REVIEW OF BOOKS. 
15 
justice we willingly confess that we have never met with a treatise in 
which the open-wall culture of the grape vine has been described with 
more accuracy, or which contains more sound practical knowledge. 
Indeed the book is written with much more didactic precision than 
those written by professional gardeners ; because, perhaps, the latter 
write for those who are supposed to know somewhat of the matter, 
whereas the former addresses himself to those whom he considers entirely 
ignorant of the subject. 
Like every gardener who knows his business, Mr. H. propagates his 
trees by layers in pots or cuttings; he transplants at the proper season, 
and in the most proper manner ; he forms his vine-borders according 
to the best and oldest established rules, compounding the most suitable 
materials, affording enriching substances which yield a steady and per¬ 
manent supply, allowing only a moderately deep but extensive hori¬ 
zontal range for the roots, and applies dry or liquid top-dressings in 
the most judicious manner. He moreover pays particular attention to 
gain a large volume of effective roots, before allowing his young trees 
to exhaust themselves by premature fruitfulness; and this attention is 
constantly bestowed in every stage of the life of the tree. That which 
an experienced pruner judges of by a previous knowledge of the state 
of a vine, and by ocular demonstration of its capability to bear fruit, our 
author has, by dint of persevering attention, ingeniously taught himself 
to determine with precision—the capability to bear of every individual 
tree under his care; and this is by a very simple test, namely, taking 
the girth of the stem close to the ground. For his manner of ascer¬ 
taining this, we must refer our readers to the book itself, as we think it 
hardly fair to transcribe what we consider a very valuable feature of 
the little volume. Fixing on the diametric bulk of the main stem as 
a mark of the extent and powers of the root to nourish prolific shoots, 
and mature a proportionate quantity of fruit, we consider the verv 
best criterion which could be selected, to enable the pruner to judge of 
the number and lengths of the shoots whence the next summer’s crop 
is expected. 
But what we consider by far the most valuable part of the book, and 
for which its author deserves the thanks of the public, is his adoption 
of the alternate long-shoot mode of training, so long and so success¬ 
fully practised in hot-houses, for vines on walls in the open air. It 
teaches every labourer to prune his vine as he prunes his raspberry 
plants. The established root of the latter annually throws up a birth 
of young shoots, while those of the preceding year are yielding fruit. 
When this is gathered, the shoots which bore it are all cut away, and 
at the same time as many of the new shoots are selected and preserved 
