88 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 31,1890. 
have done so if they had been pruned in the right way, but the fact 
is in nine cases out of every ten all Fines are pruned alike whether 
they need it or not, and the result is a light crop of fruit year after 
year from Vines that are capable of bearing a full crop of Grapes, 
and the Vines are condemned as shy bearers ; the gardener gets the 
order to go whether he deserves it or not. I may remark that the 
gardener often has not a fair chance of acquiring a knowledge of 
the Vines under his charge, for if he does not produce a fine crop 
of fruit during his first season in his situation it is seldom that he 
has the opportunity of trying what he can do another year. It 
is a well known fact that the more a man has to do with a set of 
Vines the better he is able to manage them. It is equally well 
known that when there is frequent change in the management of 
Vines the results are always unsatisfactory, and often disastrous. 
I know quite well that some varieties of Vines are considered shy 
bearers even by the best Grape growers, but I doubt very much if 
all things are conducive to good Grape growing, if any of them 
are such, provided they are properly treated when pruned, and 
otherwise well attended to. I do not wish to convey the impres¬ 
sion that the proper pruning of Vines counts for everything in 
producing fine crops of fruit. When Vines have by long neglect 
and frequent changes in their management relapsed into a bad state, 
it requires something more than judicious pruning to render them 
fruitful again. I have had to grow Grapes under the greatest diffi¬ 
culties. At the same time I have had the best of opportunities of 
informing myself on the question of shy-bearing Vines, and the 
conclusions that I have arrived at are these, that if Vines make 
good wood each year they make good leaves, and if they make good 
leaves they make good buds, and having made good buds it is 
simply a question of proper pruning to induce them to show a 
good crop of fruit. My object, therefore, is to give my experience 
of the various ways of pruning Vines in order to make them 
fruitful. 
Most varieties of Vines fruit freely when closely spur-pruned, 
provided their roots are in good borders, not too deep ; but there 
are exceptions to this rule. Even that grand old free-bearing 
variety Black Hamburgh when grown on the single-rod system will 
often fail to show a good crop of fruit when its roots are deep in 
the ground, though it seldom fails to fruit freely when grown on 
the extension system, no matter how deep its roots may be. There 
are other sorts that seldom fruit freely when closely spur-pruned, 
no matter how well they are otherwise attended to. 
It will not be necessary for me to give a list of all the varieties 
that require special treatment at pruning time. Three examples 
will suffice. I will first draw attention to that well known and 
truly grand-looking Grape when well grown, Gros Guillaume, 
which is perhaps better known by many gardeners under the name 
of Barbarossa. This variety seldom fruits well when grown on the 
single rod and close spur-pruned, except when planted in an inside 
border not too deep. Even then the back buds often fail to show 
fruit in seasons following a close wet summer ; therefore in order to 
be sure of a crop of fruit from this Vine short spur-pruning should 
not be relied on except in exceptional cases, but long spur-pruning 
should be resorted to, or, what is better still, fruit on the short rod 
system. The short rod system of fruiting the Vine is not so well 
understood or practised a3 it ought to be with some Vines ; if it 
were we should hear much less about shy-bearing Vines than we do 
at the present time. I will describe the three ways of pruning 
above mentioned. In pruning on the short-spur system proper the 
side shoots or branches of the previous season’s growth are at the 
time of pruning cut hard back to the last plump bud, not more than 
half an inch of wood being left each year. In adopting this style 
of pruning all Vines have a much neater appearance when dormant 
and at rest than when any other style of pruning is adopted ; but 
neatness when dormant counts for very little if there is not a crop 
of Grapes at the right time, and in the right place too, the right 
place being on our own Vines. 
In pruning on the long-spur system the practice is to leave three 
or four buds on each spur each season. Some growers, however, 
modify this somewhat by leaving three or four buds on half the 
spurs, and pruning the other half to the last plump bud ; but even 
then this vaiiety will sometimes fail to show a single bunch of fruit 
on some of the Vines, and even if it fruited well by being thus 
pruned the great drawback to the system is that in a few years’ 
time the spurs get so long that they are almost unmanageable ; 
therefore I think the short-rod system oc pruning and fruiting this 
Vine is far preferable, as it seldom fails to fruit -well when thus 
treated, provided that other things are conducive to good Grape 
growing. 
The short-rod system of pruning the Vine differs from the two 
preceding ones materially, and at the same time I may say that it 
is the most certain way of securing a crop of Grapes from Vines 
that are at all doubtful bearers. When a Vine is taken in hand 
to prune on the short-rod system part of the laterals are cut off 
close to the back bud in the same way as is done in short-spur 
pruning, but from three to five, according to the length of the- 
main rod, of the best placed and strongest lateral shoots are left 
their full length, or nearly so, and are then tied to the main rod 
to produce the crop of fruit the following season. It is seldom 
that these one-year-old short rods fail to show a full crop of fruit 
even on Vines that are noted shy bearers, and very often they afford 
very fine bunches. In fact, if I was intent on producing large- 
bunches of Grapes for exhibition, I should resort to this way of 
pruning even if the Vines that I had to work on were the freest 
bearers. When the short rods have fruited one season they are 
pruned hard back to the last bud nearest to the main rod, and a 
fresh lot are retained that have been grown from the buds that 
were pruned close in. When treated in this way Gros Guillaume, 
Golden Champion, Gros Maroc, and other noted shy-bearing Vines- 
seldom fail to produce a fine crop of Grapes if otherwise well 
looked after. 
When old Vines are in deep rich ground, such as we have in 
many parts of Jersey, they often, if at all neglected in watering in 
dry weather, extend their roots very deep in the subsoil. When such 
is the case, though they make fine leaves and good wood each year, 
they seldom produce fine crops of fruit if they are spur-pruned. 
In such cases I have generally found the long rod system by far the 
best for producing fine crops of fruit. It is, moreover, so simple 
that anyone who has any knowledge of Grape growing may adopt 
it. When this system is practised young canes are grown between 
the fruiting rods each year the full length of the rafters, and fruited 
the following year their full length. Many young gardeners of the 
present day will be disposed to think that young rods left so long 
would fail to break many of their buds, but such is not the case 
as a rule. I will give two examples from amongst many. When I 
took charge of the gardens at La Hougue Boete the old Vines,, 
through long neglect, were in as bad a state as they well could be, 
so I decided to get what I could off them the first year, and renew 
them on the long rod system. Having grown a young cane 
from each Vine the full length of the rafters, at pruning time I 
decided to leave three of them their full length, 20 feet, and prune 
the rest half way up the rafters. The three that were left full 
length broke all their buds but one, and produced 75 lbs. of good 
Grapes ; in fact, they were the best fruit in the house. On taking 
charge of the vineries here I adopted the same plan as far as I could 
in one house to fill up some gaps, with quite as good results, other 
things being considered. One of the young rods grown last season, 
though only 17 feet long, showed this year sixty-three bunches,, 
fifteen of which were left, and they were by far the best fruit in 
the house. In conclusion I may say that when young rods are run 
up from old Vines, if they are strong and well ripened, they will 
break their buds just as well as old ones the full length of the- 
rafters, and also carry a full crop of fruit their entire length. 
Calanthes. 
Or all midwinter flowering plants the Calanthes are my 
favourites. They may be grown during the summer in a green¬ 
house or cool house, but they cannot be flowered there, and unless 
a temperature of from 65° to 70° can be given them at the time- 
they are producing their flower spikes they had better not be 
grown, as, no matter how fine the summer grown pseudo-bulbs may 
be, they will not flower satisfactorily in a low temperature. F 
proved that conclusively years ago, and at one time I was obliged 
to discontinue their culture for the want of heat; but that has 
been remedied, and they are as pleasing as ever. We need not go 
to extremes in culture to induce every pseudo-bulb to produce 
from two to four spikes from 24 to 4 feet in length. All are 
charming, and for decoration, cut and uncut, they are absolutely 
unequalled in November, December, and the greater part of 
January. It takes the spikes a considerable time to open the 
flowers right up to the point, but the lower ones remain fresh long 
after the top ones are expanded, and if the plants are kept quit© 
dry at the roots and in a dry atmosphere they will remain perfect 
longer than any other winter flower with which I am acquainted. 
They are fit associates for the best of Orchids, but they are much 
easier cultivated and flower with far more certainty than the 
majority of Orchids, and many who have neither the skill nor 
accommodation for them would succeed with Calanthes. 
