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the fticceeding year, and the former are defigned to 
bear fruit ; but where the Vines are weak, and have 
not produced more than two or three fhoots the laid 
feafon, there fhould be but one of them left with three 
eyes for bearing •, the other muft be fhortened down 
to two, or if weak one good eye, in order to obtain 
fcrong ihoots the following fummer ; for there is no- 
thing more injurious to Vines, than the leaving too 
much wood upon them, efpecially while they are 
young •, or the overbearing them, which will weaken 
them fo much, as not be recovered again to a good 
ftate in feveral years, though they fhould be managed 
with all poffible fkill. 
In March the ground between the Vines fhould be 
well dug as before, observing not to injure their roots 
by digging too deep near them •, but where there are 
fmall horizontal roots produced on or near the furface 
of the ground, they fhould be pruned off clofe to the 
places where they were produced ; thefe being what 
the vignerons call day roots, and are by no means ne- 
ceffary to be left on : and after having dug the ground, 
the itakes fhould be placed down in the following 
manner : on each fide of the Vine fhould be a flake 
put in at about fixteen inches from the foot, to which 
the two branches, which were pruned to three eyes, 
each for bearing, fhould be fattened, (obferving, as 
was before directed, not to draw them down too ho- 
rizontally -,) then another taller flake fhould be placed 
down near the foot of the Vine, to which the two 
fhoots which were pruned down to two eyes, fhould 
be fattened, provided they are long enough for that 
purpofe ; but if not, when their eyes begin to fhoot, 
thefe mutt be trained upright to the flakes, to prevent 
their trailing on the ground, hanging over the fruit 
branches, or being- broken by the wind. 
In May the Vines fhould be carefully looked over 
again, at which time all weak lateral branches fhould 
be rubbed off as they are produced ; and thofe fhoots 
which fhew fruit, mutt be fattened with bafs to the 
flakes to prevent their being broken, until they are 
extended to three joints beyond the fruit, when they 
fhould be flopped ; but the fhoots which are defigned 
for bearing the following feafon, fhould be trained 
upright to the middle flake, by which method the 
fruitbrancheS'.will not {hade thefe middle Ihoots, nor 
will the middle fhoots fhade the fruit, fo that each 
will enjoy the benefit of fun and air. 
This method fhould be repeated every fortnight or 
three weeks, from the beginning of May to the mid- 
dle of July, which will always keep the fhoots in their 
right pofition, whereby the leaves will not be invert- 
ed, which greatly retards the growth of the fruit ; 
and by keeping the Vines conftantly clear from hori- 
zontal fhoots, the fruit will not be crouded with leaves 
and fhaded, but will have conftantly the advantage 
of the fun and air equally, which is of great confe- 
quence ; for where the fruit is covered with thefe 
dangling fhoots in the fpring, and are afterwards ex- 
poied to the air, either by diveiling them of their 
leaves, or elfe difplacing their branches entirely, as is 
often p radii fed, the fruit will become hard, and re- 
main at a perfect {land for three weeks, and fometimes 
will never advance afterward, as I have feveral times 
obferved •, therefore there cannot be too much care 
taken to keep them conftantly in a kindly ftate of 
f rowth, as the vignerons abroad well know, tho’ in 
Ingland it is little regarded by the generality of gar- 
deners, who, when their Grapes fuffer by this negleCl, 
immediately complain of the climate, or the untoward- 
nefs of the feafon, which is too often a cover for ne- 
o-ledls of this nature. And here I cannot help taking 
notice of the abfurd pradlice of thofe who pull off their 
leaves from their Vines, which are placed near the 
fruit, in order to let in the rays of the fun to ripen 
them ; not confidering how much they expofe their 
fruit to the cold dews, which fall plentifully in au- 
* tumn, which, being imbibed by the fruit, greatly re- 
tard them j befides no fruit will ripen fo well when 
entirely expofed to the fun, as when they are gently 
fcreened with leaves •, and by the pulling off thefe 
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leaves, which are abfolutely neceffary to prepare the 
juices before they enter the fruit, the grofs parts of 
which are perfpired away by the leaves, the fruit mutt 
either be deprived of nourifhment, or elfe fame of the 
grofs particles will enter with the more refined parts 
of the juice, and thereby render the fruit worfe than 
it would otherwife be, were the leaves permitted to 
remain upon the branches ; for if the weak dangling 
fhoots are conftantly difplaced as they are produced, 
the fruit will not be too much fhaded by the leaves 
that are upon the bearing branches. 
When the fruit is ripe, if the {talks of the bunches 
are cut half through a fortnight before they are ga- 
thered, it will caufe the juice to be much better, be- 
caufe there will not be near fo great a quantity of nou- 
rifhment enter the fruit, whereby the watery particles 
will have time to evaporate, and the juice .will be 
better digefted. This is pradlifed by fame of the moil 
curious vignerons in the Couth of France, where they 
make excellent wine. But if, after the fruit be cut, 
it is hung up in a dry room upon firings, fo as not 
to touch each other, for a, month before they are prefix- 
ed, it will alfo add greatly to the ftrength of the 
wine, becaufe in that time a great quantity of the wa- 
tery parts of the juices will evaporate. This is acon- 
flant practice with fome perfons who inhabit the Tyro- 
lefe, on the borders of Italy, where is made a moil 
delicious rich wine, as hath been atteiled by Dr. Bur- 
net in his travels ; and I have heard the fame from 
feveral gentlemen, who have travelled that road fince. 
But with all the care that can poffibly be taken, either 
in the culture of the Vines, or in making the wine, it 
will not be near fo good while the vineyard is young, 
as it will be after it has been planted ten or twelve 
years ; and it will be conftantly mending, until it is 
fifty years old, as is atteiled -by feveral curious per- 
fons abroad, as alfo by the moil fkilful wine-coopers 
at home, who can tell the produce of a young vine- 
yard from that of an old one, after it is brought to 
England, by the colour of the wine. This difference 
is very eafily accounted for from the different ftruc- 
ture of the veffels of the plants •, thofe of the young 
Vines being larger, and of a loofer texture, eafily 
admit a larger quantity of grofs nourifhment to pais 
through them •, whereas thole of old Vines, which 
are more woody, are more clofely conftridled, and 
thereby the juice is better ftrained in paffing through 
them, which muft confequently render it much better, 
though the Grapes from a young vineyard will be 
larger, and afford a greater quantity of juice •, fo that 
people fhould not be difeouraged if their wines at firft 
are not fo good as they could wifh, fince afterward, 
when the vineyard is a few years older, the wine may 
anfwer their expectation. As to the fermenting and 
managing the wine, that is treated of particularly 
under the article Wines, to which the reader is de- 
fired to turn. 
The vineyard being now arrived to a bearing ftate, 
fhould be treated after the following manner : firft, 
in the pruning there fhould never be too many branches 
left upon a root, nor thofe too long •, for although by 
doing of this, there maybe a greater quantity, of 
fruit produced, yet the juice of thefe will never be fo 
good as when there is a moderate quantity which will 
be better nourifhed, and the roots of the plants not 
fo much weakened •, which is found to be of fo bad 
confequence to vineyards, that when gentlemen abroad 
lett out vineyards to vignerons, there is always a 
claufe inferted in their leafes to direft how many 
fhoots fhall be left upon each Vine, and the number 
of eyes to which the branches muft be fhortened ; be- 
caufe were not the vignerons thus tied down, they 
would overbear the Vines, fo that in a few years they 
would exhauft their roots, and render them fo weak 
as not to be recovered again in feveral years ; and 
their wine would be fo bad, as to bring a difrepu- 
tation on the vineyard, to the great lofs of the pro- 
prietor. 
The number of branches' which the Italians generally 
agree to leave upon a ftrong Vine are four j two of 
the 
