JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  is,  1898. 
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number  of  shoots  the  following  season,  some  of  them  not  showing  one 
<nly,  but  sometimes  two  or  three  bunches  on  a  lateral.  Due  selection  of 
the  growths  being  made,  say  18  inches  apart  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  rod,  removing  the  others,  and  pinching  those  retained,  allowing  a 
eouple  of  leaves  of  so  above  the  bunch  to  develop,  and  stopping  the 
laterals  at  every  leaf  as  made  afterwards,  will  be  suitable  practice 
another  season  for  producing  fruit  on  spurs,  or  pruning  to  a  couple 
of  buds. 
By  continuing  the  rod,  a  cane  being  taken  forward  from  the  upper¬ 
most  bud,  another  fruitful  portion  can  be  added  in  the  second  season, 
and  so  on  year  by  year.  I  think  it  better  to  treat  a  cane  from  a 
cut-away  rod  on  the  principle  of  a  young  Yine,  taking  it  part  of  the 
roof  only  every  season,  rather  than  leave  it  a  great  length  the  first 
year  and  let  it  bear  a  heavy  crop.  The  latter  plan  brings  about 
sterility  in  a  very  decisive  manner,  as,  for  instance,  on  a  20-feet  length 
of  one-year-old  rod  there  may  be  twenty-two  bunches,  and  on  the  next 
after  pruning  the  laterals  to  one  or  two  buds  not  more  than  half  a 
dozeD,  and  these  on  the  strongest  spurs  near  the  extremity  of  the  rod, 
because  there  the  bearing  wood  is  the  strongest,  or  Grapes  formed  in 
embryo  in  the  basal  buds. 
Pruning  is  not  only  a  necessity  of  cultivation,  but  a  means  of 
controlling  the  size  of  the  clusters  of  fruit,  their  finish  and  quality, 
and  also  of  restoring  weak  and  debilitated  Vines  to  health  and  vigour, 
fn  some  cases  excellent  results  follow  a  departure  from  the  hard-and-fast 
rule  of  close  spurring.  This  means  cutting  away  elongated  spurs  here 
and  there  to  make  room  for  new  and  more  growth,  and  then  prune 
on  the  best-bud-shortening  principle.  The  buds  may  be  three,  four, 
or  more  from  the  base.  To  make  sure  of  them  is  the  great  point,  for 
it  is  sheer  folly  to  adhere  to  aDy  system  that  is  not  productive  of 
Grapes. 
V  itli  the  d  ines  in  first-rate  condition  and  the  laterals  quite  stout, 
medium-sized  bunches  of  1  to  2  lbs.  may  usually  be  relied  on  by 
pruning  to  two  buds.  If  a  few  bunches  of  larger  size  are  required  for 
special  occasions,  leave  three  or  four  eyes  on  some  of  the  laterals, 
others  being  shortened  to  two,  in  order  to  have  the  everyday  clusters 
and  the  special  ones  on  the  same  Vine.  This  is  a  sort  of  short  and 
long  spur  system  combined,  and  it  answers  admirably  both  for 
growing  home  supplies  and  fruit  for  marketing  purposes. 
But  remember  that  with  relatively  long  spurs  more  room  is 
required  for  the  increased  growth,  for  on  the  exposure  of  the  leaves  to 
direct  light  depends  the  finish  of  the  crop  ;  it  may  be  necessary  there- 
foie  to  cut  out  some  weak  spurs  entirely.  Also  bear  in  mind  that  the 
larger  bunch  takes  more  support  than  the  small — the  2  lb.  bunch 
twice  as  much  as  the  1  lb.,  and  the  4  lb.  four  times  more  than  the 
latter.  This  must  be  prepared  for  at  the  time  of  pruning,  as  regards 
giving  the  leafage  of  the  4  lb.  bunch  four  times  the  space  as  for  the 
1  lb.  That  is  the  reason — more  leafage,  more  light,  more  nutrition- 
why  the  small  or  medium  sized  bunches  invariably  finish  better  than 
the  large  clusters,  for  the  larger  the  bunch  the  greater  the  need  of 
elaborated  matter,  and  the  inadequacy  thereof  is  the  reason  why  the 
colouring  process  takes  longer  to  complete. 
Vo  system  of  pruning  will  make  good  defects  of  border,  but  an 
extension  of  growth  and  longer  pruning  always  results  in  the  better¬ 
ment  of  weakly  but  fairly  healthy  Vines,  and  can  often  be  practised 
where  no  other  means  of  rejuvenation  are  feasible,  or  in  which  the 
growers  have  no  choice. 
The  varieties  of  Grapes,  no  4oubt,  differ  somewhat  in  requirements; 
some,  as  Gros  Guillaume,  GrosMarcc,  and  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  do  not 
generally  bear  freely  when  closely  pruned.  I  have,  however,  had  bunches 
of  about  2  lbs.  weight  of  Gros  Guillaume  on  the  spur  system  far  tetter 
than  Gros  Colman  in  quality ;  but  when  the  weight  of  the  bunches  is 
more  than  4  lbs.  each  the  long  pruning  has  to  be  practised,  and  then 
comes  in  the  difficulty  of  colouring  and  a  reduction  of  quality.  Similar 
remarks  apply  to  Mrs.  Pince  and  Lady  Downe’s,  though  both  are  of  a 
1  t  ry  different  type  from  Gros  Guillaume.  Both  have  given  the  best 
'Csults  on  the  short  spur  system  when  the  wood  was  stout,  short 
jointed,  and  well  ripened.  V  eakly  Vines,  on  the  other  hand,  gave 
huger  bunches/and  with  greater  certainty,  when,  instead  of  shortening 
to  one  or  two  buds,  they  were  left  a  bud  or  two  longer,  Muscat  of 
Alexandria  is  rather  erratic  sometimes  when  c’osely  pruned  in  showing 
fruit,  but  the  same  Vines  left  a  little  longer  for  a  time  and  new  spurs 
ol  tained  from  the  rod,  give  very  compact  and  free  setting  bunches 
when  again  closely  spurred,  so  that  tho  behaviour  of  the  Vines  requires 
consideration,  and  in  this  respect  I  have,  with  many  others,  regard  to 
their  condition  when  pruning,  also  of  the  peculiarities  of  different 
varieties,  and  the  purposes  for  which  the  Grapes  are  grown. — G.  Abbey. 
DIGGING,  TRENCHING.  MANURING. 
Experienced  vegetable  growers  know  and  valua  the  old- 
established  principle  of  thoroughly  preparing  the  soil  during  the 
period  when  the  greater  part  of  the  land  is  vacant.  The  soil  is 
known  to  be  a  vast  storehouse  of  plant  food,  but  it  is  a  store  in  which 
the  food  is  more  or  less  locked  up  or  held  in  reserve  according  to 
the  absence  or  presence  of  certain  conditions.  For  instance,  soil  that 
has  long  laid  untilled  or  insufficiently  cultivated  lacks  the  great 
essential  of  being  well  aerated.  The  particles  lie  so  closrdy  together 
that  their  adhesion  prevents  the  entry  of  atmospheric  air,  which  is 
of  vast  importance  in  the  economy  of  plant  life. 
Strong  soil  in  that  condition  also  lacks  pulverisation  ;  when 
portions  are  lifted  with  a  fork  or  spade,  especially  if  moist,  they  are  in 
more  or  less  adhesive  blocks.  These  conditions  must  bo  rectified  in 
order  that  proper  amelioration  may  be  se  ured.  Most  stiff,  clayey 
soils  require  long  exposure,  and  should  be  broken  up  roughly  early  in 
the  winter,  so  that  frosts  and  drying  winds  may  act  upon  them.  Close 
and  sour  soil  must  bo  improved  by  drainage.  It  is  very  essential 
that  superfluous  water  be  removed  from  the  subsoil. 
Clay  soil  that  is  very  tenacious  may  be  improved  by  the  addition 
of  lime  or  lime  rubbish,  road  scrapings,  ashes,  orany  gritty  substances 
that  will  assist  in  improving  the  mechanical  condition  of  clay.  Newly 
slaked  lime  acts  the  most  quickly,  and  is  perhaps  the  best  method  of 
breaking  down  the  stubborn  character  of  clay  and  neutralising  the 
acids  contained  in  it.  A  bushel  of  lime  per  rod  will  not  be  too  much 
to  apply  to  a  clayey  piece  of  ground.  The  lime  combines  at  once 
with  the  acid  in  the  soil,  goed  effects  soon  following.  The  oxvgen  of 
the  air  is  admitted,  which  tends  to  sweeten  the  soil,  which  also 
becomes  lighter  by  the  passing  away  of  superfluous  water  cither  by 
evaporation  or  drainage.  It  also  naturally  becomes  warmer,  and  plant 
food  is  liberated,  as  well  as  a  supply  constantly  maintained. 
Sometimes  soils  that  are  not  clayey  require  an  application  of  lime 
in  order  to  improve  them.  For  instance,  in  kitchen  gardens  where  the 
plots  or  borders  have  been  liberally  manured  for  years  there  is  an 
accumulation  of  vegetable  matter  which  darkens  the  soil  to  a  great 
extent  ;  it  is  then  more  than  well  supplied  with  humic  matter,  which 
causes  an  excess  of  acids.  In  ouch  cases  an  application  of  lime  will 
act  benefic'ally,  doing  more  good  than  a  dressing  of  manure. 
Vegetable  crops  are  always  best  grown  on  land  where  there  is  no 
competition  for  food  and  moisture  by  the  roots  of  trees.  In  light, 
shallow  soils  the  presence  of  trees  is  a  serious  drawback  to  the  success 
of  most  vegetable  crops,  not  only  because  of  the  abstraction  of  moisture, 
but  the  loss  of  food  by  the  insufficient  tilling  of  the  soil,  which  cannot 
necessarily  be  dug  so  deeply  in  the  vicinity  of  fruit  trees  as  in  an  open 
plot  of  ground. 
Another  drawback  which  vegetable  gardens  suffer  from  when  many 
large  trees  are  growing  there,  is  the  loss  of  light.  Where  fruit  trees 
must  be  grown  in  conjunction  with  vegetables,  the  evil  may  be  modi¬ 
fied  to  some  extent  by  planting  trees  and  bushes  at  wider  distances 
apart.  It  follows,  then,  that  the  digging  and  preparation  of  the  soil 
must  be  carried  out  according  to  circumstances.  It  is  certainly  not 
advisable  to  dig  deeply  about  fruit  trees  if  they7'  are  surface  rooting. 
The  less  disturbance  of  the  soil  in  some  cases  the  better.  Rather  than 
disturb  the  roots,  it  is  better  to  give  the  surface  a  mulching  of  manure, 
leaving  it  to  decay  ;  but  where  there  are  no  valuable  roots  to  preserve, 
dig  as  deeply  as  possible. 
Bastard  trenching  is  one  of  tho  best  methods  of  deepening  soils. 
The  ground  may  be  thoroughly  well  moved  without  altering  the 
respective  layers,  which  is  important  when  the  subsoil  is  poor.  It  is 
evident  that  to  bring  poor  soil  to  the  top  and  bury  the  best  is  an  error 
if  the  ground  is  going  to  be  cropped  the  same  season. 
The  way  to  commence  bastard  trenching,  if  a  good  sized  plot  has  to 
be  dealt  with,  is  to  divide  it  into  two  equal  parts.  Take  out  a  trench 
2  feet  wide  at  the  end  of  one  part  and  wheel  it  to  the  corresponding 
end  of  the  other  part.  The  trench  may  be  two  spits  deep  or  one  good 
spit,  and  the  loose  soil  shovelled  out.  The  bottom  of  the  trench  ought 
then  to  be  well  dug  up,  and  a  layer  of  manure  placed  on  the  top. 
j  Next  mark  out  another  2  feet,  and  fill  up  the  first  trench  with  soil 
from  this,  loosening  the  bottom  and  manuring  in  the  same  way. 
