Hay 15. 1834. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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Royal Society at 4.30 P.M. Reading Show. 
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Rogation Sunday. 
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Royal Botanic Society’s Show. 
SUMMER NOTES ON THE VINE. 
HE present is an important time in vineries. 
Early Grapes are developing fast, and late Vines 
are now producing their shoots and giving their 
cultivators daily pleasure in watching for the 
bunches and comparing them with previous 
crops. It is always gratifying to find one bunch 
or more on each shoot, and when this is the case 
a crop may be relied on, but when several shoots 
develope without a bunch it is most unsatis¬ 
factory. This sometimes happens with amateur and profes¬ 
sional growers in the case of certain varieties. Duke of 
Buccleuch and Gros Guillaume are frequently shy formers of 
bunches, and when very closely pruned many of the shoots 
come bunchless ; but a certain remedy for this is to prune on 
the long-spur system and allow from 6 inches to 1 foot of the 
shoots to remain at pruning time. It will then be found 
that many bunches are produced, especially near the end of 
the old wood where the buds were more prominent and better 
ripened than close to the main stem. When the shoots are 
lefj as long as we have just indicated many more young 
growths will appear at this time than there is space for, or, 
indeed, than are required, and those not wanted should be 
broken away at the union with the old wood. This should 
never be delayed, and only the best shoots with the finest 
bunches must be allowed to remain. Very weak Vines should 
never be closely pruned, as this invariably causes them to be 
shy in forming bunches. Vines, too, recently lifted, trans¬ 
planted, or disturbed at the root in any way are often shy in 
fruiting, and close pruning should not be practised in their 
case, but they should be encouraged to produce strong- yet 
sturdy laterals. 
Disbudding must have constant attention, and this is 
seasonable work at the present time. When we have had 
Vines with long spurs we have often allowed the shoot which 
pushed at the extreme end to remain as the fruit-bearer, and 
the one nearest the old stem was stopped when 4 inches or 
5 inches in length, which caused it to thicken and make good 
wood for bearing fruit the following season. This is also a 
good way of keeping the spurs within bounds. Superfluous 
Vine shoots should never be cut off, as this causes more 
leaves to be formed behind the cut and more superfluous 
matter will be produced, which is no benefit to the Vine, but, 
on the contrary, injurious. 
In all cases where shoots have to be taken away, they 
should be wrenched off with a sudden but gentle jerk from 
the base, and they will come away without the slightest 
injury to the Vine. Allowing too many shoots and leaves to 
remain is a great mistake, not by any means uncommon. 
They retard development of wood and fruit, and injure the 
Vines for the following year. That should always be kept 
in view, and when the foliage is crowded throughout the 
growing season and the superfluous growths are only thinned 
out late in the autumn in the hope of atoning for past neglect 
nothing but disappointment can follow, for by such means 
healthy Vines and superior Grapes cafinot be produced. 
No. 203.— Vol. VIII., Third Series,] 
Small spindly bunches, which have an uncertain appearance 
as to whether they will form berries or not, and end by 
producing a few large ones and a great many small ones, 
prove very conclusively their dislike to overcrowding, as light 
and air will always insure a uniformity in the berries, 
especially in late Grapes, at this season. From this it will 
be understood we do not advise allowing all the shoots to 
grow until the berries have been formed in order to see 
which are the most perfect, but we strongly recommend 
many of the weakest and all which it is quite evident will 
never be wanted to be taken away before they have developed. 
At present we have several one-year rods of Alicante, Gros 
Colman, and Golden Queen starting into growth. They are 
about 12 feet long each, and there are two shoots coming 
from almost every eye. One of these is strong, the other 
much weaker, and the latter is rubbed off before it is 3 inches 
long. This must throw strength into the other, and it 
certainly avoids crowding, which is, perhaps, the greatest of 
all evils in Grape culture. 
Not very long ago it was a common practice to plant 
Vines at the beginning of the year, allowing the rods to 
extend to the top of the house. They were cut down to 
2 or 3 feet from the bottom the following winter, and taken 
up again the second summer, again cut back the second 
winter ; a few bunches were taken from them the third year, 
and a light crop the fourth, then followed a full one. Such 
work now-a-days is out of date, and rods 10 feet and 12 feet 
long are made to bear a bunch to every foot or so before 
they are well over their first birthday, and hundreds of 
growers are annually proving this to be satisfactory practice. 
This “system” is in my mind always associated with the 
late Mr. Pearson of Chilwell, who conducted many successful 
experiments in his extensive vineries near Nottingham long 
before the present Grape-growers commenced their experi¬ 
ments. 
cuny be manner fruiting long young rods, however, can 
tiie can done successfully by paying the utmost attention to 
trained es w ^ en they are being formed. They require to be 
shadin so ^ ar a P ar ^ from each other that there will be no 
Youno^ or obstruction the light from the main stems. 
& canes always emit many side growths, and these if 
allowed to grow will soon form a mass of twigs and leaves, 
and prove injurious to everything under them, but if these 
are stopped two joints from the main stem the best results will 
follow. Some growers dislike to stop the leaders in the case 
of young Vines, but allow them to extend even to hanging 
down the back wall of the vinery, reaching quite to the path 
and even trailing over the surface of the border. Never 
having appreciated the advantage of such liberal treatment 
we stop our young rods as soon as the top of the house has 
been reached, and they are never allowed to go farther. 
When stopped in this way they become very much thicker 
on the part which will bear the fruit than they would do if 
allowed to grow unchecked, and we think stoutness of cane 
and boldness of buds go for something. 
The majority of Vines are making a great quantity of 
young wood just now, and all should be examined once 
weekly at least to regulate and restrict the shoots. The 
danger is always in allowing too much wood to be formed 
and too many leaves to shade the growths which will produce 
the fruit next year. The rays of the sun should penetrate 
between the leaves of all Vines and shine right into the 
interior of the house. Nothing will make the Vines more 
robust, healthy, and fruitful than this. As neglecting to thin 
and regulate the wood and leaves are hurtful to the Vine, so 
is neglecting to thin the berries injurious to the bunches. 
They should always be thinned before they have become a 
firm*mass, and this they will very quickly do at this season. 
Those who do not feel confident in thinning them should go 
over them all twice, removing a few the first time, and as 
they become larger and it is seen that they are going to swell 
well more should be taken away. 
No. 1859. —Vol. LXX., Old Series., 
