THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, December 0, 1856. 171 
sequence of their proneness to grow first and fast where 
they would not be wanted to appear at all, and so prove 
robbers to their compeers below. Shorten the revellers on 
each main stem, and let them remain till spring; for some¬ 
times the old wood of the Vines will not form a bud exactly 
where one is wanted, and these shoots are to be left as pro¬ 
viders for those contingencies. 
The breaking of the buds on the secondary branches is 
the first thing to be considered at the outset of the fourth 
year; and as the last hud near the junction with the main 
stems generally forms a weakly shoot, the second or third 
buds even are those I prefer to depend upon for fruit; and 
the moment they are of sufficient length, secure the young 
succulents with zinc wire, to go in an horizontal direction 
just beneath, and attached to their parent branches, though 
at first they require most careful handling, for in this their 
“ tender nonage ” they are easily disunited and broken. 
Two of these fruiting shoots may be allowed to each 
secondary branch till it is perceived, when the Grapes are 
set after the blossoming, whether the ©ne nearest the stem 
intends to produce two good bunches of fruit; if so, that 
will be sufficient; and, to prevent branch crowding, the other 
shoot may be done away with, otherwise retain both 
shoots, and let them bear one bunch of grapes each. Stop 
them at three leaves beyond their nearest fruiting joints. 
It is also necessary, as early as possible, to begin tracing the 
secondaries for the fifth year; and, for reasons which I will 
explain presently, they also must be led to grow horizon¬ 
tally from the main stems, at a measurement of about nine 
inches above the secondaries produced last year ; but, should 
there not be a bud to break at that particular distance on 
both stems, opposites can be got from the shoots spoken of 
as providers for contingencies of this sort. At any rate, 
shoots may be led either up or down (up is best) the stems 
to the spots required, for there is no plant more accommo¬ 
dating than the Vine in allowing its shoots to grow and 
become bended into almost any position at the will of the 
operator; but, if buds are not required to break from these 
providers, cut them clean away, and allow more to grow in 
their stead; and should the Vines bleed at those places they 
were cut from, apply a piece of heated iron to the surface 
of the incisions. The general routine management goes on 
customarily as regards laterals, and stopping them. 
In the year before last I was agreeably surprised to behold 
my Sweet Water Grapes ripening, though the wasps and 
flies devoured them as fast as they became so. Last year 
the Sweet Waters ripened with nearly the same result, and 
the Esperiones also ripened nearly. I disposed of 150 
bunches of the latter to a confectioner of this town, who 
made some gallons of wine from them, which, if allowed 
time, would become excellent tipple. I have had this year 
150 bunches of the finest Grapes I ever saw in England 
in the open air, and they have attained to a larger size and 
ripeness than previously, and the Vines would have borne 
double that number of bunches had I allowed them to do 
so. Early last spring, as I “ sat a-thinking,” it occurred to 
me that, as my black Grapes became so nearly matured 
the year before, surely I might conjure up some contrivance, 
combined with my system of training, which would lend its 
aid, and induce them to become quite ripe. Garden frame- 
lights, and all that sort of thing, I acknowledged; but I 
preferred no covering over my pet foliage whatever. It was 
only for the speciality of the fruit I wished for some trans¬ 
parent inclosure; and if the wish would but become father 
to the construction, and it succeeded, I could cast it on the 
waters of life, and stake its title to benefit many cottage 
gardeners and other people possessing small greenhouses, 
who, in these days of flower-gardening, might wish to devote 
them entirely to Flora; yet, themselves being lovers of 
Grapes, and in lieu of some other plan or place to grow them, 
cannot find heart to do away with the Vines from the rafters, 
albeit, perhaps, owing to sudden heat, sudden cold, neglect 
of air-giving, or too much air-giving; foliage blotched, 
scorched, dead; mildew, blight, thrips,red spider ; thirstings, 
rustings, shrivelling, shanking, wholesale thinnings and no 
thinnings, pruning, and not knowing how to prune, crusta- 
ceous, old, obstinate, jobbing, blue aprons, or from some ills 
or other, their proprietors seldom get a bunch of Grapes fit 
to eat or to be seen. 
Therefore, under these considerations, I did, and cer¬ 
tainly do think it an object gained if I can assist to 
point out how they may procure for themselves good, well- 
ripened Grapes to a certainty, and at not one quarter the 
difficulty, anxiety, or expense in the open air; so I will 
now hasten to unfold a result, the achievement of the 
wish. As it will already have been seen, the secondaries of 
my Vines for each succeeding year are trained nine inches 
a'bove their namesakes of the present, which gives an un¬ 
obstructed longitudinal space, fifteen inches broad, to tho 
bunches of fruit as they hang upon the wall; and here is an 
invention to cover over the fruit, which, although the idea is 
not new to these pages, I believe the particular construction 
to be so. It gives me great pleasure in its working, and 
anybody who likes may give it “ a name.” It is made by 
procuring one-inch-broad strips of lead or zinc to form a flat, 
triangular basework, measuring thirteen inches between each 
extreme angle. A casement lead frame, made one foot wide 
at top, to slope contractingly outwards six inches to four inches 
for a front, when the whole is brought to a point downwards, 
and soldered on to the basework. The casement lead is then 
glazed with glass chosen free from blisters; for they would 
concentrate the rays of the sun, and act as a burning lens 
upon the fruit. The lid is also formed of glass set in case¬ 
ment lead, having a notch cut in the centre of its upper 
edge to admit the fruit-stalk. It is moveable at pleasure, 
and made fast in its position by pieces of zinc wire passed 
through eyelet holes of copper wire, correspondingly soldered 
to it, and the base, and the framework. The construction 
is secured flat against the wall by simply driving a nail near 
a fruit-stalk; pass the upper end of the base between the 
fruit and the wall to hang upon it, and then drive a couple 
more nails with a slope to press against the lead or zinc on 
each side, fasten on the lid without damaging the skin of 
the fruit-stalk, and should any hole or inequality be found 
in the wall sufficiently large to admit either wasp, spider, or 
fly beneath the basement, let the orifice be closed with a 
piece of cotton wadding, as, also, the hole admitting the 
fruit-stalk. Allow the leaves above to hang over for shade, 
and the thing is complete in less time than I take to write 
it; proof against all insect depredators, and the Grapes re¬ 
main to the last increasing in blooming beauty, 
“ Unhurt by southern show’rs and northern hail.” 
In the spring suspend the contrivances, temporarily re¬ 
versed to a nail, over each of those bunches which offer to 
become the best when they are about to blossom, and it will 
protect them from the frosts. Place the inventions over the 
Grapes for good the first dry day after the Grapes have been 
thinned on the bunches, and they will require no further 
interference whatever till the fruit becomes ripe and ready 
to cut, when the lid is removed, and the fruit easily relieved 
from the inclosure without the slightest injury to the bloom 
on its surface; and this is a great desideratum, for the 
finest Grapes in the world become lowered in esteem Avhen 
they appear in polite society disfigured in their bloom. 
When the Grapes have attained the size of Marrowfat Peas, 
and when they are arrived at their last swelling process, convey 
to them the whole quantity of soap-suds made on the wash¬ 
ing days at those periods, and give the roots of the Vines a 
thorough soaking with it. And here I will mention a cir¬ 
cumstance to be guarded against by those who have Vines, 
and should be induced, from what I have written, to try 
some of the covers without adopting my system of training. 
I wished to prove what effect bending a branch into any 
desired position, at the time of placing the constructions, 
would have upon the fruit; and the result of thus suddenly 
checking the flow of the sap is, that the Grapes are very 
diminutive in consequence, proving it cannot be done 
with impunity. Therefore let me advise a horizontal ar¬ 
rangement of branches this winter, allowing space beneath 
them to admit the covers without obstruction, which covers, 
having zinc basements, my friend Mr. Morris, glazier, Wood- 
stock, Oxon, offers to manufacture at one shilling each if 
they are ordered by the dozen, and I suppose they might 
last twelve years at least with common care. 
Lastly, it is necessary for me to recommend, at the ge¬ 
neral leaf-thinning early in October, to bear back and re¬ 
tain with zinc wire to the branches all those which hang 
over and shade the frames; for the Grapes are benefited 
after that time by allowing the sun to shine unobstructedly 
