14 



GLEANINGS ON HORTICULTURE. 



Give air freely after the grapes are swelled off and coloured, 

 every morning adding fire heat, more or less, according to the 

 dampness of the vreather, seldom shutting the houses close up, 

 unless in very intense weather; generally leaving the doors and 

 front sashes open, and invariably shutting up the tops of the 

 houses. By adopting this method, grapes may be kept vintil the 

 end of February in excellent order. All the leaves must be 

 taken off : and when any of the berries turn mouldy, they should 

 immediately be cut out. 



I must not omit to mention, that during July and August, I 

 keep my border exposed to the full rays of the sun and air; by 

 tvhich means the roots are brought to the surface, as well as by 

 the top dressing, consisting of ground bones, rotten manure, 

 &c., covered with half-rotten stable manure in September, to 

 prevent evaporation. The rains that fall in October and No- 

 vember will wash the nutriment down among the fibres, and they 

 will make extraordinary progress. 



Syringe lightly in March, and shut up your houses early in 

 the afternoon — say two o'clock; April, half-past two; May, 

 three ; and so on, as the season and fruit advance to maturity. 

 There are some kinds of grapes that do not set their fruits well, 

 owing to a defect in the parts of fructification ; to remedy this, 

 I give the vine a good shake when the weather is fine in the 

 early part of the day, which will be found very beneficial in 

 setting the anthers free and dispensing the pollen. Another 

 practice is to leave a few extra bunches, taking them off when in 

 full bloom, shaking them into paper, and giving it a fillip under 

 the flowering bunches. Berries at the time of changing colour 

 have nearly half their size to swell, if well grown ; examine, 

 therefore, your outside border, and if the heat has much declined, 

 add some fresh stable manure, and keep a brisk heat until the 

 grapes are coloured, and you cannot fail to reap a due reward for 

 all your care and attention. The loss of colour in black grapes 

 is (in my opinion) by having an over-abundant crop, and in not 

 having thinned them sufficiently. I recommend, when the 

 berries attain the size of No, 3 shot, beginning at the bottom of 

 the bunch, leaving the leading berry, if possible, and, according 

 to the kind of grape, to thin judiciously upward on the bunch ; 

 for an inch or two from the bottom, leave the centre berry, 

 taking off the other two, proceeding to the main shoulders, and 

 they should be tied up lightly with Cuba bast. 



