amateur's vinery calendar. 



63 



parent stem of tlie vine, in two places, lialf through, at 

 opposite sides of the lateral. This drew off the sap, and 

 no more berries burst. The vines have now young 

 growths on them 9 inches long, and are appropriating 

 all the sap, and the bleeding has ceased from the 

 incisions. In February I had all the eyes picked out 

 of the laterals except the one at the base of each. 

 These are showing fruit like others that were pruned 

 in the usual way, except the three I bled : they are 

 much weaker than the others. From this experiment 

 it may be reasonably inferred that it is not judicious 

 to keep grapes hanging on the vines after the sap 

 begins to rise. It, however, proves that it is possible 

 to cut old grapes in May, and considering that new 

 can be cut in January, gives an overlap of four months 

 in the supply of grapes. 



amateur's vinery calendar. 



If ripe grapes are desired, say, on the 20th of July, 

 it will be necessary to start the vines on the 1st of 

 March, they having been pruned and dressed in the 

 autumn, as already directed. 



If the border is in a proper condition, and the vines 

 vigorous, begin with a night temperature of 50°, and 

 allow it to rise to 65° with sun-heat during the day. 

 Keep the atmosphere of the house as moist as possible, 

 and syringe the vines several times daily with tepid 

 water. As soon as the buds burst, raise the night tem- 

 perature to 55°, and let there be a corresponding rise 

 from sun-heat throughout their progress. When the 

 buds are half an inch long, rub off all but the strongest 

 one at each eye, and discontinue the syringing. As 

 soon as the embryo fruit-buds can be seen in the points 



