22 



GLEANINGS ON HORTICULTURE. 



tie up the shoulders; one-fourth of the berries will not in most 

 cases be too much to cut off, and such compact growing sorts as 

 the Frontignac should be more fully thiimed, to prevent the 

 chance of the berries rotting in damp and cloudy weather after 

 they are ripe, which a free circulation of air among them will 

 materially prevent. Water should be abundantly applied to the 

 plants, both at their roots and also over the leaves, but discon- 

 tinue at this period the use of liquid manure. 



The vine, to be successfully cultivated, must have free admis- 

 sion to light. Heat, although of the highest importance, is 

 secondary to it ; for it will bear a more diminished amount of 

 the latter than the former. The leaves, in consequence, are 

 augmented in point of size and succulency, and it conduces, to- 

 gether with stopping, to a concentration of the sap in the vicinity 

 of the fruit ; therefore, no growing spray, whether lateral or ter- 

 minal, should be allowed to shade the principal leaves, and no 

 rods should be trained immediately under the rafters. 



The native climes of the vine — for it inhabits most of the tem- 

 perate portions of the northern hemisphere — are Asiatic Turkey, 

 Pei'sia, Greece, the Morea, and on the borders of the Black and 

 Caspian Seas ; and in Syria and Armenia it grows in the greatest 

 perfection. All these climates are furnished with much sun and 

 light; and in arresting its rambling tendency by these agents, we 

 may well be astonished at the capabilities which our gracious 

 Creator has implanted in it to supply the wants of man with 

 fruit and beverage. 



I have for years seen the attempt to carry out grape culture, 

 in connexion with that of plants in general, and it will succeed 

 where the vines are not forced, as the plants will then enjoy a 

 healthy situation during the winter, and be planted out before the 

 vine laterals will much shade them. I find that soapsuds furnish 

 to the vines a nutritious fluid at all times, when a coating of rotten 

 manure covers the border, as the latter prevents the puddling 

 action of the water, and adds greatly to their fertilization, pro- 

 vided the draining of the border can be relied upon. If severe 

 drought occur at any time between the first and second swelling 

 of the fruit, watering will always then prove of benefit, more 

 particularly if the soil is porous and of light quality. The 

 leaves turn brown on a bad rooted vine ; and when compared 

 with those on a well rooted one, the deficiency of the border 

 may be immediately detected. The autumnal purple tint on the 



