1875. ] 
VINES AND VINE-CULTURE.—CHAPTER VII. 
Ill 
In disbudding a young Vine, or a leading slioot of the previous year’s growth, 
the first care should be for the top bud, the growth from which should be care¬ 
fully tied in, and preserved from injury, as forming a continuation of the stem 
of the vine ; and in every such case where more than one bud appears, the number 
must be ruthlessly reduced to one only, all above that number being not only 
superfluous, but positively injurious. 
In the disbudding of a young vine, we also regulate the number of shoots 
which form the future spurs, as explained in Chapters V. and VI. To allow space 
for the full development of the foliage, these side-slioots should not be less than 
18 in. apart, on each side of the stem; it frequently happens, especially in the 
case of slowly grown vines, that there are more buds on the stem than are 
required, so all those that are not required must be rubbed off. Nothing is more 
pernicious in Vine-culture than the crowding of the shoots and leaves. It is well, 
therefore, to make a fair beginning, with the proper number, and this is done by 
disbudding. Careless disbudding, or a rubbing-off of the wrong buds, or of a 
bud that should have been left—and it is easily done, the slightest touch of the 
finger will do it—must be guarded against. The loss of a bud like this often 
means the entire loss of the shoot or spur, and is the source of a permanent dis¬ 
figurement to the plant. Many vines are rendered quite unsightly and nearly 
ruined through careless disbudding, and carelessness in tying-down the young 
shoots, resulting in their being broken off. 
Disbudding, also, at times takes the place of pruning. If the lower buds of 
a young Vine-rod do not break well, it is a good plan to rub off the higher or top 
buds, and this will induce the others to break stronger. Again, if it has been 
forgotten to prune a Vine or shoot until it has become too late to do so, the 
neglect may to some extent be rectified by a careful rubbing-off of the buds as 
soon as they may appear, back to the point where the shoots ought to have been 
pruned, and then when the leaves are about fully developed, the sap of the Vine 
will be sufficiently diverted, and the shoot may be pruned with safety. 
Following closely on the operation of Disbudding comes that of Tying-down 
and Stopping the shoots. The young shoots of a Vine, especially when they are 
growing vigorously, are exceedingly tender, and easily broken, so that the work 
of tying them down into their proper position on the wires or trellises to which 
the plants are trained—for they naturally grow upwards towards the glass— 
requires a great amount of care and patience. When they are found to be at all 
brittle, they must only just be inclined or drawn down a little at one time, and 
so gradually bent or guided into the right position. Practically, however, it is 
not advisable to tie the shoots so very early; if the leaves are allowed to expand 
a little, and the shoots to get some of their woody fibre developed, they will be 
found to bend quite freely into the desired form without breaking. 
In reference to stopping the shoots, our illustration (fig. 8) shows the upper 
portion of a young Vine-shoot, with its bunch of flowers (eventually to become a 
cluster of berries), as it would appear at this stage. The stopping is requisite in 
