupied in a useless manner. As a general result of his calcula- 

 tions, he says, that for every pound of grapes now grown, one hundred 

 pounds might be annually produced on the existing surface of walling. 

 " Every moderate-sized dwelling-house having a garden and a little walling 

 attached to it, may, with ease, be made to produce yearly, a quarter of a 

 ton weight of grapes, leaving a sufficient portion of its surface for the pro- 

 duction of other fruit." (p. 19.) The grand error which prevails in the 

 culture of the vine on walls and cottages consists in the mode of pruning, 

 which is far from being sufficiently severe. Nine parts out of ten of the 

 current year's shoots, and all those of the preceding year, should if possible 

 be cut off ; and this is so different to what is required for other fruit-trees, 

 that few persons have the courage to attempt it. 



976. Fruit-hearing powers of the vine. — This Mr. Hoare has ascertained 

 by experiment from the quantity of fruit which any vine can produce without 

 checking its growth or injuring its vital powers. After a great many expe- 

 riments, performed between 1825 and 1830, Mr. Hoare ascertained that if 

 two and a half inches be deducted from the circumference of the stem of 

 any vine measured just above the ground, the capability of the plant will 

 be equal to the maturation of 10 lbs. of grapes for every remaining inch of 

 girth. No vine is considered fit to bear until its stem measures three 

 inches in girth. For every pound weight of grapes extracted from a vine 

 before it has grown to that size, 10 lbs. will be lost during the next five 

 years. Having calculated the weight of grapes which a stem may be allowed 

 to produce, the next point is to determine what weight will be produced by 

 the shoot developed by a single bud. This Mr. Hoare has ascertained to be, 

 for those sorts of grapes usually cultivated on the open wall, half a pound 

 weight for every good bud ; the two bottom buds on every shoot being 

 rejected, as seldom producing blossom-bearing shoots. Thus, " if the stem 

 of a vine measure five inches in girth, its capability is equal to the matura- 

 tion of twenty-five pounds weight of grapes, and therefore the number of 

 buds to remain after pruning will be fifty," (p. 38.) Nothing can be more 

 definite, satisfactory, or easily understood than this system, which has now 

 stood the test of nearly twenty years. It is, however, to be understood 

 that, where the climate is sufficiently congenial to mature a more luxu- 

 riant production of wood, the fruit-bearing power of the vine is infinitely 

 greater. 



977. Aspect. — Warmth and shelter are the grand requisites. The per- 

 spiration of the foliage of the vine is so great that it is carried to an injurious 

 extent by the slightest wind. Mr. Hoare has found that, during the space 

 of twenty-four hours, when the wind has blown briskly, the shoots exposed 

 to its influence have not perceptibly grown at all, while, shortly afterwards, 

 the wind having entirely sunk away, the same shoots have grown upwards of 

 three inches in the same space of time, the temperature of the air in a sheltered 

 situation being alike during each period," p. 41. The best aspects for vines 

 on the open wall in the south of England are those which range from the 

 E. to the S.E. both inclusive ; and the next best from S.E. to S. Those 

 which range from S. to W. are good, provided they are sheltered ; but N. 

 or \V., though they may sometimes produce tolerable grapes, yet are very 



