December 20,1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
523 
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Royal Society at 4.30 P.M.; Linnean Society at 8 p.m. 
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4tii Sunday in Advent. 
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Christmas Day. 
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Bank Holiday. 
PRUNING AND DRESSING GRAPE VINES. 
HE time is at hand when innumerable growers 
will commence pruning and dressing their Grape 
Vines, and I propose to offer a few remarks upon 
both operations. It may be thought by some 
that enough has been written upon the subject, 
and if I were in the habit of constantly staying at 
home I, too, might be of the same opinion. As 
it is I hold that gardeners should be encouraged 
by their employers to visit one another in reason, 
as they are thus less likely to become self-conceited, and 
are more disposed to strive to excel in horticulture generally, 
and Grape culture particularly. If, however, in our rounds 
we discover that there are others who can excel us in certain 
branches, we also take a particular pleasure in noting where 
they apparently perpetrate mistakes. Many gardeners still 
need a lesson in pruning Vines and yet more amateurs, 
several of whom know next to nothing about it. The 
greatest mistake is to treat all Vines alike. Everything 
should depend upon circumstances. If there were no other 
sorts but Black Hamburgh and Sweetwaters I should still say 
the same. Those in the best possible condition will produce 
plenty of bunches, prune them how you will, but to closely 
prune old weakly Vines in order that no spur should be 
formed would result in the formation of few bunches, es¬ 
pecially, as I have tested, if the lateral growth be badly 
ripened. In such a case I would not prune at all, as among 
other reasons I should feel certain of losing what little sap 
the Vines had in store. I have proved, to my own satis¬ 
faction at any rate, that it is better to disbud Vines badly 
ripened, and therefore badly rooted, either as the buds move 
in the spring, or, better still, with the point of a knife, before 
the leaf falls in the autumn. Here, for instance, our Vines 
of Muscat of Alexandria would not ripen their growths 
properly. Close pruning resulted in the production of but 
few bunches, but by disbudding we obtained more than were 
required. Some of the old unripened growths were still 
green in the autumn, and were cut and forwarded to the 
office of this Journal, as well as a bunch of Grapes cut from 
laterals produced from the back buds of these same growths. 
In fact, the majority of the old closely disbudded growths 
were quite green at the tips when cut off in the summer, and 
I am inclined to think that by preserving them, in addition 
to preventing loss from bleeding, they also served as minia¬ 
ture sap-reservoirs, and assisted the bunches at a time when 
assistance was most needed. 
The spur system of pruning is that most generally 
popular, and even this is variously practised. Some cut to 
the best bud nearest to the main stem, under the impression 
that a good plump bud means the ultimate production of the 
largest bunch, when in reality it more often results in the 
formation of two fruitful shoots, and in this case no gain 
is evident. Others, in fact a much greater number, cut 
to the second bud from the rod, and this has been my 
practice for some time, as I thought that the small leaf 
invariably formed at the base of laterals could not possibly 
perfect so valuable a fruiting bud as the first larger leaf 
beyond. No long unsightly spur resulted from this practice, 
as two shoots were generally laid in, one springing from the 
basal bud forming the foundation of the next season’s 
bearing wood, while that which fruited beyond with the short 
piece of old wood attached was cut clean away. Many cut 
to the first or basal bud, and when the Vines are moderate 
growers and in good condition, always secure abundance of 
good bunches. There are others, and these, I believe, are 
fewer in number, who invariably cut the growth close at the 
junction with the main rods, and in one instance that 
has come under my notice good bunches have for several 
years been secured from buds which were certainly not 
produced at the axils of any leaves. This I shall term 
the painfully neat system, being practised by those who 
object to “ ugly spurs.” I, too, object to such cankered spurs, 
and for more reasons than one ; but rather than run the risk 
of securing comparatively small bunches or perhaps only 
a partial crop, I would leave a long spur, and if this 
became an eyesore I would annually in the autumn saw 
a few off, so as to gradually restore the whole length of rods 
to a better condition. If from want of vigour they failed to 
break afresh, I would lay in new rods and cut the old ones 
out. In fact I believe there are numbers of old Vine 
rods that ought to be so treated and their places occupied 
with healthy straight rods, and we should then hear fewer 
complaints of indifferent crops. 
Now in pruning are we to consider that a bud must be per¬ 
fected by the assistance of its own particular parent leaf ? It 
would appear not, or how is it my friends can continue for 
several years to obtain good fruiting shoots when they always 
cut every visible bud away ? It must be understood I am 
of the opinion they would have secured much better bunches if 
they had left one leaf-developed bud, and this I am confident 
they will perceive next season. All buds are of course 
formed by the assistance of the leaves, but whether the shoots 
resulting shall carry a bunch, and whether that bunch shall 
be large or small, is, 1 firmly believe, entirely determined by 
the amount of stored-up food, more especially above ground, 
and consequently, as a rule, very little is gained by selecting 
and pruning to large buds. Let those who doubt this try the 
following experiment : At pruning time reserve a few ripened 
laterals their full length, shortening others to three or 
four buds, and others again to the first bud. Unless I 
am much mistaken those left at their full length will push 
out three or more shoots according to the vigour of the Vines, 
the end one bearing one or more strong bunches, the next 
fewer and smaller bunches, and the remaining shoots 
perhaps without any bunches. Similar results follow where 
three or four buds were left, while the single bud will 
produce as large a bunch as that at the end of the full- 
length lateral; always supposing that no old knotty spurs 
are selected for the experiment. 
There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For instance, 
if the Vines are extremely vigorous growers, or such as 
Golden Champion, Duke of Buccleuch, and Canon H 
Muscat, we may err greatly by close pruning. It is in 
this way, if we cut a young vigorous rod hard back, the 
excess of sap concentrated in a single bud results in the 
formation of a strong bunchless shoot, whereas if we had left 
a considerable length, several shoots carrying as many 
bunches would in all probability follow. This inclines me to 
the opinion that the circumstances are somewhat the same 
with gross “ shy bearing ” sorts, and in pruning the above 
long spurs should be left, say with four or more buds, and 
also that close pruning is also the cause of “ shy bearing ” 
in the case of other sorts when comparatively young and 
vigorous. In pruning, then, I would cut Black Hamburgh, 
Sweetwaters, Frontignans, Madresfield Court, Muscat of Alex¬ 
andria, and Muscat Hamburgh to the first discernible bud. 
Stronger growers, such as Black Alicante, Golden Queen, 
Mrs. Pearson, Gros Colman, Gros Maroc, Raisin de Calabria, 
"White Tokay, Syrian, Mrs. Pince, and "West’s St. Peter’s 
