1 Apri, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 269 
Viticulture. 
A SECOND EXPERIMENT IN TOPPING. 
By E. H. RAINFORD, Instructor in Viticulture. 
In the Agricultural Journal for March, 1901, there appeared a short 
article by the present writer descriptive of the results of an experiment in 
topping, to show the injurious effects upon the quality of grapes which short 
topping has. The vines selected for the experiment were Mataros or Espars, 
the topping was effected at a height of 1 foot from the spurs, with the result that. 
whereas the grapes from the untopped vines gave 20 per cent. of sugar, those 
from the topped vines gave only 16:5 per cent. of sugar. . 
As, however, a single experiment is not always conclusive, further and. 
more extended trials were made this season at the Westbrook Experimental 
Farm, and with the same result. The vines selected for the experiment 
were :— 
12 Mataro vines topped to 1 foot 
12 S i. 2 feet 6 inches 
12 _ _ i 5 feet 
12 Mauzac vines ___,, 1 foot 
12 es 3 ) 2 feet 6 inches 
12 3 * = 5 feet 
The latter variety is, in Queensland, improperly called W. Salvino and W. 
Soiferino. The vines experimented upon were in continuation, so that they 
were grown under exactly similar conditions of soil, cultivation, moisture, &c. 
When the grapes from the bulk of the Mataro and Mauzae vines were ripe and 
ready for picking, those from the experimental vines were tested with the 
following results :— 
Per cent. Per cent. ° 
Mataro topped to- 1 ft. gave sugar 16 tartaric acid 73 
‘ . 2 ft. 6 in. 7 17°5 5 6:7 
ie i 5 ft. ee 20 f 65 
Mauzac ,, 1 ft. fs 2:75 = 53 
os _ 2 ft. 6 in. * 22°50 Pr 49 
5 ft. . 24 : 46 
” ” 
There was less colour in the short-topped Mataros. An examination of the 
above figures shows that there is a steady increase of sugar and decrease of 
acidity in proportion as the topping decreases in both varieties. Moreover, 
the difference in sugar between the Mataros topped to 1 foot and 5 feet is 
almost exactly the same as last year—i.e., 4 per cent. Surely the strongest 
partisans of the short-topping system must, after this, be convinced of its ill 
effects on the quality of grapes. 
A NEW USE FOR THE ONION. 
The onion has been recommended as a beneficent remedy for diseases in 
poultry on account of the essential oil, which causes tears to flow from the 
eyes; hence therapeutic qualities of great value are attributed to it in the case 
of throat affections in said poultry, which, as we well know, is the disease 
which decimates our poultry yards. The administration is very simple: Once 
or twice a week cut “D the onion into very small pieces, and feed it to the 
poultry. It will keep them in excellent condition for fattening and producing 
plenty of eggs.—Za Industria, Nicaragua. 
