- 
 
 PRACTICAL TREATISE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CULTIVATION 
 
 THE GRAPE VINE 
 
 ON OPEN WALLS. 
 
 BY CLEMENT HOARE 
 
 BOSTON, 
 WILLIAM D. TICKNOR 
 
 Comer of Washington and School Streets. 
 
 1837. 
 
 \
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 
 PRACTICAL TREATISE 
 
 CULTIVATION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE GRAPE VINE 
 
 ON OPEN WALLS. 
 
 BY CLEMENT HOARE. 
 
 FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON, 
 WILLIAM D. TICKNOR. 
 
 1337.
 
 Entered, according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1837, by 
 
 WILLIAM D. TICKNOR, 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 Marden & Kiinball, Printers, 
 3 School Street.
 
 To the Members of the Horticultural Society of Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : 
 
 Permit me to dedicate to you a reprint of MR. Ho ARE'S 
 PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE GRAPE VINE 
 ON OPEN WALLS. I am persuaded that a cursory perusal of it will 
 indicate the causes of the general failure of our vines, and that a strict 
 adherence to the severe discipline so clearly illustrated by the author, 
 will restore the confidence of the horticulturists of Boston and its vi- 
 cinity in the capacity of their climate to mature in the open air some 
 of the best varieties of foreign grapes. 
 
 This Treatise has been submitted to the judgment of a dis- 
 tinguished horticulturist : his unqualified approbation of the work is 
 annexed, and will receive from the reader the respect which has been 
 long rendered to his experience. 
 
 That this work may renew the zeal of those of your mem- 
 bers who have labored long in the vineyard without adequate re- 
 ward, is the wish, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Of yours, respectfully, 
 
 GEORGE W. BRIMMER. 
 Boston, September 4, 1837.
 
 To G. W. BRIMMER, ESQ. 
 
 I return you the TREATISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE 
 GRAPE VINE ON OPEN WALLS, by Mr. HOARE, with many thanks 
 for your kindness in leaving it so long in my hands. I have read 
 this little book with great pleasure and interest, and have de- 
 rived much valuable information from its pages. The general prin- 
 ciples laid down by the author, although applied to the culture of the 
 vine on open walls, are, in my opinion, highly valuable as fundamental 
 rules for the treatment of this plant in all situations, whether indoor or 
 out, on open walls or open trellisses, in town or country, in fact, 
 wherever the grape vine is cultivated as an edible fruit. Although 
 Mr. Hoare's mode of training the vine differs essentially from that 
 commonly practiced by gardeners, yet the leading principle of his 
 practice will apply equally well to the training of vines on rafters in 
 grape houses ; and I am by no means sure that, where the roof of the 
 house alone is appropriated to the cultivation of this fruit, that his mode 
 of training might not be adopted with advantage even under glass. 
 I have been for many years in the habit of raising bearing shoots from 
 arms formed in the manner described by Mr. Hoare ; but I have un- 
 fortunately allowed those arms to extend too far from the stem of the 
 vine, and the consequences pointed out by him have been invariably 
 produced throughout my grape-houses. I have eight or ten vines of 
 this description, of an age and size to be put into bearing during the 
 next year and the year after, and which have not been allowed to 
 injure themselves by bearing. I trust I may be able to test his prac- 
 tice on these vines, by adhering strictly to his rules. 
 
 Under Mr. Hoare's plan of cultivation, any man who owns a 
 brick house in any town not north of Massachusetts, may, if his yard 
 be open to the south in any degree, raise as many grapes as will supply 
 his family, without an expense of more time or money than is usually 
 wasted in idleness. Indeed, on the common wooden houses and fences 
 with which our yards are surrounded, good and abundant crops may 
 be had by putting up cheap trellisses, which would be paid for in two 
 or three years after the vines get into bearing. But the rules laid 
 down by Mr. Hoare must be adhered to, especially in not altamptine; 
 to fruit the vines before they are of a proper age and si:e ; when I 
 fully believe that patience will be amply compensated.
 
 VI LETTER. 
 
 I hope you will think it worth while to have Mr. Hoare's Trea- 
 tise reprinted, as it will induce many persons, who have means, to 
 undertake the cultivation of this healthful and delicious fruit ; and, by 
 their example, will lead to a general propagation of the vine through- 
 out the State. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your ob't Serv't, 
 
 SAMUEL G. PERKINS. 
 Brookline, September 1, 1837.
 
 To the Right Honorable the Earl of Arran. 
 
 MY Loan: 
 
 I feel great pleasure in dedicating the following Treatise on the 
 Vine to your Lordship, as the warm and generous patron of every 
 improvement in the science of horticulture. 
 
 In endeavoring to disseminate the knowledge of an improved 
 mode of cultivating the grape vine, and thereby to open, almost, a 
 new source of agreeable domestic enjoyment, and of profitable recrea- 
 tion, I consider it an honor to receive the powerful aid of your Lord- 
 ship's countenance and approbation. 
 
 In the earnest hope that Providence may be pleased to prolong 
 for many years the benevolent and useful lile of your Lordship, I beg 
 to subscribe myself, 
 
 With great respect, 
 
 Your Lordship's obliged 
 
 And humble Servant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THERE is'not, that I am aware of, any work extant in the English 
 language, that exclusively treats of the vine, except the " Treatise on 
 the Culture of the Vine," written by Speechly, in the year 1789. 
 That work, however, though undoubtedly a valuable one, and shew- 
 ing on the part of the author a thorough practical knowledge of the 
 nature of the vine, in reference to its culture under glass, is, yet, not 
 sufficiently full nor explicit with regard to the management of that 
 plant, when cultivated on the open wall. Hence the principal reason 
 of the appearance of this volume. 
 
 In compiling it, I have endeavored, in as plain and as concise a man- 
 ner as the nature of the subject would admit, to embody all the neces- 
 sary points of culture with the principles on which they are founded, 
 and to arrange them in such a manner as to make their practical appli- 
 cation a matter of easy attainment. I have, also, excluded every- 
 thing of a technical nature, and have, in many instances, not scrupled 
 to use a phraseology different from that usually employed by writers 
 on horticulture. In adopting this course, my object has been to ren- 
 der the work more generally useful; and especially so to the more hum- 
 ble part of the rural population, by enabling them to avail themselves 
 without difficulty of the directions contained in it, and thereby the 
 more readily to induce them to turn their attention to the cultivation 
 of a plant which is capable of adding to their comforts and increasing 
 their enjoyments in a much greater degree than has been hitherto sup- 
 posed. 
 
 The details of many operations relative to the culture of the vine, 
 that have been heretofore inserted in works on gardening, have been 
 excluded in the present work, for the simple, and I trust satisfactory 
 reason, that the operations themselves, when submitted to the test of 
 experience, have been found either of uncertain issue or of very ques- 
 tionable utility. 
 
 It remains only to observe, that although the routine of manage- 
 ment recommended in the following pages is the result of many years' 
 diligent investigation, and of patient observation, and rests therefore
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 on the firm basis of actual experience ; I have no reason to expect, 
 nor do I desire, indeed, that this treatise should be considered as wor- 
 thy of the patronage of the public, otherwise than in proportion to 
 the value and usefulness of the improvements it is designed to intro- 
 duce in the culture of that most grateful of all fruit trees, the GRAPE 
 VINE. 
 
 Sidlesham, near Chichester, 
 December 30, 1834.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 Introduction. ______-_. I. 
 
 Observations on the present method of cultivating Grape 
 Vines on open walls. ------- II. 
 
 On the capability and extent of the fruit-bearing powers of 
 the Vine. m. 
 
 On Aspect. ---------- IV. 
 
 On Soil. V. 
 
 On Manure. -- ------- VI. 
 
 On the construction of Walls. ------ VII. 
 
 On the propagation of Vines. - - - - - - VIII. 
 
 On the pruning of Vines. ------- IX. 
 
 On the training of Vines. - - - - - - -X. 
 
 On the management of a Vine during the first five years of 
 its growth. ___.----_ XI. 
 
 Weekly Calendarial Register. ------ XII. 
 
 General Autumnal pruning. ------ XIII. 
 
 On the winter management of the Vine. - XIV. 
 
 Descriptive Catalogue of twelve sorts of Grapes most suita- 
 bly adapted for culture on the open wall. - - - - XV.
 
 TREATISE. 
 
 CHAPTER I . 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Grape Vine, VITIS VINIFEHA. Class and order, PENTANDRIA 
 MONOGYNIA of Linnaeus. 
 
 " THE grape vine is a trailing, deciduous, hardy shrub, 
 with a twisted irregular stem, and long flexible branches, 
 decumbent, like those of the bramble, or supporting them- 
 selves when near other trees, by means of tendrils, like 
 the pea. The leaves are large, lobed, entire, or serrated 
 and downy, or smooth ; green in summer, but when ma- 
 ture, those of varieties in which the predominating color 
 is red, constantly change to, or are tinged with some 
 shade of that color ; and those of white, green, or yellow 
 grapes, as constantly change to a yellow, and are never in 
 the least tinged either with purple, red, or scarlet. The 
 breadth of the leaves varies from five to seven or ten 
 inches, and the length of the foot stalks from four to eight 
 inches. The flowers are produced on the shoots of the 
 same year, which shoots generally proceed from those of 
 the year preceding ; they are in form of a raceme, of a 
 greenish-white color, and fragrant odor, appearing in the 
 open air in this country in June ; and the fruit, which is 
 of the berry kind, attains such maturity as the season and
 
 14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 situation admit, by the middle or end of September. The 
 berry or grape, is generally globular, but often ovate, oval, 
 oblong, or finger-shaped ; the colors green, white, red, 
 yellow, amber, and. black, or a variegation of two or more 
 of these colors. The skin is smooth, the pulp and juice 
 of a dulcet, poignant, elevated, generous flavor. Every 
 berry ought to enclose five small heart or pear-shaped 
 stones ; though, as some generally fail, they have seldom 
 more than three, and some varieties as they attain a certain 
 age, as the ascalon, or sultana raisin, none. The weight 
 of a berry depends not only on its size, but on the 
 thickness of its skin, and texture of the flesh, the lightest 
 being the thin-skinned and juicy sorts, as the sweetwater 
 or muscadine." London's Encyclopaedia of Garden- 
 ing. 
 
 Of all the productions of the vegetable world, which 
 the skill and ingenuity of man have rendered conducive 
 to his comfort, and to the enlargement of the sphere of 
 his enjoyments, and the increase of his pleasurable grati- 
 fications, THE VINE stands forward as the most pre-emi- 
 nently conspicuous. Its quickness of growth, the great 
 age to which it will live ; so great indeed as to be un- 
 known, its almost total exemption from all those adverse 
 contingencies which blight and diminish the produce of 
 other fruit-bearing trees, its astonishing vegetative pow- 
 ers, its wonderful fertility, and its delicious fruit, ap- 
 plicable to so many purposes, and agreeable to all palates, 
 in all its varied shapes, combine to mark it out as one of 
 the greatest blessings bestowed by Providence to promote 
 the comfort and enjoyments of the human race. 
 
 From the remotest records of antiquity, the vine has 
 been celebrated in all ages as the type of plenty and the 
 symbol of happiness. The pages of Scripture abound 
 with allusions to the fertility of -the vine as emblematical
 
 INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 of prosperity ; and it is emphatically declared, in describ- 
 ing the peaceful and flourishing state of the kingdom of 
 Israel during the reign of Solomon, that " Judah and Is- 
 rael dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his 
 fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba." The source of 
 enjoyment thus mentioned to record the happy state of 
 the Jewish nation, may be, with reference to the vine, lit- 
 erally possessed by the greater portion of the inhabitants 
 of this island. 
 
 The native cbuntry of the vine is generally considered 
 to be Persia, but it has been found wild in America, and 
 is now become naturalized in all the temperate regions of 
 the world. In the northern hemisphere, it forms an im- 
 portant branch of rural economy from the 21st to the 51st 
 parallel of latitude, and by an improved method of cul- 
 ture, very fine grapes may be annually grown on the 
 surface of walls, in the open air, as far north as the 54th 
 parallel, and even beyond that in favorable seasons. 
 
 The vine is supposed to have been introduced into Bri- 
 tain at the commencement of the Christian era ; and his- 
 tory amply proves, that for a long series of ages, vineyards 
 were very common in the southern parts of this island, 
 and that the quantity of wine produced from them was so 
 great as to be considered one of the staple products of the 
 land. From some cause or other, however, they have 
 fallen into general neglect, although good grapes might be 
 grown on vines, trained as espaliers, or in the same manner 
 as in the vineyards abroad, from which excellent wine 
 could be made at a cost that would not exceed that of 
 moderately strong beer. Why vineyards should have so 
 completely disappeared, it is difficult to say, since there 
 are many thousands of acres of poor land that are of little 
 value in an agricultural point of view, but on which vines 
 would flourish and produce abundant crops of grapes, and 
 yield thereby a most profitable return.
 
 16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Vines are now cultivated in this country only against 
 walls, upon the roofs of buildings, and under glass. The 
 expense attending the growing of grapes under glass, is 
 such, however, as obviously to place that method out of 
 the reach of the mass of the people ; and vineyard cul- 
 ture, now that it has fallen into disuse, is perhaps consid- 
 ered so much in the light of a commercial speculation, 
 that those who have the means of practising it, are de- 
 terred from employing them, from an apprehension that 
 the risk and uncertainty attending it would prove more 
 than sufficient to counterbalance its advantages. But the 
 cultivation of vines on open walls being free from these 
 and all other objections, presents an advantageous method 
 of producing grapes, which may be embraced by every 
 person who has at his command a few square feet of the 
 surface of a wall. This mode of culture indeed, offers to 
 the possessors of houses, buildings, and walled gardens, 
 and even to the most humble cottager, ample means of 
 procuring with the greatest certainty an abundant supply 
 of this most valuable fruit. It is not too much to assert, 
 that the surface of the walls of every cottage of a me- 
 dium size, that is applicable to the training of vines, is 
 capable of producing annually as many grapes as would 
 be worth half the amount of its rental. Every square 
 foot of the surface of a wall may in a short space of time 
 be covered with bearing wood, sufficient to produce on an 
 average a pound weight of grapes, and I have frequently 
 grown double that quantity on the same extent of sur- 
 face. 
 
 From this it will be seen how valuable the surfaces 
 of walls are, and what advantages are lost by those who 
 suffer any portion of them to remain vacant. Nor must it 
 be supposed, that a single vine requires for its training a 
 large portion of walling. That it does, I am aware, is a
 
 INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 very common notion, but it is a very erroneous one, and 
 one that has no doubt arisen from the universally defec- 
 tive method of pruning and managing that plant ; whereby 
 the wood is suffered, and indeed encouraged to extend 
 itself most disproportionately beyond the capability of its 
 fruit-bearing powers. I scarcely ever allot more than from 
 forty to fifty square feet of surface for one vine, and unless 
 the soil and situation be very superior indeed, a single vine 
 will require a space of time not less than twenty years at 
 least, before it will possess a sufficient degree of strength 
 to enable it to mature annually, a greater quantity of 
 grapes than can be trained on,the last mentioned extent of 
 surface. On a wall only twenty-five inches in height, arid 
 eighteen feet in length, I have for years trained a vine that 
 is a perfect picture of fertility, the whole surface of the 
 wall being every year literally covered with fine grapes 
 close down to the very stem of the plant. It will thus be 
 seen, that small detached portions and vacant spaces of 
 the surface of walls, which, in innumerable instances, are 
 deemed of no value, and are therefore neglected, may be 
 turned to a most beneficial account in the production of 
 the fruit of the vine. 
 
 And with reference to the importance of the culture of 
 the vine, as affording a most valuable and highly esteemed 
 fruit, it deserves especial remark, that for the making of 
 wine, not only are ripened grapes applicable to that pur- 
 pose, but from the leaves, tendrils, and young shoots of 
 vines, and also from unripe or immature grapes, very fine 
 wine may be made, differing in no respect from many sorts 
 of wines imported from abroad, as the following extract 
 from Dr. Macculloch's "Remarks on the Art of making 
 Wine," will sufficiently show. 
 
 "Chemical examination has proved that the young 
 shoots, the tendrils, and the leaves of the vine, possess
 
 18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 properties and contain substances exactly similar to the 
 crude fruit. It was no unnatural conclusion that they 
 might equally be used for the purposes of making wine. 
 Experiments were accordingly instituted in France for 
 this purpose, and they have been repeated here with suc- 
 cess. From vine leaves, water, and sugar, wines have 
 been thus produced in no respect differing from the pro- 
 duce of the immature fruit, and consequently resembling 
 wines of foreign growth." 
 
 Here, then, is a most important advantage resulting from 
 the culture of the vine, and one indeed that is little inferi- 
 or to that which is derived from the production of the ri- 
 pened fruit itself. And in order that it may be properly 
 estimated, it must be borne in mind, that throughout the 
 growing season, the superabundant foliage of a vine, which 
 consists chiefly of the extremities of the shoots, and the 
 tendrils, is so great as to require to be plucked off once in 
 every seven days, if not oftener. It is further stated in 
 the above mentioned work, that from forty to fifty pounds 
 weight of leaves, &c. will produce about ten gallons of 
 wine. 
 
 Now, every hundred square feet of the surface of a wall 
 when covered with the foliage of vines in vigorous growth, 
 will yield on an average every week, from the middle of 
 May to the first of August, two pounds weight of ex- 
 cess of foliage. Allowing, therefore, the surface of the 
 walls of a common-sized cottage to contain five hun- 
 dred square feet, on which vines could be trained, it ap- 
 pears, that during the eleven weeks above-mentioned, they 
 would yield a sufficient quantity of foliage to produce up- 
 wards of twenty gallons of wine, which could be made 
 for the mere cost of the sugar ! 
 
 Again, there would be a considerable quantity of foliage 
 to spare during the remaining months of August and Sep-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 tember, to which must be added the excess in the number 
 of bunches of green fruit, which require cutting off after 
 the berries are set in order to avoid overcropping the vines, 
 and which sometimes amount to a great number ; and also 
 the berries that are cut out in the thinning of the bunches, 
 the weight of which is always considerable ; and these 
 being added to the former, would, at the most moderate 
 calculation, yield, in the whole, thirty gallons of wine, 
 thus produced from the superabundant foliage and green 
 fruit of vines trained on the surface of a cottage ! Bear- 
 ing in mind, therefore, these important facts which cannot 
 be controverted, it will, I think, be readily acknowledged, 
 that too great a degree of importance can scarcely be at- 
 tached to the cultivation of the vine. 
 
 The management of this plant is in itself, also, one of 
 the most pleasing and most interesting branches of horti- 
 cultural practice. And it may with truth be asserted, that 
 of all the occupations that can be resorted to for the pur- 
 poses of recreation, those connected with the garden are 
 the most delightful. From these, indeed, spring many of 
 the most elegant enjoyments of life, and the exercise of 
 them is at once a source of health, of contentment, and of 
 unalloyed and tranquilizing pleasure. So congenial to our 
 ideas of happiness is the recreation afforded by a garden, 
 that there is scarcely any one to whom the possession of it 
 is not an object of strong desire. 
 
 Yet to a very numerous class of persons, the inhabitants 
 of towns, this source of enjoyment is, in a great measure, 
 cut off. 
 
 The vine, however, can be cultivated equally as well in 
 a town as in the country, and in very many instances the 
 means for that purpose are possessed in a much greater 
 degree than in the country. The immense accumulation 
 of buildings in towns, and their suburban districts, and
 
 20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 also those of the metropolis itself, present an astonishing 
 extent of surface of walling, well calculated to ripen the 
 fruit of the vine. The only obstacle to the growth of 
 that plant in towns, is the impurity of the atmosphere ; 
 but though -this impediment is sufficiently formidable cer- 
 tainly, it exists only in the heart of London, and its dense 
 and crowded districts, and in those of other large towns. 
 
 I am persuaded therefore, that, if the method of culti- 
 vating the vine on correct principles, and the certainty 
 which, under proper management, never fails to attend the 
 production of its fruit, were more generally known, its 
 propagation and culture would increase both in town and 
 country to an extent that at present can scarcely be con- 
 ceived. 
 
 It is for the purpose of diffusing a mode of cultivating 
 this valuable plant, which is more definite and simple in 
 its nature than any that has hitherto been promulgated, 
 and by which the quantity of its fruit may be prodigiously 
 increased, and the flavor greatly improved, that the follow- 
 ing pages have been written. It is hoped that the whole, 
 management of the vine is therein made sufficiently clear 
 to enable every person who possesses facilities for the 
 growing of grapes, to employ them in the most advanta- 
 geous manner in the production of this highly esteemed 
 fruit.
 
 PRESENT METHOD OF CULTIVATING, &C. 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PRESENT METHOD OF CULTIVATING 
 GRAPE VINES ON OPEN WALLS. 
 
 THERE is, I believe, no branch of practical horticulture, 
 which the possessors of gardens are so deficient in the 
 knowledge of, as in that which embraces the culture of 
 the grape vine ; and yet, singular as it may appear, there 
 is no fruit-tree of any description that grows in this coun- 
 try, that can be depended upon with such certainty for a 
 full crop, or that will yield so ample a return, as a vine 
 judiciously cultivated on the open wall. 
 
 Let any person in the month of September, make a 
 tour of inspection through the southern counties of En- 
 gland, in which nearly every cottage may be seen with a 
 grape vine trained on its walls. Let him stop at intervals 
 in his journey and select any number of vines for exami- 
 nation, and carefully estimate the weight of fruit growing 
 on each, and the extent of walling occupied in producing 
 that fruit, and having calculated the average weight grown 
 on every square foot of walling, let him then be told, 
 which he may be with truth, that at least five times the 
 quantity of grapes of superior flavor might be annually 
 produced on the same extent of surface. Let him also 
 select any given district, and estimate the number of su- 
 perficial feet of walling which the buildings in that dis- 
 trict contain, and on which nothing whatever is grown, or 
 at least nothing of any value, and which might at a tri- 
 fling cost of time and trouble be annually covered with 
 fine crops of grapes, and he will find to his astonishment,
 
 22 PRESENT METHOD OF CULTIVATING 
 
 that for every square foot on which vines are trained, there 
 are at least twenty square feet that are either entirely va- 
 cant or occupied in a useless manner. If he then sum up 
 his calculations, the result will shew, that, for every pound 
 of grapes that is now grown, not less than a hundred 
 pounds might be annually produced on the existing sur- 
 face of walling, without the addition of a single square 
 foot ! Nor let it be supposed that this estimate is made 
 hypothetically ; on the contrary, it is the result of actual 
 inspection and careful observation, and is considerably 
 within the mark as to the quantity of grapes that might be 
 annually grown. Every moderate-sized dwelling-house 
 having a garden and a little walling attached to it, may 
 with ease be made to produce yearly a quarter of a ton 
 weight of grapes, leaving a sufficient portion of its surface 
 for the production of other fruit. 
 
 It is difficult to account for the indifference which has 
 hitherto been manifested towards the propagation of the 
 vine, or to assign sufficient reasons why a fruit so univer- 
 sally esteemed as the grape, should have remained sta- 
 tionary in respect to any improvement in its mode of 
 culture. 
 
 I suspect, however, that the force of custom and exam- 
 ple will be found amongst the chief operating causes. 
 Scarcely any person when planting vines against his prem- 
 ises, ever thinks of setting apart for any one to be trained 
 on a less space of walling than a hundred and fifty, or 
 two hundred square feet, seeing that the universal practice 
 is to suffer a single vine to cover as quickly as possible 
 the entire surface of one side of a house or building, or a 
 large portion of that of a garden wall. And this seems to 
 be done under the idea, that the more wood there is in a 
 vine, the more grapes it will produce, or that the one will 
 be in proportion to the other. It happens, however, that
 
 GRAPE VINES ON OPEN WALLS. 23 
 
 the fact is precisely the reverse. If a vine be suffered to 
 make a large quantity of wood, it will bear but little fruit ; 
 if it produce good crops of fruit, it will make but little 
 wood ; the one checks the other. To permit a vine there- 
 fore to make a great quantity of wood, under the idea of 
 getting thereby a great quantity of grapes, is completely 
 grasping at the substance, and catching the shadow. 
 
 Another reason why the method of cultivating the vine 
 on open walls has remained stationary, may be found in 
 the fact, that in the gardens of the rich, where professed 
 gardeners are kept, grapes on vines of this description are 
 but seldom grown to any extent, a sufficient quantity for 
 the table being brought to perfection under glass. Hence, 
 one of the principal sources from which improved modes 
 of culture are in general derived, is thus closed, and the 
 routine of management of this most valuable fruit thereby 
 consigned to the chances of empirical practice. 
 
 The grand parent error which prevails universally in the 
 cultivation of the vine on walls, lies in the method of 
 pruning usually adopted,. and this is undoubtedly the con- 
 sequence of the nature of the plant and its peculiar char- 
 acteristics being in general but little understood. The 
 immense quantity of wood which a vine annually pro- 
 duces, and the force with which its sap flows, causing its 
 most vigorous shoots to be formed at the extremities, ren- 
 der it necessary, in order to keep the plant in a good bear- 
 ing condition, and its branches within a reasonable dis- 
 tance of its stem, that the pruning-knife should be used to 
 a far greater extent than is ever practised on any other de- 
 scription of fruit-tree whatever. The most severe manner 
 indeed, in which that instrument is at any time applied to 
 other trees, is as nothing when compared with that re- 
 quired by the vine. 
 
 In the course of the growing season, a vine in a healthy
 
 24 PRESENT METHOD OF CULTIVATING 
 
 condition will make a quantity of bearing wood sufficient 
 to produce ten times as much fruit as it can bring to ma- 
 turity. When this fact is considered in connection with 
 another, namely, that the wood which bears fruit one year 
 never bears any afterwards, and is therefore of no further 
 use in that respect, it will easily be seen to what a sur- 
 prising extent the pruning-knife must be used, to get rid 
 of the superabundant wood which the plant annually pro- 
 duces. But nine parts out of ten of the current year's 
 shoots, and all those of the preceding year, if possible, to 
 be cut off and thrown away, is apparently so much be- 
 yond all reasonable proportion, and the rules usually ob- 
 served in pruning other fruit trees, that few persons ever 
 possess the courage to attempt it. And herein, as re- 
 marked before, lies the capital error in the common 
 method of managing the vine. 
 
 A vine in the third or fourth year of its growth, will in 
 general show a few bunches of grapes, and these are usu- 
 ally suffered to remain and ripen, instead of being plucked 
 off as soon as they appear, having been produced before 
 the plant has sufficient strength to mature them without 
 injury to its constitution. Although the quantity be 
 small, it inflicts a severe blow on the vital energies of the 
 vine, from the exhausting nature of the process of matu- 
 ration. At the proper season the pruning-knife is applied, 
 but the operator being in perfect ignorance as to whether 
 the plant has sufficient strength to ripen any fruit or not 
 in the following year, looks at the young wood, and seeing 
 four or five good strong shoots, cuts them back to as many 
 buds each, leaving perhaps twenty in the whole. Sum- 
 mer comes, and the vine having been seriously crippled by 
 the premature ripening of fruit in the preceding year, and 
 having now twenty shoots to supply with nourishment 
 instead of two or three, the sap is so diminished in quan-
 
 GRAPE VINfcS ON OPEN WALLS. 25 
 
 tity, and distributed also through so many channels, that 
 it is incapable of forming an inch of really good bearing 
 wood. The shoots protrude, and though small, produce a 
 great mass, of foliage ; the evaporation from this being far 
 too great for its loss to be supplied by the roots, a languid 
 circulation of the juices of the plant takes place, and it 
 receives thereby a most serious check in its growth. The 
 result is, that, at the end of the season, no shoots larger in 
 size than that of a small wooden skewer are to be seen 
 except at the extremities. 
 
 The proper season arriving, the vine is again pruned, 
 and again eight or ten times as many buds are retained as 
 the plant can nourish. The same disproportionate mass of 
 foliage follows of course, and the same exhausting effects 
 are produced on the vital powers of the plant. No bearing 
 shoots are formed except at the extremities, and these 
 being retained at the autumnal pruning, old blank wood 
 begins rapidly to cover the surface of the wall. The 
 method of pruning also, being in general what is called 
 the spurring method, tends more than any other to the 
 permanent retention of old wood. And thus, the vine 
 commences its fruit-bearing life under the most adverse 
 circumstances. 
 
 The same mode of culture being followed in yearly 
 succession, the vine quickly spreads over its allotted space 
 of walling, exceeding perhaps two hundred or even three 
 hundred superficial feet. It then contains a vast number 
 of long and useless limbs, on which may be seen scores of 
 excrescences dignified with the name of spurs, producing 
 in the growing season a superabundance of foliage, with 
 but little fruit, and that of an inferior description, and re- 
 quiring in its management a tenfold portion of time and 
 trouble beyond what would be necessary under a proper 
 mode of culture.
 
 26 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 To these characteristics of the usual method of manag- 
 ing a vine, may be added two others ; namely, that of 
 suffering the stem and principal branches to be covered 
 with several years' accumulation of decayed layers of 
 bark, and of continually digging the border in which the 
 roots run, and cropping it with vegetables even close up to 
 the very stem. 
 
 This brief description of the method of cultivating 
 vines on open walls, will apply, I believe, to ninety-nine 
 out of every hundred throughout the country. And it 
 may be remarked of it, that during the very first year of 
 the plant having been suffered prematurely to ripen fruit, 
 and throughout every successive year afterwards, not a 
 single point of culture has been practised but what may 
 be described as most erroneous. Every step taken has 
 been apparently for the purpose of rearing a superstructure 
 of old barren wood, rather than the production of abun- 
 dant crops of fine-flavored fruit. 
 
 Can it be matter of surprise, therefore, that under such 
 a mode of culture, grapes grown on the open wall do not 
 in general attain to a higher degree of perfection ? 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON THE CAPABILITY AND EXTENT OF THE FRUIT-BEARING 
 POWERS OF THE VINE. 
 
 THERE is not a single point of culture in the whole rou- 
 tine of the management of a vine, the knowledge of which 
 is of so much importance as that which enables the culti-
 
 OF THE VINE. 27 
 
 vator to ascertain with precision the greatest quantity of 
 fruit he can annually extract from it, without checking its 
 growth or injuring its vital powers. The operation of 
 pruning, if it be not guided by this, is an operation per- 
 formed perfectly at random, and every inch of bearing 
 wood either cut out or retained under such circumstances, 
 is done in utter ignorance of the consequences, whether 
 they will ultimately prove injurious or beneficial to the 
 health and fertility of the plant. And yet, necessary as 
 is this knowledge, and without the guidance of which in 
 pruning, neither good-flavored grapes nor good crops, can 
 with certainty be annually obtained, all the rules hitherto 
 laid down for the pruning of vines, have been promulga- 
 ted, unaccompanied with the slightest instruction to lead 
 the pruner to a knowledge of this most valuable point of 
 culture. 
 
 Such, however, is the importance of proportioning the 
 quantity of fruit to be matured to the capability of the 
 plant, that in Miller's Gardener's Dictionary it is stared, in 
 reference to the cultivation of the vine in foreign coun- 
 tries, " that when gentlemen abroad let out vineyards to 
 vignerons, there is always a clause inserted in their leases, 
 to direct how many shoots shall be left upon each vine, 
 and the number of eyes to which the branches must be 
 shortened ; because, were not the vignerons thus tied 
 down, they would overbear the vines, so that in a few 
 years they would exhaust their roots, and render them so 
 weak as not to be recovered again in several years, and 
 their wine would be so bad as to bring a disreputation on 
 the vineyard, to the great loss of the proprietor." 
 
 Here then, is a distinct recognition of the fact, that the 
 flavor of grapes and the vital energies of vines are mate- 
 rially affected by overcropping ; and that to restrain the 
 lessees of vineyards in foreign countries from practising so
 
 28 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 injurious a course of culture, the number of eyes are actu- 
 ally limited, and even made the subject of special con- 
 tract. Now if it be necessary to observe such a rule in 
 countries that are congenial to the growth of the vine, and 
 where, from its forming an important branch of rural econ- 
 omy, it may be reasonably presumed the true nature of the 
 plant is well understood, how much more so must it be in 
 the latitude of Great Britain, where, from the deficiency 
 of solar heat, and the variableness of the climate, a greater 
 portion of the vital energy of the vine is put in requisition 
 to ripen the fruit ? 
 
 And yet, who has ever seen, in the English practice of 
 pruning vines, any rule observed of the abovementioned 
 nature? In short, the common method of pruning vines 
 on open walls is the most random operation imaginable. 
 
 In very warm summers, the juices of a vine plant are 
 more highly elaborated than usual, the sap being inspissa- 
 ted, or thickened, in a greater degree by the increase of 
 solar heat, in consequence of which, it is rendered more 
 productive of flower-buds than leaf-buds. Shoots that are 
 considerably less in size than those which bear fruit in or- 
 dinary summers, will, after being ripened in such a sum- 
 mer, produce fine grapes in the following season ; it is 
 next to impossible, therefore, to prune a vine, when all the 
 shoots are thus well ripened, so as not to bear a good crop of 
 fruit in the ensuing year. Indeed, a person blindfolded 
 may then take a common side, and chop away at a vine 
 right and left, and if he chance to leave any young wood 
 at all remaining, that wood will produce fruit, because 
 nearly every bud formed in such a summer becomes a 
 fruit-bud. In the following year, almost every vine, how- 
 ever injudiciously managed, will be seen loaded with fruit, 
 and the year is then called " a grape year." In such years 
 I have frequently seen vines groaning as it were beneath
 
 OF THE VINE. 29 
 
 their prodigious number of bunches, and have on such oc- 
 casions invariably pointed out to the owners of them the 
 certainty of the plants being crippled for many years to 
 come, if the whole quantity produced were suffered to re- 
 main and ripen ; but no representation of this sort made 
 by me to any one, whether gardener or otherwise, ever 
 had in any instance the effect of causing the excess in the 
 quantity to be reduced, even by a single bunch. So 
 deeply rooted seems to be the belief, that because a vine 
 shews a great number of bunches of grapes, it can there- 
 fore ripen them. 
 
 Many years ago, 1 was led to consider the necessity of 
 ascertaining the extent of the fruit-bearing powers of vines, 
 in order to ensure their successful culture, by founding 
 thereon a system of pruning which should be simple in 
 practice and certain in its effects, being based on the prin- 
 ciple of proportioning the quantity of bearing-wood re- 
 tained at the autumnal pruning, to the capability of their 
 powers of maturation. For the attainment of that object, 
 therefore, I commenced a series of experiments on a great 
 number of vines of various ages and sorts, and trained on 
 every variety of aspect, south of and including the east- 
 ern and western points of the horizon. 
 
 Knowing by previous experience that it was possible to 
 load a vine with such a quantity of fruit as would com- 
 pletely deprive it of life in its endeavors to mature it, and 
 assuming that the circumference of the stem of the plant 
 would form a true index to its vital powers, unless these 
 had been injured by overbearing, several vines remarkably 
 vigorous in growth, and which had been for three years 
 previously closely pruned, were in the first place selected 
 for trial, for the purpose of discovering that quantity. 
 That point having been ascertained, it was intended then 
 to select in every succeeding year a fresh set of vines, and
 
 30 
 
 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 to reduce annually the weight of fruit to be borne by each 
 of them until the actual quantity which any vine, in pro- 
 portion to the circumference of its stern, can perfectly ma- 
 ture without injury to its vital powers, was correctly as- 
 certained. 
 
 In accordance with this intention, the vines first selected 
 as abovementioned, were pruned in the autumn of 1825, 
 and as much bearing-wood retained as was supposed would 
 produce sufficient fruit either to kill them or cripple them 
 for many year's to come. The number of buds retained 
 on each vine, and the circumference of its stem were care- 
 fully registered ; the ensuing summer of 1826, afforded a 
 remarkably fine vintage, and was therefore a highly favor- 
 able year for the trial. 
 
 To describe the results, which, with little variation, 
 were the same in all, one vine may be advantageously se- 
 lected. This was a white muscadine, in the eighth year 
 of its age, and, like all the rest, in the highest bearing 
 condition possible. It produced in the following spring 
 an abundant supply of vigorous bearing shoots, and shewed 
 seventy-eight bunches of fine grapes, the produce of twenty- 
 nine buds, retained on two horizontal right and left shoots. 
 As the season advanced, the shoots extended themselves 
 rapidly, the bunches of fruit increased in size, and the 
 vine thrived as well as usual, seemingly quite unconscious 
 of the task it shortly had to perform. Blossoming being 
 over, and the fruit set, the trial of strength commenced. 
 On the first of July, many of the bunches measured 
 eleven inches from the shoulders to the extremities, and 
 when matured, would have weighed a pound and a half 
 each. They hung close together, forming, as far as they 
 extended on the wall, an entire and compact mass of 
 grapes, the weight of which, if ripened, would have ex- 
 ceeded sixty pounds. The middle of that month arrived,
 
 OF THE VINE. 31 
 
 and the berries had only reached the size of small peas, 
 while those on other vines, not subjected to any such trial, 
 were full grown, and had commenced the stoning process. 
 On the first of August, no perceptible increase of size in 
 the berries had taken place, and the vine began to shew 
 strong symptoms of exhaustion. About the middle of that 
 month the foliage assumed a withering appearance, and on 
 the first of September the vegetation of the plant was al- 
 most at a stand. The shoots ceased to grow, the fruit and 
 foliage were in a prostrate condition, and the vital energies 
 of the vine appeared unable to supply the daily increasing 
 demand for nourishment. Throughout that month it con- 
 tinued in a pitiable condition, and though a valuable plant, 
 it was nevertheless suffered to take its course as well as all 
 the others, in order that the trial might be decisive. About 
 the first of October, the greater part of the berries having 
 grown as large as middling-sized peas, those on the shoul- 
 ders of some of the bunches began to shew symptoms of 
 ripening, by becoming a little transparent ; and at the same 
 time, the berries at the extremities of the bunches began 
 to shrivel. As the month advanced, the ripening process 
 proceeded slowly, but the shrivelling increased rapidly. To- 
 wards the latter end of October the trial was over, and the 
 experiment complete ; on many entire bunches every berry 
 had shrivelled, and in no bunch had the process of matu- 
 ration proceeded farther down than the shoulders. The 
 whole crop was gathered about the first of November, and 
 the ripened portions being put together, weighed nine 
 pounds and a half. Not one of these ripened berries, how- 
 ever, was more than half the usual size, and in point of 
 flavor not to be compared to others of the same sort ri- 
 pened at least six weeks previously. 
 
 The vine was pruned immediately and cut almost to a 
 stump, to give it every chance of recovering from the
 
 32 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 blow it had received. But in the following spring, not a 
 single bud unfolded till nearly a month after the usual 
 time, and at the close of the season, the largest shoot was 
 only twenty-six inches in length, and no larger than a 
 packing needle, although in the previous year the vine had 
 emitted very vigorous shoots twenty-five feet in length. 
 It has been pruned very closely every year since, and has 
 in consequence gradually acquired strength, but although 
 eight years have elapsed since the experiment was made, 
 it has not yet recovered its former vigor. The effects 
 produced on the other vines have ultimately proved equally 
 injurious, not one of them having yet acquired anything 
 like the same degree of health which it then possessed. 
 
 The result of these experiments was decisive as to the 
 proportion of fruit having very greatly exceeded the 
 strength of the vines, some of which, no doubt would 
 have died from the effects of their own fertility, if they 
 had not previously been in an exceedingly vigorous state. 
 In the following year, 1827, another set of vines was 
 selected for a similar trial of strength, and only half as 
 much fruit retained on each, as on those of the preceding 
 year. This quantity, however, proved far too great, as 
 the grapes only partially ripened and the vines were com- 
 pletely crippled for several years afterwards. 
 
 In the three following years, 1828, 1829, and 1830, 
 fresh vines were annually selected for similar experiments, 
 and the weight of fruit reduced every successive year, until, 
 in 1830, the object in view seemed to be attained, the 
 grapes having all been perfectly matured and the vital 
 powers of the vines (which has subsequently been proved) 
 not in the least encroached upon. 
 
 Other vines of different ages were also annually selected 
 during the above-mentioned period from 1826 to 1830, and 
 as much fruit assigned to each of them to ripen, as was 
 then thought equal to their powers of maturation. The 
 weight so assigned, has since proved to have been pretty 
 near the correct proportion.
 
 OF THE VINE. 33 
 
 The results of all these experiments were carefully reg- 
 istered from year to year, and at the close of 1830, the 
 whole being accurately examined, it appeared clearly that 
 the capability' of the vines to mature fruit was in direct 
 proportion to the circumference of their respective stems. 
 
 Simultaneously also with these experiments, several 
 young vines were annually set apart for the purpose of dis- 
 covering the effects of early bearing on their subsequent 
 growth, and of ascertaining the size which the stem of a 
 young vine must attain, before it is capable of maturing 
 any fruit without injury to its vital powers. From this 
 source much valuable information was obtained, and the 
 fact also established that young vines will always show 
 fruit before they can ripen it without injuring their future 
 growth and fertility. 
 
 From the whole of these experiments, therefore, a scale 
 was then constructed in accordance with their results, of 
 the weight of fruit which any vine that has not been pre- 
 viously overcropped, will bring to the highest perfection 
 which the climate will permit, without impairing its vital 
 powers, which was the point of knowledge sought to be 
 obtained. 
 
 Agreeably to this scale, which is inserted below, I 
 pruned in the winter of 1830 nearly forty vines of differ- 
 ent sorts, and of various ages, leaving in each no greater 
 number of buds than appeared on an average calculation 
 to be sufficient to produce as much fruit as the vine was 
 allowed to mature. In the following summer, as soon as 
 the berries were set, the number of bunches required to 
 produce the given weight of fruit was selected to remain, 
 and the excess immediately cut off. I have strictly ad- 
 hered to this plan ever since, and it has enabled me to 
 produce finer grapes than I have ever seen or heard of 
 being grown on the open wall in this country. And so 
 prolific does every vine become from the hard pruning 
 which an adherence to this scale compels, that I have fre- 
 quently to cut off at the proper period in the summer, as
 
 34 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 much as one-half, and sometimes even three-fourths of the 
 fruit which many of the vines shew, in order to reduce it 
 to its proper quantity. 
 
 Vines thus pruned, with the bearing wood annually ad- 
 justed to their respective powers of maturation, being kept 
 within a small compass on the surface of the wall, are 
 easily managed throughout the summer. They never fail 
 to produce an abundant supply of the finest description of 
 bearing shoots within a reasonable distance of their stems, 
 and always bring their fruit to the highest degree of per- 
 fection which the climate will permit, with a certainty 
 which has never yet attended the production of grapes on 
 the open wall in this country. 
 
 Scale of the greatest quantity of grapes which any vine can per- 
 fectly mature, in porportion to the circumference of its stem, measured 
 just above the ground. 
 
 Ibs. 
 
 Inches 45 
 
 do. - 50 
 
 do. --------- 55 
 
 do. 60 
 
 do. --------- 65 
 
 do. 70 
 
 Cir. 
 
 Ibs. 
 
 Cir. 
 
 7 
 
 ^A An 
 
 10 
 
 71 
 
 4 rln -"- . 
 
 - 15 
 
 a 
 
 4 Jo ,. - 
 
 20 
 
 
 5 rln 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 - 90 
 
 QA 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 C,A rln 
 
 - 40 
 
 
 It will be seen, that if 2 1-2 inches be deducted from 
 the circumference of the stem of any vine, the capability 
 of it will be equal to the maturation of ten pounds of 
 grapes for every remaining inch of girth. The propor- 
 tionate quantity for fractional parts of an inch may be 
 easily calculated. 
 
 The circumference of the largest stem in this scale is 
 ten inches, beyond which size I have had no opportunity 
 of selecting a sufficient number of vines to enable me to 
 carry the experiments further in a satisfactory manner. I 
 have, however, at various times, examined a great many 
 vines above that size, and have estimated the weight of 
 their respective crops at the vintage, and when the whole 
 crop borne by any vine has been perfectly matured, and a 
 good supply of fine vigorous shoots for future bearing
 
 OF THE VINE. 
 
 35 
 
 wood produced simultaneously in the current year, the re- 
 sult has uniformly been that the weight of fruit has not 
 exceeded the proportion mentioned in the scale. I think 
 it not unreasonable, therefore, to conclude that the same 
 proportionate quantity will apply to every vine, whatever 
 may be the girth of its stem. 
 
 No vine is taken cognizance of until its stem measures 
 three inches in girth, as under that size vines ought never 
 to be suffered to ripen any fruit. This is a rule that 
 should be strictly adhered to in the management of young 
 vines, for it may be safely asserted, that for every pound 
 weight of grapes extracted from a vine before it has grown 
 to that size, ten pounds will be lost during the next five 
 years, independently of the very severe check which is 
 given to its growth by premature bearing. But by hus- 
 banding its strength till its roots have multiplied suffi- 
 ciently to provide a full supply of nourishment without 
 suffering from exhaustion, the plant commences its fruit- 
 bearing life with a degree of vigor which lays a sure 
 foundation for its future prosperity. 
 
 It may be remarked that, in general, vines are suffered 
 to bear a much greater quantity of grapes than the above 
 scale represents, but in all such cases it will be found that 
 they are not perfectly ripened. The grand desideratum in 
 grapes when used as table fruit is flavor, and this is en- 
 tirely regulated by the circumstances under which they 
 are ripened. One of those circumstances is the quantity 
 of grapes suffered to remain and ripen, as compared with 
 the strength of the vines. The respective quantities men- 
 tioned in the scale are such as every vine of the given 
 girth of stem can perfectly mature, but if these be ex- 
 ceeded, the flavor will immediately begin to diminish, and 
 the vine may then be said to be overcropped. On the 
 other hand, although a less quantity of grapes may be ma- 
 tured by a vine than the proportion represented in the 
 scale, the flavor will not thereby be increased, in which 
 case the vine will be undercropped. Th'j, however, very
 
 36 FRUIT-BEARING POWERS 
 
 seldom happens ; but to go beyond the true bearing point, 
 and to overcrop a vine whenever the quantity of fruit 
 shewn will admit of it, is of almost universal occurrence, 
 not only on vines trained on the open wall, but with those 
 under. glass also. It is impossible to place this injurious 
 practice in too prominent a point of view, for it is the pro- 
 lific parent of almost every evil that can befal a vine, and 
 it is really so general that scarcely one vine in ten thous- 
 and escapes it. 
 
 Although, therefore, the proportionate quantities men- 
 tioned in the scale are much less than vines are frequently 
 permitted to bear, they may be regarded as a close approx- 
 imation to the greatest weight of fruit which can be borne 
 so as to be brought to the highest degree of maturation 
 which the climate will permit. There may be a little in- 
 crease in the powers of maturation of vines, when trained 
 on very warm aspects, but I have never found it to prevail 
 to any extent, nor to be sufficiently uniform in its occur- 
 rence, to justify any variation in the proportions laid down 
 in the scale. Some sorts of vines, also, are constitution- 
 ally disposed to show more fruit than other sorts, but the 
 capability to mature the fruit is pretty nearly equal in all. 
 It may be further remarked, that if a vine during any sea- 
 son be undercropped, the deficiency may be partly made 
 good the following year, by causing it to bear a consider- 
 able portion more in addition to its allotted quantity. This 
 results from the sap not having been all expended in ri- 
 pening the fruit. It has in consequence accumulated, and 
 the plant is thereby enabled to mature a greater weight of 
 fruit the ensuing season, than it otherwise could do, from 
 the sap generated in the current year. 
 
 The manner in which it is intended that this scale 
 should be practically applied, is to measure the stem of a 
 vine at the autumnal pruning, and to retain no more good 
 well-ripened fruit buds than is supposed necessary to pro- 
 duce the given weight of fruit which corresponds to its 
 girth. And if there should be any excess above that
 
 OF THE VINE. 37 
 
 quantity in the ensuing summer, the crop must be reduced 
 to the given weight by cutting off a sufficient number of 
 bunches as soon as the blossoming is over and the fruit 
 set, as the weight of it when ripened may then be easily 
 estimated. 
 
 With respect to the number of buds that are necessary 
 to be left at the autumnal pruning to produce any given 
 weight of fruit, I have found it to be a good general rule 
 and applicable to all those sorts of grapes usually cultivated 
 on the open wall, to consider every bud (rejecting the two 
 bottom ones on each shoot) as equal to the production of 
 half a pound weight of fruit; that is, if the stem of a 
 vine measure five inches in girth, its capability is equal to 
 the maturation of twenty-five pounds weight of grapes, 
 and therefore the number of buds to remain after pruning 
 will be fifty. This proportion would in general be too 
 great, even in the shyest bearing sorts, but as accidents 
 frequently happen to the bunches during their early 
 growth, and as there will in general be some buds that 
 will not burst, provision must be made against these cas- 
 ualties by reserving a greater number of buds than would 
 otherwise be required. The proportionate number there- 
 fore, abovementioned, I have found to answer well, and to 
 be sufficient to meet all contingencies. 
 
 It is necessary to observe, that all the experiments on 
 which the scale is founded, were made on vines growing 
 in 50 46' north latitude.
 
 38 ON ASPECT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON ASPECT. 
 
 A GOOD aspect, which is of prime importance in perfect- 
 ing the fruit of the vine, may be termed, when considered 
 in reference to the surface of walls, an amelioration of 
 climate ; and soil and climate are the two grand causes of 
 all the differences which appear in the productions of the 
 earth. 
 
 The warmer the aspect, the greater perfection does the 
 grape attain in our climate, provided all other circum- 
 stances are alike ; and if the greatest quantity of the sun's 
 rays shining on the surface of a wall were alone to be 
 considered as constituting the best aspect, there would of 
 course be no difficulty in naming a due southern one as 
 better than any other. But warmth alone is not sufficient ; 
 shelter is equally necessary. There is a strong counter- 
 acting agent, which as its effects fall more or less on any 
 surface of walling on which, vines are trained, proportion- 
 ately injures them and retards their growth and the ma- 
 turation of their fruit. That agent is the wind. 
 
 There is no period in the growth of a vine, from the 
 moment of its being planted as a cutting or otherwise, to 
 the extremity of its existence, in which any movement of 
 the air that may properly be called wind, will not have a 
 greater or less pernicious effect on its well-being. The 
 perspiration of a vine is so great, principally through the 
 medium of its fine large leaves, with their broad surfaces 
 disposed in such a manner as to enjoy the full effects of 
 the solar and atmospherical influences, that an extraordi- 
 nary supply of sap is required to rise every instant of time 
 throughout the growing season to enable it to recruit its 
 loss. On the foliage of a plant, performing some of its
 
 ON ASPECT. 39 
 
 most important functions in such a manner, if a strong 
 wind should blow at any time for the space only of a few 
 hours, the flow of sap is seriously checked, evaporation 
 proceeds at a most exhausting rate, and the leaves and 
 young shoots being speedily emptied of the moisture ac- 
 cumulated in their cells and Vessels, become rigid, and 
 their pores completely closed. The vegetative powers of 
 the plant being thus prostrated, cannot resume their func- 
 tions till after the wind has ceased several hours or even 
 days, according to its violence and duration. 
 
 I have made repeated observations on the growth of the 
 leading shoots of vines in the height of the growing sea- 
 son, and have many times noted the fact that during the 
 space of twenty-four hours, when the wind has blown 
 briskly, the shoots exposed to its influence have not per- 
 ceptibly grown at all, while shortly afterwards, the wind 
 having entirely sunk away, the same shoots have grown 
 upwards of three inches in the same space of time, the 
 temperature of the air in a sheltered situation being alike 
 during each period. 
 
 And if two young vines be planted by the side of each 
 other against a wall exposed to the north, for the purpose 
 of trying the experiment by excluding the influence of 
 the sun's rays, and one be kept nailed to the wall every 
 five or six inches of its growth throughout the summer, 
 and the other be suffered to be blown about without any 
 such protection ; the former will be found at the end of 
 the season, to have grown in the size and extent of its 
 shoots, three or four times as much as the latter. Nothing, 
 indeed, can be more tender or less calculated to withstand 
 the effects of the wind than the extremities of the young 
 shoots of a vine, which, from being extremely porous, are 
 almost as susceptible of its withering influence, as the 
 sensitive plant is of the touch of the hand. 
 
 Many instances might be circumstantially detailed of 
 the injurious effects of the wind upon established vines 
 during their summer's growth ; two, however, of recent 
 occurrence will perhaps suffice.
 
 40 ON ASPECT. 
 
 On the eleventh of Jane, 1833, a strong wind sprang up 
 early in the morning from the west, and increased in force 
 till noon, when it blew quite a gale, and continued so to 
 do throughout the day. It slackened a little during the 
 night and gradually decreased in violence the next day, 
 dying entirely away by the evening. The effects of this 
 wind on a vine of the white muscadine sort trained on a 
 wall having a western aspect were carefully observed. It 
 had on a full crop of fruit and a good supply of fine young 
 bearing shoots, and was altogether in a most thriving con- 
 dition. Such, however, were the injurious effects of the 
 wind in dissipating all the accumulated secretions of the 
 foliage and then closing almost hermetically its ppres, and 
 thereby totally deranging the vital functions of the plant, 
 that, although in the height of the growing season, not the 
 slightest appearance of renewed vegetation could be dis- 
 cerned in any part of its leaves, shoots, or fruit, until the 
 third day of July, or twenty-two days afterwards. It 
 never produced another inch of good bearing wood through- 
 out the remainder of the season, but lingered in a very 
 weak and sickly condition ; and the fruit, which had been 
 previously estimatad at ninety pounds weight, did not ex- 
 ceed fifty-five pounds when gathered, and that of a very 
 inferior description in point of flavor and size of berry. Its 
 leaves, also, having been thus crippled, were shed prema- 
 turely a month before their natural time, and hence the 
 deficiency in the size and flavor of the grapes. ' 
 
 The other instance, which happened shortly afterwards, 
 is still more decisive. On the 30th of August following, 
 about eight o'clock in the evening, a strong wind began to 
 blow from the south west, accompanied with heavy rain. 
 At nine it blew violently, arid continued so to do until 
 noon the next day. It then slackened, and veering to the 
 north-west, died away some time during the following 
 night. 
 
 The full force of this wind fell on a remarkably fine 
 black Hamburgh vine, trained on a wall having a south-
 
 ON ASPECT. 41 
 
 south-western aspect, and its effects were therefore propor- 
 tionately destructive. Many of the principal branches 
 were torn from their fastenings and their extremities 
 swept the ground. The bunches of fruit were knocked 
 about, and portions of them as well as single berries lay 
 scattered on the ground in every direction. On the fruit, 
 however, that survived the wreck, the effects of the wind 
 were remarkable. It must be stated that the wall on 
 which the vine is trained is ten feet high, and is so situ- 
 ated, that to the height of about three feet from the ground 
 the wind had but little power over it, its force being 
 broken by an outer wall standing at a little distance off, 
 in front of it. On the lower part of the wall so protected, 
 the grapes not having been much injured, began to change 
 their color and ripen about the twentieth of September, 
 and on the twelfth of October every berry was perfectly 
 matured; while all those that remained on the vine above 
 three feet from the ground, were, on the first of Novem- 
 ber, as green and as hard as on the thirtieth of August 
 when the high wind occurred. Shortly afterwards these be- 
 gan to change their color, and ultimately ripened tolerably 
 well by the first week in December. Thus solely through 
 the effects of a strong wind, there were to be seen at the 
 same time, on the same branches of this vine and within 
 nine inches of each other, bunches of grapes, the lower- 
 most of which were perfectly ripe, while the uppermost 
 were quite green and hard, and not within seven weeks of 
 reaching the same state of maturity. 
 
 These facts, which might be multiplied indefinitely, 
 sufficiently show the injurious effects of strong winds and 
 the necessity of protecting vines as much as possible from 
 their destructive consequences. Nor must it be supposed 
 that high winds are those only which injure the vine. 
 Every wind that blows on the foliage of a vine, deranges 
 its functions, and thereby retards the growth of the plant 
 and the maturation of its fruit, in a greater or less degree 
 in proportion to its violence and duration.
 
 42 ON ASPECT. 
 
 In the choice of a good aspect, therefore, shelter from 
 high or often recurring winds becomes a prime considera- 
 tion ; and those aspects that are the least exposed to their 
 effects and that receive a full portion of the solar rays, 
 may accordingly be deemed the best. There are, how- 
 ever, in general, .so many local circumstances which affect 
 the warmth and shelter of the surfaces of walls and build- 
 ings, that these alone, where they exist, must determine 
 the best aspects for the training of vines. But if there be 
 no such local circumstances to influence the choice of as T 
 pect, then I have no hesitation in stating, from experience 
 and observation of the qualities and flavor of the fruit of 
 the different vintages for many years past, that the best 
 aspects in which grapes can be brought to the highest de- 
 gree of perfection on the open wall, that the latitude and 
 climate of the southern parts of England will permit, are 
 those that range from the eastern to the south-eastern both 
 inclusive, the last of which, indeed, may be considered 
 the very best. 
 
 On walls having any of these aspects, the sun shines 
 with full force in the early part of the morning, at which 
 time there is something highly favorable to vegetation in 
 the influence of his rays. These, darting nearly perpen- 
 dicularly on the foliage of a vine, while the dew yet re- 
 mains, and its beautiful crystal drops hangs suspended as 
 it were by magic to the angular extremities of the leaves, 
 seem to stimulate the vital energies of the plant in an ex- 
 traordinary degree, arid to excite them to a vigorous exer- 
 cise of all the important functions appertaining to vegeta- 
 ble life. 
 
 The next best aspects are those which follow in suc- 
 cession from south-east to south. An aspect due south is 
 undoubtedly a very good one, but its exposure to those 
 strong winds which so frequently blow from the south- 
 west forms a great drawback to its excellence. The re- 
 maining aspects are those which range successively from 
 due south to due west. These are all good ones, provided
 
 ON SOIL. 43 
 
 they are sheltered, or partially so, from the destructive ef- 
 fects of the high winds abovementioned. North of the 
 western point, the maturation of the wood and fruit of the 
 vine becomes uncertain; nevertheless, tolerably good 
 grapes may be grown on the surface of a wall having an 
 aspect not farther north than west by north. There is, 
 however, another aspect that is north of the eastern point 
 of the horizon, which is a very good one indeed, and that 
 is east by north. On a wall facing this point, the sun 
 shines till about eleven o'clock in the morning. I have, 
 for many years past, brought several sorts of grapes, in- 
 cluding the black Hamburgh, to great perfection in this 
 aspect. North of this point, however, the solar rays are 
 not sufficiently powerful to mature either the wood or 
 fruit of the vine. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON SOIL. 
 
 THE natural soil which is most congenial to the growth 
 of the vine and to the perfection of its fruit in this coun- 
 try, is a light rich sandy loam not more than eighteen 
 inches in depth, on a dry bottom of gravel, stones, or 
 rocks. 
 
 No sub-soil can possess too great a quantity of these ma- 
 terials for the roots of the vine, which run with eagerness 
 into all the clefts, crevices, and openings in which such 
 sub-soils abound. In these dry and warm situations, the 
 fibrous extremities, pushing themselves with the greatest 
 avidity, and continually branching out in every possible 
 direction, lie secure from that excess of moisture which
 
 44 
 
 ON" SOIL. 
 
 frequently accumulates in more compact soils ; and cling- 
 ing like ivy round the porous surfaces of their retreats, ex- 
 tract therefrom a species of food, -more nourishing than 
 that obtained by them under any other circumstances 
 whatever. 
 
 One of the principal causes of grapes not ripening well 
 on the open wall in this country, is the . great depth of 
 mould in which the roots of vines are suffered to run, 
 which, enticing them to penetrate in search of food below 
 the influence of the sun's rays, supplies them with too 
 great a quantity of moisture ; vegetation is thereby carried 
 on till late in the summer, in consequence of which, the 
 ripening process does not commence till the declination of 
 the ,sun becomes too rapid to afford a sufficiency of solar 
 heat to perfect the fruit. 
 
 To prevent this, the sub-soil should be composed of dry 
 materials. It is almost impossible, indeed, to make a vine 
 border of materials that shall be too dry or porous. It is 
 not mere earth that the roots require to come in contact 
 with to induce growth and extension, but air also, which 
 is as necessary to them as to the leaves and branches. 
 The excrementitious matter discharged from the roots of a 
 vine is very great, and if this be given out in a soil that is 
 close and adhesive, and through which the action of the 
 solar rays is feeble, the air in the neighborhood of the roots 
 quickly becomes deleterious, and a languid and diseased 
 vegetation immediately follows. But if the roots grow in 
 a soil composed of dry materials, mixed together in such 
 a manner as to possess a series of cavities and interstices 
 into which the sun's rays can enter with freedom and 
 there exert their full power, the air in which the roots per- 
 form their functions becomes warmed and purified, they 
 absorb their food in a medium which dissipates their secre- 
 tions, and a healthy and vigorous vegetation is the never 
 failing consequence. 
 
 The roots of every plant have a particular temperature 
 in which they thrive best, and that which those of the
 
 ON SOIL. 45 
 
 vine delight in most, is generated in a greater degree in 
 stony or rocky soils than in any other. This is easily ac- 
 counted for, from the fact that soils of this description be- 
 ing quickly rendered dry by evaporation, are always free 
 from that excess of moisture which is so injurious to the 
 growth of the vine. ", 
 
 It may hence be inferred, that vines will not flourish in 
 a cold wet soil nor in one composed of a stiff heavy clay. 
 Grapes produced on vines planted in such soils scarcely 
 ever ripen well, and if so, never possess the flavor of those 
 grown on vines planted in a dry soil. Vines may be seen 
 in all parts of the country, the fruit on which looks well 
 during the early part of the season, but when the ripening 
 period arrives, the berries remain green and hard, or other- 
 wise they shriyel and decay. These results are sure to be 
 produced when the roots grow in a soil that is too wet and 
 adhesive, and into which the sun and air cannot freely 
 penetrate. 
 
 All borders, therefore, made expressly for the reception 
 of vines, ought to be composed of a sufficient quantity of 
 dry materials, such as stones ; brickbats, broken moderate- 
 ly small; lumps of old mortar; broken pottery ; oyster 
 shells, fyc. fyc., to enable the roots to extend themselves 
 freely in their search after food and nourishment; to keep 
 them dry and warm by the free admission of air and solar 
 heat ; and to admit of heavy rains passing quickly through, 
 without being retained sufficiently long to saturate the 
 roots, and thereby injure their tender extremities. 
 
 In preparing the border, then, the first thing is to secure. 
 a dry bottom. If the soil and sub-soil be naturally such 
 as is described above as the most congenial to the growth 
 of the vine, nothing more is required than to trench the 
 ground two spit deep, to clean it well from all weeds and 
 roots, and to make it as .fine as possible, and it will then be 
 in a proper state to receive the vines. 
 
 But if the sub-soil be not naturally dry, it must be 
 nade so by the usual process of draining, which is the ba-
 
 46 ON SOIL. 
 
 sis of every improvement that can be made in the soil. 
 The bottom of the drains ought, if possible, to be four 
 feet from the surface, and the drains a foot deep ; the clear 
 depth of the border will then be three feet. If the soil of 
 this be heavy and of a retentive nature, two thirds of it 
 ought to be taken entirely away, and the remaining por- 
 tion, which should be the top spit, made very fine. The 
 deficiency should be made good by adding an equal quan- 
 tity of dry materials of the abovementioned description, 
 and of the sweepings of a high-road, all of which must 
 be well mixed and incorporated together. If the natural 
 soil of the border be too sandy and light, the same process 
 may be followed, with the exception of the addition of 
 road-sweepings. In lieu of these, should be added a suf- 
 ficiency of fine mould, collected from mole-hills, which is 
 generally of a rich loamy nature ; or of fresh soil from 
 some neighboring meadow or common, which, if well pas- 
 tured, will prove very fertile ; but if neither of these can 
 be procured, the deficiency may be made good from the 
 top spit of a field of good arable land. 
 
 And of whatever nature the soil may be, in which it is 
 intended to plant vines, it ought' to contain at least one 
 third of dry materials of the abovementioned description. 
 
 With respect to the sweepings of roads, I am decidedly 
 of opinion that those obtained from a turnpike road, or 
 from any other high-road kept in a good state of repair by 
 the frequent addition of stones, and on which there is a 
 considerable traffic of horses or other cattle, is the very 
 best compost that can be added to any border intended for 
 the growth of vines. Its component parts, consisting 
 chiefly of sand, gravel, pulverized stones, and the residu- 
 um of dung and urine, afford a greater quantity of food, 
 and of a richer and more lasting nature than can be found 
 in any other description of compost that I have ever seen 
 or heard of being used for that purpose. I have on many 
 occasions opened the borders of vines to examine the direc- 
 tion of their roots, and to discover the particular species of
 
 ON SOIL. 47 
 
 soil which they preferred, and I have uniformly found that 
 when any portion of this compost had been introduced, 
 the fibrous extremities pf the roots had pushed themselves 
 into it, and multiplied there in a tenfold degree beyond 
 those in the adjacent soil.. I think, therefore, that, how- 
 ever rich the soil of a vine border may naturally be, a por- 
 tion of this compost may be added to it with the greatest 
 advantage. It should be scraped or swept off the road 
 when it is not so wet as to cake together, nor so dry as to 
 be bordering upon dust, but in a moderately dry state be- 
 twixt the two extremes. It ought to be mixed with the 
 other components of the border soon after it has been col- 
 lected from the road, as all its valuable qualities will then 
 be preserved entire. 
 
 In putting the materials of the border together, as many 
 whole bones as can possibly be procured should be inserted 
 with them, (in the manner hereafter mentioned in the 
 chapter on manure) arid if these cannot be obtained in suf- 
 ficient abundance, then such other substances as are there- 
 in recommended as manures, may be substituted. It is 
 desirable that the width of the border should not be less 
 than eight feet if local circumstances will permit, but if 
 not, one of less width must suffice. At a convenient dis- 
 tance from the bottom of the wall, a sufficient quantity of 
 stones or gravel, but not of a binding nature, should be 
 laid, to form a path to stand on, in order to perform with 
 cleanness and facility those necessary operations on the 
 vines which are almost daily required throughout the sum- 
 mer. 
 
 The border should be perfectly level, or, if a sloping 
 surface cannot be avoided, the descent must be from the 
 wall. No other plant or tree of any description should be 
 intermixed with the vines, or trained against the wall. If 
 other trees be trained on the surface of the wall amongst 
 the vines, the current year's shoots of the latter will be li- 
 able to be shaded and impeded in their growth and train- 
 ing, and be thereby deprived of the full advantages of the 
 heat of the wall.
 
 48 ON SOIL. 
 
 It will also prove very beneficial to the growth and fer- 
 tility of the vines and to the flavor of the fruit, if the bor- 
 der in which they are planted be never cropped nor digged. 
 The cropping of a vine border is of a highly injurious 
 tendency, for it not only impoverishes the soil, but shades 
 it from the influence of the sun and air, which is a consid- 
 eration of the very last importance. Solar heat, indeed, 
 is the only thing that this country is deficient in, as it re- 
 spects the culture of the vine, and there can be no doubt, 
 I think, that if we had but a trifling portion more of it, 
 the southern parts of England would produce grapes on 
 the open wall, equal in point of flavor to those grown in 
 the most auspicious climates. Great care, therefore, ought 
 to be taken, never to intercept or obstruct for a single hour, 
 during any part of the year, the full and direct operation 
 of the sun and air on the surface of a vine border. 
 
 It must also be stated, that after a vine has been planted 
 three or four years, its roots will begin to make their way 
 upwards towards the surface of the border, doubtless at- 
 tracted by the joint influence of the sun and air. And if 
 the border be not disturbed by cropping or digging, they 
 will come up close to the surface about the ninth or tenth 
 year. In this situation they receive an extraordinary in- 
 crease of solar heat, the very life and soul of all vegeta- 
 tion ; and being, moreover, near the surface, they can be 
 nourished by liquid manure, to any extent that may be 
 considered necessary. These surface roots ought, there- 
 fore, to be taken great care of, and encouraged by all pos- 
 sible means, as being amongst the most valuable of any 
 belonging to the vine, and as contributing in a high de- 
 gree to improve the flavor of the fruit, and to insure its ri^ 
 pening, even in the most unfavorable seasons. 
 
 The border, therefore, after it is once made, ought never 
 to be stirred but at intervals, when necessary to prevent 
 the surface of it from becoming a hard impervious coat. 
 On such occasions it should be carefully forked to the depth 
 of a couple of inches, which will keep it sufficiently loose
 
 ON SOIL. 49 
 
 and open to receive the full influence of the sun and air. 
 Whenever weeds appear, they should be hoed up or 
 plucked by the hand immediately. In fine, the border 
 should be kept sacred from the intrusion of any other 
 plant, tree, or vegetable production whatsoever, and be 
 solely devoted to the growth and nourishment of the roots 
 of the vines. 
 
 Here, before concluding these remarks upon soil, &c., it 
 is necessary to observe, 'that although the foregoing direc- 
 tions, with respect to the soil, preparation of borders, &c., 
 will, if followed, ensure the prosperous growth of vines, 
 and the annual production and maturation of fine crops of 
 grapes, and are therefore highly deserving of being practi- 
 cally adopted at all times when circumstances permit ; yet, 
 it must not therefore be supposed that vines will not grow 
 and mature fine fruit unless planted in well prepared bor- 
 ders. Quite the contrary is the fact; for vines will do 
 well in any unprepared soil that is not too stiff and that 
 has a dry bottom ; but they grow quicker and consequent- 
 ly bear greater crops of grapes within a given space of 
 time, when planted in a soil that has been properly pre- 
 pared for their reception. 
 
 For instance, if two cuttings be planted, the one in a 
 soil of the former description, and the other in one of the 
 latter, it will be found at the end of ten years, that the 
 stem of the vine growing in the soil that was unprepared 
 will not be more than half the size of that planted in the 
 other ; consequently, for every pound weight of fruit 
 which the smaller stemmed vine can mature, the other 
 will ripen very nearly three pounds. This difference oc- 
 curring annually, is sufficiently great to repay most amply 
 the trouble and expense incurred in making a suitable bor- 
 der, whenever local circumstances will permit of such an 
 operation being performed. Nevertheless, the disadvanta- 
 ges of a poor soil or an unprepared one may in some 
 measure be compensated, by planting the vines closer to- 
 gether, in which case, the surface of the wall will be much
 
 50 ON SOIT.,. 
 
 sooner covered with fruit than otherwise. If vines, in- 
 deed,, could not be planted with any prospect of success in 
 any other situations than in borders set apart for that pur- 
 pose, but a very small quantity of grapes would be grown, 
 compared with what the country is capable of producing. 
 Innumerable instances occur throughout the country, and 
 especially in towns and their suburban districts, in which 
 walls, cottages, houses, and various descriptions of brick 
 and stone erections, present very favorable aspects for the 
 training of vines, but which, nevertheless, are so situated 
 locally, as to possess little or no soil at all on the surface 
 adjoining their scites, the ground abutting them being 
 either paved with bricks or stone, or perhaps trodden so 
 hard as to be apparently incapable of yielding sustenance 
 to any vegetable production. 
 
 In all such cases, however, if the ground adjoining 
 the scite of the wall or building be opened to the ex- 
 tent of eighteen inches square, and as many deep, it will 
 be sufficient to admit the roots of a young vine which 
 must be pruned to suit that space. If a wider and deeper 
 space be made, it will of course be better, but if not, that 
 will do. After the sides and bottom have been loosened 
 as much as possible, the vine may be planted, and the hole 
 filled up with two-thirds of rich loamy earth, and one- 
 third of road scrapings, previously mixed well together; 
 and if necessary, the surface covering, whether of stone, 
 brick, or otherwise, may be restored again to its former 
 state, provided a space of about six inches square, be left 
 open for the stem to swell in during its future growth. 
 Vines planted in such situations will in general do well, 
 although their growth will not be so rapid as when planted 
 under more favorable circumstances. 
 
 In all cases where vines are planted against any descrip- 
 tion of buildings, their roots push as soon as possible under 
 the foundations, being attracted thither by the warm air 
 which is there generated ; and such situations being also 
 dry, from the excavations which have been made, offer to
 
 ON MANURE. 51 
 
 the roots the same protection from excessive moisture, as 
 the substratum of a well prepared border. The same may 
 be observed of vines planted against walls, the foundations 
 of which possess similar advantages, although in a more 
 limited degree. Hence the fact may be inferred, that 
 vines planted in such situations, without any previous pre- 
 paration of the soil, will frequently grow as luxuriantly 
 and produce as fine grapes, as those planted in rich and 
 well prepared borders. 
 
 Indeed it is hardly possible to plant a vine in any situa- 
 tion . in which it will not thrive, provided its roots can by 
 any means push themselves into a dry place, and the as- 
 pect be such as to afford to its branches a sufficient portion 
 of the sun's rays to elaborate the juices of the plant. The 
 truth is, that the roots of the vine possess an extraordinary 
 power of adapting themselves to any situation in which 
 they may be planted, provided it be a dry one. They 
 will ramble in every direction in search after food, and ex- 
 tract nourishment from sources apparently the most barren. 
 In short, they are the best caterers that can possibly be 
 imagined, for they will grow and even thrive luxuriantly 
 where almost every other description of plant or tree would 
 inevitably starve. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON MANURE. 
 
 EVERY substance that enriches the soil and stimulates 
 the growth of plants, may be called a manure. 
 
 As a border in which vines are to be planted ought nev- 
 er to be disturbed after having been once properly made, it 
 follows that those manures that can be applied with advan-
 
 52 ON MANURE. 
 
 tage to promote their growth, comprehend, first, such as 
 can be mixed and incorporated with the soil at the forma- 
 tion of the border, and which add to its fertility from tjme 
 to .time according to the respective periods of their decom- 
 position and amalgamation with it ; and secondly, such as 
 can be applied in a liquid state, or otherwise, as a top 
 dressing, at any subsequent period. 
 
 Of those manures, therefore, that may be mixed with 
 the soil when the border is first made, the best are such as 
 possess the two valuable qualities of affording to the roots 
 of -the vine the highest degree of nourishment combined 
 with the greatest permanency of duration. Of this de- 
 scription are bones, horns and hoofs of cattle, bone dust, 
 the entire carcases of animals, cuttings of leather, woolen 
 rags, feathers, and hair. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enter into a minute detail of the 
 various properties of these manures ; chemical analysis 
 having ascertained, and experience amply proved, that all 
 of them, as they gradually and respectively decompose, 
 offer to the roots of plants an abundant supply of food of 
 the most nourishing description. 
 
 Bones, however, on account of their prolonged effect, 
 are by far the most valuable manure that can be deposited 
 in a vine border. They should be buried in the soil whole 
 and as fresh as possible. Every variety of size may be 
 procured, from the smallest bone of a fowl, to the largest 
 bone of an ox. The small bones will decompose in a few 
 months, but the largest will remain for twenty, thirty,- and 
 even fifty years, before : they are entirely decayed, while 
 the intermediate-sized ones, according to their respective 
 kinds, will be continually decomposing in succession for a 
 great number of years, yielding thereby a constant supply 
 of nutriment of the most valuable description. It is wor- 
 thy of remark, also, that every bone, whether small or 
 large, after it has been deposited in the soil a few weeks, 
 will begin to yield, by the decomposition of the gluten on 
 its surface, a steady supply of nutritious matter, and con-
 
 ON MANURE. 53 
 
 tinne so to do until it be resolved into its constituent parts 
 and form, part of the soil itself. 
 
 Many results might be adduced, of experiments at va- 
 rious times, to ascertain the value of entire bones as ma- 
 nure to the roots of vines, all of which would prove that 
 they yield, beyond all comparison, a more permanent sup- 
 ply of nourishment, than can be obtained from any other 
 substance used as manure. The details of these would 
 occupy too great a space ; those of two, however, may 
 pei haps be advantageously mentioned. 
 
 In the year 1826, several vines were planted against a 
 wall having a south aspect, in a border the soil of which 
 is a stiff clayey loam. In the following year, a quantity 
 of bones, not more than a bushel, the largest of which 
 was the blade bone of a calf, was digged into the border 
 at a distance of five feet from the wall. They were depos- 
 ited all together as a horizontal layer of six inches in 
 depth, the upper surface being twelve inches and the bot- 
 tom eighteen, from the surface of the border. In the 
 spring of 1833 the border was opened, in order to ascer- 
 tain to what extent the roots of the vines were nourished 
 by these bones. On examination, it was found that the roots 
 had branched out in every possible direction amongst the 
 bones, the surfaces of which were completely covered with 
 their fibres. The blade bone happened to be in such a po- 
 sition that both sides of it could be distinctly seen, and 
 on examining them minutely, they appeared to have every 
 part of their surface covered with the smallest fibres imag- 
 inable ; so small, indeed, were some of them, that they 
 could scarcely be discerned by the naked eye. Their ex- 
 tremities were fixed on the surface of the bone as firmly 
 and in the same manner as a leach when applied for the 
 purpose of sucking blood ; and they were evidently ex- 
 tracting, by means of their mouths or pores, an abundant 
 -upply of nourishing food. From the different shades of 
 olor apparent in many of the larger parent fibres, and 
 jther indications of annual growth, it appeared that they
 
 54 ON MANURE. 
 
 had been enjoying the banquet which this bone afforded 
 for at least five years; and as it was but little decayed, it 
 seemed to promise them a continuation of the feast for ten 
 or -fifteen years to come. The whole appearance of the 
 bone was singular in the extreme, being completely envel- 
 oped in a mass of apparently beautiful gauze net-work. 
 
 The chief part of the roots which had multiplied so 
 prodigiously amongst these bones, was found to proceed 
 from a single root which had pushed itself horizontally 
 and in a direct line through the border till it reached the 
 bones, throwing out in its course but few fibres, the soil 
 being of an unfavorable nature to afford them much food. 
 The root proceeded from a black Hamburgh vine which 
 has for several years past produced some of the finest bear- 
 ing shoots I ever saw, from which I annually obtain bunch- 
 es of grapes weighing from one to two pounds, with ber- 
 ries measuring from two inches and a half to three inches 
 in circumference. 
 
 A similar examination of another border some years 
 since produced the like result. About seven years pre- 
 viously to my inspecting it, a few bones had been inserted 
 in the soil, one of which was the thigh bone of an ox. 
 After carefully removing the top spit of the border, into 
 which the fibres of the roots had pushed themselves pretty 
 thickly, I discovered this bone about a foot below the sur- 
 face, and four feet distant from the stem of a vine. The 
 hollow part of it, which had contained the marrow, was 
 open at both ends. On examining it, I found that a root 
 of the vine had traversed the surface of it in a direct line 
 from one end to the other, throwing out an immense num- 
 ber of small fibres which covered its entire convex sur- 
 face. On a closer inspection, and tracing the course of the 
 root, it appeared, that when it had reached the end of the 
 bone, instead of pushing straight forward into the soil, it 
 had turned down over the single thickness, entered the hol- 
 low part, and was returning through the inside of the bone 
 towards the same end at which it first came in contact
 
 ON MANURE. 55 
 
 with it. The bone was very thick, arid though it had been 
 in the ground seven years, it presented scarcely any signs 
 of decay. It was so completely enveloped in fibres, that 
 no further examination could take place without putting 
 the health of the vine in jeopardy. This vine is also a 
 black Hamburgh, and for many years past, it has annually 
 produced both fruit and current year's bearing shoots of the 
 very finest description, although the soil in which it grows 
 is far from being a rich one. The fact of the root cling- 
 ing to the bone and making a retrograde movement through 
 the hollow part of it, rather than push forward into the 
 soil, is conclusive as to its decided preference of the former 
 to the latter, and the surprising number of fibres, which, 
 in both of these instances,were absorbing nutriment through 
 the medium of their spongioles, or newly-formed extremi- 
 ties, clearly shews that whole bones deposited in the soil 
 in their fresh and entire state, furnish to the roots of vines 
 for a long period of time, an extraordinary supply of food 
 of the richest description. " 
 
 I have stated these circumstances in detail, because such 
 facts are worth all the theories in the world. 
 
 Horns and hoofs of Cattle, or the parings or shavings 
 of them, may be classed next to bones in point of value, 
 while their effects last, but their duration is not so long, 
 nor are they indeed to be procured in sufficient abundance 
 to be calculated upon for an adequate supply. 
 
 Bone dust is a very powerful manure, producing imme- 
 diate effect, and is lasting in its duration ; but the process 
 of boiling bones previously to their being crushed, deprives 
 them of their very best qualities. 
 
 The entire carcases of animals or any portions of tJiem, 
 dead birds, 6fc. $*c., independently of their bones, yield, 
 after decomposition, an extraordinary supply of food for 
 the roots of vines, impregnating the soil all around with a 
 great quantity of nutritious matter. Dead animals of ev- 
 ery description, such as dogs, cats, pigs, &c., that have 
 died, may be thus disposed of in a most advantageous
 
 56 ON MANURE. 
 
 manner, by depositing them in their entire state in the vine 
 border. 
 
 Cuttings of leather, old or new. old shoes, tyc., are a 
 very valuable manure, remaining in the ground many 
 years before entirely decomposed. The roots of vines are 
 very partial to this description of manure. I have exam- 
 ined the soles of old shoes that have been deposited in the 
 soil upwards of seven years, and have found their surfaces 
 covered with fibres, feeding eagerly upon them. 
 
 Woolen rags, feathers, and hair, may all be mentioned 
 as valuable manures, yielding during their decomposition, 
 a great supply of nutritious matter. 
 
 A vast number of other substances well known as ma- 
 nures might be enumerated, but though many of these 
 would be found to be very valuable with reference to their 
 immediate effect, their good qualities being of transient 
 duration, would be entirely dissipated before the roots of 
 the vines could derive any lasting benefit from them. 
 Moreover, powerful manures of short duration excite vines 
 to a sort of premature growth, and when the roots are be- 
 coming strong and vigorous, and capable of absorbing with 
 advantage a. greater quantity of nutriment, the manure is 
 exhausted, and the plants Immediately make a retrograde 
 movement, in consequence of having been unnaturally 
 excited by a gluttonous supply of stimulating food. 
 Steadiness of supply and permanency of duration, are the 
 two grand requisites of all manures intended to be depos- 
 ited in borders appropriated for the growth of vines ; and 
 those already enumerated have been found by experience 
 to possess these valuable qualities in a greater degree than 
 any other. - 
 
 As a point of culture of great importance to be attended to 
 in depositing manure in the soil, care must be taken not to 
 dig it in too deeply. The roots of vines should be induced 
 to extend themselves in a horizontal manner and as near 
 the surface of the border as possible. Solar heat is gen- 
 erally supposed to penetrate to the depth of three feet, but
 
 ON MANURE. 57 
 
 its effects at that distance from the surface cannot be very 
 strong, especially in soils that are of an adhesive nature. 
 The food, therefore, that is provided for the roots of vines 
 should lie imbedded in the soil in the form of a horizon- 
 tal stratum or layer, the top of which should be about six 
 inches, and the bottom not more than two feet, below the 
 surface. Manure so deposited, will cause the roots to 
 spread themselves out within such a distance of the surface 
 as will keep them warm and dry, and enable them to re- 
 ceive the cherishing influence of the sun and air. 
 
 Liquid manure. This is a species of manure that is 
 highly valuable where immediate effect is required. As 
 the pores which abound in the fibres of the roots of plants 
 are too small to admit of any solid substance passing into 
 them, and can only absorb nutriment when presented to 
 them either in a fluid or gaseous state, liquid manures act 
 with a far greater degree of energy than those of a solid 
 nature, inasmuch as they contain all the soluble parts of 
 manure in such a state as to admit of being taken up by 
 the roots as soon as applied. The most powerful are 
 urine, soot-water, blood, the drainings of dung heaps and 
 soap-suds. 
 
 Urine, on account of its saline qualities, is better calcu- 
 lated to promote the fertility of the vine, than any other 
 liquid whatever. It should be used as fresh as possible, 
 and if applied in the growing season, or betwixt the mid- 
 dle of March and the first of November, it should be mixed 
 with an equal quantity of water ; at any other period of 
 the year, it may be cast on the border in its natural state. 
 
 Soot, dissolved in water, in the proportion of one quart 
 of the former to twelve quarts of the latter, and mixed a 
 few days previously to its being used, is an exceedingly 
 strong manure, highly stimulating in its nature and a great 
 purifier of the soil. 
 
 Blood, the drainings of dung heaps, and soap-suds, 
 should be used as fresh as possible, in order that their good 
 qualities may be preserved entire. They arc all valuable
 
 58 ON MANURE. 
 
 manures, and calculated to enrich the soil in a very high 
 degree. 
 
 To the foregoing may be added every description of li- 
 quid refuse that proceeds from a dwelling-house or human 
 habitation. All such constitute a valuable class of ma- 
 nures and may therefore be applied to a vine border with 
 the greatest advantage. If any be too strong and spirit- 
 uous, an equal quantity of water should be mixed with 
 them, previously to their being used. 
 
 For the purpose of top dressing and to be forked into 
 the border when requisite, may be named as highly en- 
 riching manures, night soil, fish, stable manure, and the 
 excrements of every description of birds and animals. 
 Night soil is a very stimulating manure, but transient in 
 its effects, which renders it more fit for a top dressing than 
 to be used as a component part of the border when first 
 made. If spread on the surface in a thin layer, it will 
 soon dry, and may then be forked in, in a pulverized 
 state. 
 
 In concluding these remarks on manure, it is necessary 
 further to observe, with respect to the application of liquid 
 manures and top dressings, that care must be taken not to 
 make the surface of the border too rich. An excess of 
 manure deteriorates the flavor of the grapes, and is, more- 
 over, injurious to the fertility of a vine, inasmuch as it stim- 
 ulates the plant too highly, causing thereby an excessive 
 and unnatural growth of wood, which, being formed too 
 rapidly, becomes long jointed and productive of leaf-buds 
 instead of fruit-buds. Liquid manures and top dressings, 
 therefore, must be judiciously applied, lest a rank and bar- 
 ren vegetation be induced, in lieu of a healthy and fruitful 
 one. This cautionary remark is the more necessary, as 
 vines are well known to be amongst the grossest feeders in 
 nature : their roots absorbing with the appetite of a glut- 
 ton, every description of liquid refuse that is placed within 
 their reach, however fetid or nauseous it may be.
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 59 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 
 
 To .ripen any of the sorts of grapes cultivated in this 
 country sufficiently to be used as table fruit, requires the 
 shelter and reflected heat of a wall. 
 
 The proper height of a wall intended for the training of 
 vines upon, must depend in a great measure on local cir- 
 cumstances. In an unsheltered situation, and an aspect 
 exposed to the injurious influence of westerly or south- 
 westerly winds, I have never seen prime grapes produced 
 much higher than eight feet from the ground. But in sit- 
 uations and aspects of an opposite description, no limit to 
 the height of a wall need be assigned, for as fine grapes 
 may be matured at the distance of twenty feet from the 
 ground, as at any less height. Grapes, when growing at 
 a less distance than about four feet from the ground, cer- 
 tainly enjoy a considerable increase of reflected heat, par- 
 ticularly if the surface adjoining the wall be paved ; but, 
 on the other hand, to counterbalance this advantage, if the 
 aspect be east or west, the sun will shine longer on the 
 upper part of the wall than on the lower part, in conse- 
 quence of which, the surface of the wall will be found, in 
 general, pretty equally heated in all its parts. But if the 
 aspect be south, the solar rays during the summer will 
 strike the entire surface of the wall at the same instant of 
 time, unless there be some local impediment ; and in this 
 aspect, therefore, the lower part of the wall will enjoy an 
 increased degree of warmth from the reflection of the 
 ground. Hence, grapes growing within two or three feet 
 of the bottom of a wall facing the south, will in general 
 ripen from ten days to a fortnight earlier than those grow- 
 ing on the upper part of it. There is a disadvantage,
 
 60 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 
 
 however, in training grapes near the ground as it respects 
 their remaining on the vine after being ripe. If grapes 
 can be kept perfectly dry, they will hang on the vine and 
 improve in flavor for a long time after they are ripe ; but if 
 dampness or moisture of any description reach them, the 
 consequences are quickly seen in the decay of the berries. 
 After the middle of October, therefore, it will be found a 
 difficult matter to preserve grapes that hang within two 
 feet of the ground, on account of the damp exhalations 
 that continually arise from the soil at that period of the 
 year. 
 
 If walls be built for the express purpose of producing 
 grapes, the most judicious expenditure of the materials 
 will be in the erection of several low walls, not more than 
 six feet high, in preference to a small number of very high 
 walls. For the purpose of pruning and training, and the 
 general management of the vines, walls of this height are 
 far more convenient than those of a greater height ; and 
 if built to run directly north and south, the entire surface 
 of both sides of each wall will be available for the train- 
 ing of the vines ; and as such walls need not be built at a 
 great distance apart, an astonishing quantity of grapes may 
 be thus annually grown on a small extent of ground by 
 the erection of a few walls of this description, built paral- 
 lel to, and not far distant from each other. 
 
 The best materials for the construction of vine walls, 
 are without doubt bricks, as they present a more even sur- 
 face than can be obtained from walls built of any other de- 
 scription of materials ; and evenness of surface is a quality 
 that cannot be dispensed with. It is not only necessary for 
 the training of vines with precision, but if the surface of 
 the wall be not smooth and even, the grapes will be at 
 times considerably injured by being blown to and fro by 
 the wind against the rough and uneven parts of it. 
 
 Dark colored flint walls are hotter than brick, but this 
 advantage is more than counterbalanced by their uneven 
 surface. But if the faces of the flints be well hammer-
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 61 
 
 dressed, and the joints of the wall made to run in proper 
 courses, they make a handsome wall, and one that will ab- 
 sorb and retain heat in a greater degree than any other. 
 
 If from local causes, neither bricks nor flints can be pro- 
 cured, stone of any description may be substituted, but the 
 darker the color and the closer the texture, the more will it 
 absorb and retain heat and repel moisture; and conse- 
 quently the better will it be adapted for the end in view. 
 
 As a substitute for walls, stout ranges of paling made 
 of well seasoned wood, or of the planks of old ships, well 
 coated over with paint, are at times erected ; but grapes 
 produced in this way, are seldom equal to those grown on 
 walls. 
 
 For the foundation of a vine wall, stone is preferable to 
 bricks, the former being more solid and durable. And if 
 the wall be an outer one, and the soil on the outside of it 
 be of such a description as to render it necessary that the 
 roots of the vines should be prevented from getting into 
 it, the foundation ought to be deep, and cemented firmly 
 together, so as to make it as solid as possible. But if the 
 soil on each side of the wall be such as to make it advan- 
 tageous for the roots to run freely into it, no greater depth 
 need be gone to, nor should any more cement be used in 
 putting the materials together than is necessary to make 
 the foundation sufficiently strong and firm to support the 
 superstructure. The drier and looser, indeed, that the 
 materials can be laid together, and the greater number of 
 cavities and interstices that can be left in the foundation, 
 the better adapted will it be to admit the roots of the 
 vines, which delight to ramble amongst such materials in 
 preference to growing in even the richest soil. 
 
 Blackening the surface of a wall is productive of a con- 
 siderable increase of heat as long as the sun shines upon 
 it ; but during the night, and such part of the day as the 
 surface is in the shade, it will make the wall colder. This 
 arises from the black-colored surface parting with its heat 
 immediately the sun's rays are withdrawn. With respect,
 
 62 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 
 
 therefore, to walls facing the east or west, the surfaces of 
 which, even in the height of summer, do not receive the 
 solar rays more than one third of every twenty-four hours, 
 the coloring of them black will be injurious rather than 
 otherwise, inasmuch as the intensity of the cold increases 
 in proportion to the sun's absence. But when the aspect 
 is due south, or very nearly so, the surface of a wall may 
 be blackened with advantage, as the duration of the sun's 
 absence as compared with his presence, is more equally 
 balanced throughout the summer months, and the increase 
 of heat, therefore, is more than equivalent to that of the 
 cold ; the former, being, on a clear day and when the sun 
 is on the meridian, frequently from ten to twenty degrees 
 more than that of the surface of an unblackened wall. 
 
 Lime washing the surface of a vine wall every year 
 will be found very advantageous in keeping it clean, and 
 free from insects and the growth of moss. Newly built 
 walls may be exempted from this operation during the first 
 three or four years after their erection : but in every sub- 
 sequent year, it is almost indispensable. When the sur- 
 face of a wall is covered with the foliage of a vine, the 
 nails used in training the shoots are necessarily numerous : 
 and these being withdrawn at the autumnal pruning, their 
 holes are quickly taken possession of by various descrip- 
 tions of insects. If these be suffered to remain unmo- 
 lested, they will multiply amazingly during the next sum- 
 mer : and in the autumn, when the fruit is cut, the bunch- 
 es will be infested with them to an injurious and offensive 
 degree. The nail-holes may certainly be filled with mor- 
 tar ; but this is a tedious operation, and produces an un- 
 sightly appearance. I have never found anything so effec- 
 tual as a good coating of whitewash, made from new lime, 
 and of a thickish consistency. This, by filling up the 
 holes and other vacancies, effectually destroys all the ver- 
 min, prevents the growth of moss, and promotes not a little 
 the healthy vegetation of the vines. The face of the wall 
 will thus be renovated, and made to look as well as when
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 63 
 
 first built ; and its pure whiteness will add greatly to the 
 cheerful appearance of the garden. The proper time of 
 the year to perform this operation, is at the beginning of 
 March, just as the winter covering of the bud is about to 
 open : but if the season be forward, the last week in Feb- 
 ruary will do better. The vines should be unnailad, and 
 held at a little distance from the wall by one person, while 
 another washes its surface ; after which, the branches may 
 be trained and nailed for the season, or otherwise tempo- 
 rarily so, until that operation can be conveniently performed. 
 If the wash fall on any of the branches, it will not be of 
 the slightest consequence ; as, though a little unsightly at 
 first, it will quickly disappear at the rising of the sap. 
 
 Projecting copings fixed on vine walls, though attended 
 with many advantages, are not without some disadvanta- 
 ges. They are very beneficial in protecting the young 
 shoots of the vines from the effects of late frosts in the 
 spring, in preserving the blossoms from cold dews and 
 heavy rains, and in -'keeping the grapes in good condition 
 for a considerable period of time after they have become 
 ripe. They also contribute to prevent the escape of heat 
 from the wall, and are likewise extremely convenient to 
 fasten netting, bunting, &c., to, when necessary to protect 
 the fruit from birds and insects. On the other hand, they 
 exclude a portion of light and air, and prevent the dew, 
 and in some measure the rain also, from descending on the 
 foliage, and these are very beneficial after the fruit is set 
 and until it begins to ripen. Nevertheless, the advantages 
 of projecting copings decidedly preponderate. If there 
 were no other benefit arising from them, that of protecting 
 the fruit from heavy rains, and thereby keeping it dry and 
 in good condition for two or three months after it is ripe, 
 would be quite sufficient to turn the scale at once in their 
 favor. With respect to the width of the projecting part 
 when permanently fixed, that must depend on the aspect 
 and height of the wall. If the latter be less than lour 
 feet, and the aspect south, the coping ought not to project
 
 64 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS. 
 
 at all, as the light and solar heat excluded by it will be a 
 serious drawback on the healthy vegetation of the vines, 
 But if the wall be four feet high, then the coping may 
 project as many inches ; and if this width be increased an 
 inch every foot that the wall increases in height up to 
 twelve feet, the principal advantages arising from the pro- 
 tection which a coping affords, will be secured in conjunc- 
 tion with the smallest portion of its disadvantages. If the 
 wall, therefore, be twelve feet high, the coping will project 
 a foot more than which, no coping should project, what- 
 ever may be the height of the wall. If the aspect be east 
 or west, the coping must be as narrow as possible, as every 
 inch of projection in these aspects causes a considerable 
 diminution in the duration of sunshine on the surface of 
 the wall. If the height of the wall be less than six feet, 
 a projection had better be dispensed with : but if it reach 
 that height, one of four inches in width may be used ; and 
 this may be increased half an inch every foot the wall is 
 higher, until it reach the width of twelve inches, which 
 will give a height of twenty-two feet for the wall. It is 
 seldom that a mere wall reaches this height : but whatev- 
 er height a wall may be, if the width of the coping cor- 
 respond to these proportions, the advantages derived there- 
 from will be as great as can be obtained in these aspects, 
 without, in an injurious degree, excluding the solar rays. 
 It may be remarked, also, that a projection of less than 
 four inches in width on a vine wall, is calculated to do 
 more harm than good, as the drip will fall on the fruit, 
 which, in any stage of its growth, will greatly injure it. 
 
 Moveable wooden copings may be used with great ad- 
 vantage, as they produce all the benefit of fixed copings 
 without any of their disadvantages. Copings of this de- 
 scription may project a little more than the proportions 
 abovementioned, those being intended to apply to fixed co- 
 pings only. If temporary copings be used, the proper pe- 
 riods of the year for their application will be as follows : 
 First, from the twenty-first of March to the middle of
 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 65 
 
 May; to protect the young shoots from the injurious ef- 
 fects of late frosts and from descending cold; Sec- 
 ondly, from the first expanding of the blossoms until 
 the berries are well set ; and thirdly, from the period 
 of the berries becoming transparent and shewing symp- 
 toms of ripening, until the fruit be all cut from the vines. 
 During this last-mentioned period, the coping will prove of 
 the greatest advantage in keeping the fruit dry, for it may 
 be remarked, that as soon as grapes begin to make their 
 last swell, which is indicated by their becoming transpa- 
 rent, not a drop of rain should ever be suffered to fall upon 
 them, if it can possible be avoided. All the moisture 
 which they stand in need of, they will freely imbibe from 
 the atmosphere. 
 
 In concluding these observations on the construction of 
 walls, it must be further observed, that, in addition to the 
 surface of a vine wall being as smooth as possible, it ought 
 also to be a true perpendicular, and the wall itself to run in 
 a straight line. These qualities are necessary to ensure an 
 equal distribution of solar heat on its surface, and also an 
 exemption from the increased action of violent winds, 
 which is sure to be generated in some way or other, if the 
 wall be built otherwise than in a straight line. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 
 
 VINES are propagated in the open ground, by layers and 
 by cuttings. 
 
 By layers. This ,is the most expeditious method of 
 raising vines, provided the shoots be laid down in pots and 
 planted out the same summer. But vines raised from
 
 66 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 
 
 shoots laid down in the open ground, seldom ripen their 
 roo.ts well, and are therefore inferior to those raised from 
 cuttings. There is also another objection to this mode of 
 propagating vines. No shoots of a well established vine 
 can be laid down in a border without the roots growing 
 amongst those of the parent vine. When the proper sea- 
 son arrives for the removal of the young plant, the ground 
 requires to be digged to the depth of eighteen inches, in 
 order to take up its roots as entire as possible. Now, a 
 vine border cannot be digged to this depth, nor indeed any- 
 thing like it, without very greatly injuring the roots of the 
 parent vine. For this reason, therefore, and on account of 
 the roots of young plants so raised frequently dying off to 
 a considerable extent in the ensuing winter, through not 
 being sufficiently ripened, the raising of vines by layers 
 in the open ground, may be regarded as an inferior method 
 of propagation. 
 
 To raise vines by laying down the shoots in pots to be 
 planted out in the current summer, the following direc- 
 tions, if followed, will insure success. For each layer 
 procure a pot of the size of No. 24, and prepare some rich 
 mould, which must be sifted very fine. Put a large piece 
 of potsherd, or a good sized oyster shell over the hole at 
 the bottom ; fill the pot about two-thirds full with the 
 mould, and sink it three inches below the surface of the 
 soil. Then take the shoot, the four last buds of which 
 will be required to form the layer, and cut the fourth bud 
 cleanly and smoothly out, so that no shoot can afterwards 
 push from it. Bend the shoot carefully down in such a 
 manner that the second and third buds shall be at least 
 three inches below the surface of the mould when 
 filled in, and the first bud even with it, or rather just 
 peeping out of the mould. Secure the shoot firmly in this 
 position, so that its own force will not raise it up, then fill 
 the pot up with mould to within half an inch of the top, 
 which space must be left for the purpose of holding liquid 
 manure. If the mould settle down afterwards, and leave
 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 67 
 
 a greater space than this, more must be added to make 
 good the deficiency. Shoots may be thus laid down any 
 time from the fall of the leaf to the middle of March. 
 The latter period will be quite early enough, as no roots 
 will be made before the latter end of June or the begin- 
 ning of July. After the first of April the mould in the 
 pot must be constantly kept moist, for which purpose sup- 
 ply it as often as necessary with soap-suds or the drainings 
 of a dung-heap. The layer must be separated from the 
 parent vine sometime between the twentieth of August 
 and the first of September, and planted out immediately, 
 with the ball of earth entire, in the situation in which it 
 is intended to remain. Supply it plentifully with liquid 
 manure of the abovementioned description, throughout the 
 remainder of the season till the fall of the leaf. It is not 
 necessary to ring, twist, cut, or pierce the layer, before 
 bending it down in the pot : keeping the mould constantly 
 moist with liquid manure, will excite it to root very freely 
 without any such operation. If the foregoing directions 
 be followed, the roots will be four feet long before the 
 winter sets in. 
 
 It is necessary, however, to state distinctly, that the 
 success of the operation depends entirely on keeping the 
 mould in the pot continually moist, on separating the layer 
 from the parent vine at the time abovementioned, on im- 
 mediately planting it in the spot where it is to remain, 
 and in keeping it well supplied with liquid manure 
 throughout the remaining part of the season. If the 
 layer were suffered to maintain its union with the parent 
 vine throughout the autumn, the roots would nearly all 
 die away, in consequence of their not having attained to 
 a sufficient degree of maturity to support their own vital- 
 ity. If the terminal bud when it bursts should show 
 fruit, it must be pinched off immediately ; and as the 
 shoot advances in growth, it must as often as necessary, be 
 tied to a stake, or what will be much better, trained against 
 the wall. The tendrils should be cut off as soon as they
 
 68 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 
 
 are about four inches long, and the lateral or side shoots 
 kept pinched back to one eye. At the end of -the season, 
 as soon as the leaves are shed, the plant must be cut down 
 to the two lowermost buds. It may be remarked, that by 
 laying shoots in this manner, fine grapes may be grown in 
 pots, for the purpose of being cut from the parent vine 
 when the fruit is ripe, and produced at table as living plants 
 in full bearing. 
 
 By cuttings. This is the best method of propagating 
 vines in the open ground, when the plants are either to be 
 raised in the situation where they are finally to remain, or 
 tp be transplanted in the ensuing winter, or at any subse- 
 quent period. To provide cuttings to be planted at the 
 proper season, select at the autumnal pruning a sufficient 
 number of shoots of the preceding summer's growth. 
 Choose such as are well ripened, of a medium size, and 
 moderately short jointed. Cut them into convenient 
 lengths of six or eight buds each, leaving at the ends not 
 less than a couple of inches of the blank wood for the pro- 
 tection of the terminal buds. Stick these temporary cut- 
 tings about nine inches in the ground, in a warm and shel- 
 tered situation, where they will be effectually protected from 
 the severity of the winter. The best time to plant them 
 out is about the middle of March, but any time from the 
 first of that month to the tenth of April will do very well. 
 When this period arrives, if the young vines about to be 
 raised are afterwards to be transplanted, choose such a sit- 
 uation for the planting of the cuttings, as is well sheltered 
 from the wind, and not too much exposed to the sun. 
 More than six hours sunshine in any day will be injurious 
 rather than beneficial, and with respect to the wind, if the 
 cuttings be not protected from its injurious effects, they 
 will scarcely strike at all, even in the very best prepared 
 soil. A moderate portion of sunshine and effectual shelter 
 from the wind, are absolutely necessary to ensure the 
 growth of the cuttings. Previously to planting them, the 
 soil must be well prepared for their reception, by being
 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF VINES. 69 
 
 digged to the depth of eighteen inches, and the earth 
 made very fine. If it be in any degree stiff or heavy, take 
 two-thirds of it entirely away, and supply its place with 
 light rich mould or road-scrapings. For every cutting add 
 half a spit of .well rotted dung from an old cucumber bed, 
 and mix the whole well together, making it as fine as pos- 
 sible. This being done, prepare the cuttings in the fol- 
 lowing manner. Cut the shoots into lengths containing 
 two buds each, and let the uppermost buds have an inch 
 of the blank wood remaining beyond them. The extrem- 
 ities of these must be cut in a slanting manner, and the 
 slant sides be opposite to the buds. Take the other ends 
 of the cuttings that are to be inserted in the ground, and 
 cut them transversely just below the buds, and the cuttings 
 will be complete. The pruning knife should be very 
 sharp, so that the cuts at the ends maybe perfectly smooth. 
 The length of each cutting betwixt the two buds should 
 riot be less than four nor more than six inches, in order 
 that the bottom buds may be at such a distance from the 
 surface of the soil, as will best promote their vegetation. 
 
 The cuttings being thus prepared, must be planted im- 
 mediately, for which purpose make holes in the ground 
 (about a foot apart each way, if the plants when raised 
 are to be subsequently transplanted) with a stick about the 
 size of the cuttings, and insert the latter so that the up- 
 permost buds shall be just even with the surface of the 
 ground. Press the mould close around each cutting, in 
 order to prevent the sun and air drying up its juices. If 
 the mould should subsequently sink down, and leave the 
 buds above the surface, more must be added to keep them 
 even with it. After the first of May, care must be taken 
 to keep the soil round the cuttings constantly moist. For 
 this purpose supply each cutting as often as required, ac- 
 cording to the state of the weather, with about a pint of 
 soap-suds ; and continue so to do until it has formed a 
 communication with the soil, which will soon be rendered 
 apparent by the protrusion of a shoot, and its daily elonga-
 
 70 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 tion. When the bud bursts, the process of evaporation 
 commences, and if the moisture in the cutting be con- 
 sumed quicker than the latter can absorb it from the soil, 
 the young leaves turn yellow and die, and the vitality of 
 the cutting is destroyed. It is indispensable, therefore, 
 that the soil round each cutting should be constantly kept 
 moist, in order that the latter may absorb sufficient nour- 
 ishment to supply the bud with food, until, by the emis- 
 sion of roots it has established a communication with the 
 soil, and is thereby enabled to feed itself. As soon as the 
 cuttings have protruded shoots about three inches long, and 
 their leaves have a healthy appearance, watering may 
 cease for a time, but throughout the summer when the 
 weather is dry, the young plants should be assisted in their 
 growth by the moderate application of liquid manure. 
 Soap-suds are the best for this purpose, but dung-water 
 will do very well, provided it be not too powerful. The 
 surface of the soil round the cuttings should never be al- 
 lowed to cake or get hard, but should be kept open and 
 in a fresh and finely pulverized state, by being, as often as 
 necessary, forked lightly up. As the shoots advance in 
 growth, they must be constantly kept staked, or nailed to 
 the wall ; and their tendrils and lateral shoots managed 
 throughout the summer in the same manner as directed 
 with the layers. At the fall of the leaf cut every plant 
 down to the two lowermost buds. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 PRUNING and training are so closely connected together, 
 and so mutually dependant on each other, that they almost 
 constitute one operation. In pruning a vine, regard must
 
 ON THE PKUNING OF VINES. 71 
 
 be had to the manner in which it is afterwards to be 
 trained ; and in training it, the position of the branches 
 must in a great measure be regulated by the mode in 
 which it has previously been pruned. Nevertheless, the 
 two operations are sufficiently distinct to be treated of sep- 
 arately, although many observations that will be made, 
 will relate as much to the one as to the other. 
 
 The chief object in pruning a vine is to increase its fer- 
 tility ; which is effected by cutting out the superabundant 
 wood which it annually produces, and adjusting the num- 
 ber and length of the branches that are to remain, to the 
 capacity of the plant for the maturation of its next crop of 
 fruit, and for the production of future bearing wood. The 
 necessity for this operation will appear evident when it is 
 considered, first, that the shoots of a vine which bear 
 fruit one year, never bear any afterwards ; secondly, that 
 those parts of the shoots that grow in the latter part of 
 the summer are not sufficiently ripened to produce fruit ; 
 thirdly, that a great number of shoots, including those 
 that push from the basis of the buds, and which are thence 
 called lateral or side shoots, are too small and otherwise 
 unfit to produce fruit ; and fourthly, that a vine in vig- 
 orous growth and under judicious management will annu- 
 ally produce a much greater number of buds that would 
 bear fruit in the following year, if retained, than it can 
 possibly bring to perfection. To get rid, therefore, of all 
 this useless and superabundant wood, the operation of 
 pruning must be resorted to ; and as the excess is very 
 great, the pruning knife must be exercised in a corres- 
 pondingly severe manner, in order to restore the balance 
 betwixt the roots and the branches. From these consid- 
 erations it follows, that the judicious pruning of a vine, is 
 one of the most important points of culture throughout 
 the whole routine of its management. 
 
 There are three methods of pruning the vine, in prac- 
 tice amongst gardeners; namely: long pruning, spur prun- 
 ing, and the fan or fruit tree method. The first men-
 
 72 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 tioned is that which will herafter be shewn to be the most 
 eligible method of pruning the vine, which, with respect 
 to this point of culture, requires to be treated very differ- 
 ently to every other description of fruit tree cultivated in 
 this country. Many elaborate directions on this subject 
 have been given by writers on gardening : but these being 
 in general based upon no definite principle, cannot with 
 any degree of certainty be reduced to practice. The truth 
 is, that although the fertility of a vine depends in a great 
 measure on the manner in which it is pruned from time to 
 time ; and that, for various reasons, the operation may be 
 supposed by those who are unacquainted with the nature 
 of the plant, to be intricate, and to require a considerable 
 portion of skill, yet, the contrary is the fact: for, if the 
 principle on which it is to be performed, be carefully kept 
 in view, the whole art of pruning a vine lies in a nut shell. 
 
 In order to render this art as clear as possible, the rea- 
 sons on which it is founded require to be distinctly shewn. 
 For this purpose, it is necessary to make an important pre- 
 liminary remark namely: that the old wood of a vine, 
 or that which hag previously borne fruit, is not only of no 
 further use at any subsequent period, but is a positive in- 
 jury to the fertility of the plant. The truth of this remark 
 depends on the fact, that every branch of a vine that pro- 
 duces no foliage, appropriates for its own support a portion 
 of the juices of the plant that is generated by those branch- 
 es that do produce foliage. To prove this -fact, and to 
 make it as clear as possible, it will be necessary to describe 
 briefly, and in part, the process by which the life of a vine 
 is sustained and its parts annually nourished. 
 
 The first movement of the sap in the spring takes place 
 in the branches, and lastly in the roots. The buds, in 
 consequence of the increasing temperature of the air, first 
 swell and attract the sap in their vicinity. This fluid, 
 having lain dormant, or nearly so, throughout the preced- 
 ing winter, becomes gradually expanded by the influence 
 of the solar rays, and supplies the buds with nourishment
 
 ON THE PRUNING OP VINES. 73 
 
 from the parts immediately below them. The vessels 
 which yield this supply, becoming in consequence exhaust- 
 ed, are quickly filled by fluid from the parts below them, 
 and in this mariner the motion continues until it reaches 
 the roots, the grand reservoir of the sap; by which time, 
 the solar heat having penetrated the soil, the roots begin 
 to feel its enlivening influence. The whole body of sap 
 then begins to move upwards ; and as soon as the quantity 
 propelled is more than sufficient to distend all the vessels 
 in the stem and the branches, the buds begin to elongate 
 and unfold. This takes place in general about the ver- 
 nal equinox. From this time, the fluid becoming more 
 expanded every hour, its ascent is simultaneously increased 
 in force and velocity. The vessels in the branches being 
 filled to repletion, the buds quickly open, and shoots and 
 leaves rapidly protrude. The beginning of May arrives ; 
 and by that time, the sap being in full motion, all is life, 
 vigor, and activity, from one extremity of the vine to the 
 other. 
 
 The leaves attract the sap as soon as it reaches their vi- 
 cinity ; and by one of the most wonderful processes that 
 can be conceived, the result of exquisite organization, elab- 
 orate and prepare it, and render it fit for the nourishment 
 of all the parts of the plant. The sap, after being thus 
 prepared, is called the proper juice of the plant. It then 
 returns downwards betwixt the bark and the alburnum ; 
 and, in its descent, is distributed laterally to every part of 
 the plant, until it finally reaches the extremities of the 
 roots. During its descent, a considerable portion of it is 
 expended in the formation of a concentric layer of woody 
 substance betwixt the bark and the wood, on every branch 
 and also on the stem ; which layer becomes the new al- 
 burnum. 
 
 Now, it is of importance to remember that every branch 
 annually requires this new concentric layer ; that this lay- 
 er is formed from the proper juice prepared in the leaves j 
 and that the thickness or thinness of this layer depends on
 
 74 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 the proportion which the quantity of proper juice so pre- 
 pared bears to the number, length, and size of the branch- 
 es which it has, in its descent, to cover and feed. . 
 
 If, therefore, the foliage of a vine be strong and vig- 
 orous in its growth, and there be no naked branches be- 
 twixt the shoots which produce the foliage and the stem ; 
 then the proper juice, in its descent, will deposit on the 
 stem a thick layer, and will also descend into the roots in 
 great quantity. Bat if there be a great number of naked 
 branches which the proper juice in its descent has to clothe 
 and nourish ; then, having to spread itself over a much 
 greater surface, the new layer will be comparatively a thin 
 one, and the surplus left to enter the roots proportionately 
 lessened in quantity. And further, if the foliage be weak 
 which is invariably indicated by the shoots and leaves be- 
 ing small in size, and sickly in appearance, and the vine 
 contain many naked branches, then the quantity of proper 
 juice prepared in the leaves, will be so small in proportion 
 to the demands which in its descent will be made upon it, 
 that a new layer will with difficulty be formed at all, 
 while but a very small portion of the proper juice will be 
 left to descend into the roots. 
 
 Again : the formation of this concentric layer being 
 continued from the stem downwards on all the roots, the 
 latter become increased in their solid diameter, in direct 
 proportion to the quantity of the proper juice which they 
 thus receive. Whatever, therefore, contributes to dimin- 
 ish this quantity of proper juice, prevents, in a proportion- 
 ate degree, the growth of the roots ; while on the other 
 hand, whatever causes an increase of it, produces effects 
 precisely opposite. Further : there is no reason to believe 
 that the naked branches of a vine, especially such as are 
 more than two or three years old, are in any way instru- 
 mental in increasing the volume of sap in its ascent : the 
 processes of transpiration and absorption which they carry 
 on, being limited in their effects to the preservation of 
 their own vitality.
 
 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 75 
 
 From the foregoing observations, therefore, it appears 
 that every naked branch of a vine, or one that does not 
 directly produce foliage, diminishes the capacity of the 
 plant for the production of young bearing shoots, inasmuch 
 as it contributes nothing to the growth of the vine ; but, 
 on the contrary, requires to be fed annually with a certain 
 portion of the elaborated juice of the plant, which would 
 otherwise be expended in the enlargement of the diameter 
 of its stem, and thereby the increase of its capacity to ma- 
 ture fruit ; and in the extension and multiplication of its 
 roots. Naked branches, therefore, are consumers but not 
 producers ; or in other words, drones in the hive. If the 
 vine were cultivated for the sake of its wood, the case 
 would be different. The growth and extension of large 
 branches and the increase of their diameters, would then 
 be the legitimate object in view ; but when fruit only is 
 sought, and the operation of pruning resorted to in order 
 to obtain the largest quantity within the smallest possible 
 extent of a given surface of walling, it is obvious that no 
 description of wood should be suffered to remain in a 
 vine, but such as directly contributes in some way or oth- 
 er to the production of fruit. 
 
 It follows, therefore, that as the sole object in view in 
 pruning a vine, is to increase its fertility ; the best method 
 to accomplish this, must be that which leaves a sufficient 
 supply of bearing shoots on the least possible proportion- 
 ate quantity of old wood. 
 
 It will be necessary now to examine which of the three 
 methods of pruning, before mentioned, agrees best with 
 the principle here laid down. First, therefore, of 
 
 The fan method. Vines pruned according to this 
 method, have their branches trained in from their stems 
 in a similar manner to the spokes of a fan. To this 
 method, there are several objections ; the two principal of 
 which, are, first, the shoots in the vicinity of the stem 
 are too near each other to admit of either the wood or 
 fruit being properly matured ; and too far distant from
 
 76 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 each other at their extremities to allow of the fruit being 
 judiciously shaded and protected by the foliage of the 
 adjacent shoots. And secondly, a vine pruned to be trained 
 in this manner, must of necessity possess several branch- 
 es radiating as it were from a common centre. These 
 branches cannot conveniently be trained otherwise than in 
 straight lines, and betwixt a horizontal and a vertical posi- 
 tion, which is the most objectionable position that the fruit- 
 ing shoots of a vine can occupy, because the ascent of the 
 sap is thereby facilitated ; in consequence of which, all the 
 lowermost buds break very weakly, and some not at all, 
 while the sap flies with such force to the extremities, that 
 scarcely any good bearing shoots Can be made to grow 
 from the vicinity of the stem. This necessarily causes 
 the retention of old naked wood at the autumnal pruning, 
 and this annually increasing in distance from the stem, no 
 species of pruning will prevent it occupying, in a short 
 time, a disproportionate extent of the surface of the wall, 
 and causing all the fruit to be borne at the extremities of 
 the branches. Other objections might be urged, but the 
 foregoing sufficiently shew that without very disad- 
 vantageous results, vines cannot be pruned to be trained 
 in the fruit-tree method. 
 
 Spur pruning. This is the usual method adopted 
 throughout the country in the pruning of vines ; but 
 although almost universally practised, it is calculated in a 
 high degree to create a large scaffolding or superstructure 
 of old naked wood. A spur may be defined to be a shoot, 
 shortened so as to contain not more than four buds. If a 
 shoot contain jive buds, it cannot with propriety be called 
 a spur. Spur pruning, therefore, is the annual shortening 
 of the fruit-bearing shoots of a vine, so that each shall 
 contain not more than four buds. This being premised, it 
 will be necessary to point out in as distinct a manner as 
 possible, the disadvantages attending this method of 
 pruning a vine. 
 
 First, every shoot that is sufficiently large to bear fruit,
 
 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 77 
 
 emitted by an established vine, if it be trained at full 
 length throughout the summer, in the manner hereafter 
 mentioned in the chapter on training, will produce at least 
 twenty good well-ripened fruit buds, and each of these in 
 the following year will produce on an average two bunches 
 of grapes, so that a shoot of this description will bear 
 forty bunches. Now, if a shoot be shortened to three 
 buds, which is the number that spurs, on ah average, 
 usually contain, two of these will be almost useless, being 
 but imperfectly formed, and therefore seldom producing 
 fruit. Only the uppermost bud can be depended upon to 
 shew fruit ; and consequently, in order to ensure the pro- 
 duction of as many bunches of fruit as the single shoot 
 will bear, not less than twenty spurs must be provided. 
 This is the parent of many evils. First, these spurs, if 
 joined together, would be nearly three times the length of 
 the single shoot ; the surface of the wall, therefore, which 
 they occupy, will yield only one third of the quantity of 
 fruit produced from that ' on which the single shoot is 
 trained. Secondly, the latter can be nailed to the wall 
 with Jive nails, whereas the twenty spurs will require 
 twenty nails, and as many holes will be made in the joints 
 of the wall by driving them in. This evil is not a light 
 one. Moreover, a fourfold degree of trouble and time will 
 be required to nail and unnail these spurs, beyond that 
 necessary for the single shoot. Thirdly, the fruit pro- 
 duced from the latter will be far superior, both in size and 
 flavor, to that borne by the spurs, for this reason, the 
 best grapes are uniformly produced from the fullest sized 
 and best ripened buds, and these are generated on the 
 shoots from the beginning of May to the middle of July, 
 and in moderately vigorous vines, range in order on each 
 shoot from the fourth bud, to about the twentieth ; but if 
 a vine be well established and very vigorous in its growth, 
 it will, under a judicious system of pruning, produce on a 
 single shoot, from twenty-five to thirty buds, within that
 
 78 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 space of time. If a shoot be spurred, therefore, to three 
 buds, it will contain none, and if to /owr, only one of 
 these well ripened buds, all the rest will have been cut off 
 in the pruning, or, what is tantamount to it, the shoots 
 will have been pinched back in the early part of the sum- 
 mer, just as the vine was entering its most vigorous state 
 of vegetation, and about to generate the very best descrip- 
 tion of fruit buds. 
 
 Secondly, the cutting down of the single shoot in au- 
 tumn to one or two buds, in order that it may produce in 
 the next summer a strong and vigorous shoot to be reserved 
 as a fruit bearer, occasions to the vine only one wound, 
 but the pruning of the three shoots that have pushed from 
 each of the spurs will occasion sixty wounds. This is 
 another most serious evil, for though a vine from its in- 
 herent nature commands an immense volume of sap, and 
 can therefore easily overcome a wound here and there 
 inflicted by the pruning knife, it does not follow that it 
 can overcome these wounds when they are multiplied by 
 scores, and even by hundreds, without making such extra- 
 ordinary efforts as would materially compromise its vital 
 energies. The fact is, that the immense number of 
 wounds caused by spur pruning are highly injurious to 
 the health of a vine. 
 
 If any doubt be entertained on this point, let a shoot 
 that has been spurred five or six years successively, be 
 taken and slit open lengthways, and it will be seen dis- 
 tinctly, that the union which has annually taken place 
 betwixt the older and younger wood, has not been effected 
 without a considerable effort on the part of the vine. At 
 the points of union, the sap vessels will be all crippled, 
 and in some instances the wood will be found to have 
 died back nearly to the centre of the shoot ; and the sap 
 being intercepted at so many points in its ascent, flows 
 through the parent limb to the extreme horizontal shoots, 
 thereby generating the most vigorous bearing wood at a 
 great distance from the stem of the vine. The proper
 
 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 79 
 
 juice of the plant is also in its descent, very uselessly ex- 
 pended in vainly endeavoring to cover with a new al- 
 burnum these numerous scars made by the pruning knife, 
 around the edges of which it accumulates in considerable 
 quantity. 
 
 Moreover, although by pruning a vine its fertility is in- 
 creased, its existence is no doubt thereby shortened. The 
 severing of a healthy branch from any tree is without 
 doubt doing an act of violence to it, the effects of which 
 are only overcome by the superior strength of the vegeta- 
 tive powers of its roots. By annually making many 
 scores of amputations in a vine, therefore, the energies of 
 the roots become paralyzed, and the efforts which nature 
 is compelled to make for self-preservation are such as to 
 affect to a considerable extent the vital powers of the 
 plant. 
 
 Thirdly, by adopting the spur system in the pruning of 
 a vine, the old branches must be retained, because it is on 
 these that the spurs are formed. These branches being 
 annually lengthened, and new spurs created at their ex- 
 tremities, while the former spurs become longer and more 
 naked every year, the vine in a few years contains an im- 
 mense assemblage of old naked limbs, presenting the most 
 unsightly appearance imaginable, and occupying the sur- 
 face of the wall to the entire exclusion of young bearing 
 shoots. The disadvantages of retaining old wood having 
 been already pointed out, it is only necessary further to 
 observe, that these disadvantages are produced to the 
 greatest possible extent by spur pruning. 
 
 For the foregoing reasons, therefore, this method may 
 be considered the most objectionable that can be adopted 
 in the pruning of vines on open walls. It may, perhaps, 
 be practised with success on vines under glass, and also in 
 warmer climates, because, in such cases the sap being far 
 more highly elaborated, will produce fruit from the buds 
 seated at the base of the spurs. Such spurs, therefore, 
 need not be more than from half an inch to an inch in
 
 80 ON THE PRUNING OF VINES. 
 
 length, and they may with ease be retained for several 
 successive years without becoming much longer. The 
 results of spur pruning under such circumstances, are very 
 different from those which follow that method when prac- 
 tised on vines trained on the open wall in this country. 
 
 Long pruning. This method consists in obtaining all 
 the fruit of a vine from a few shoots, trained at full length, 
 instead of from a great number of spurs or short shoots. 
 To provide these shoots, the former bearers are cut down 
 to very short spurs at the autumnal pruning, and at the 
 same time a sufficient number of shoots are left at whole 
 length to produce fruit in the following year ; at the suc- 
 ceeding autumn these latter are cut down to very short 
 spurs, and the long shoots that have pushed from the spurs 
 .are trained at whole length as before, and so on annually 
 in alternate succession. This method recommends itself 
 by its simplicity ; by the old wood of the vine being an- 
 nually got rid of; by the small number of wounds inflicted 
 in the pruning ; by the clear and handsome appearance of 
 the vine ; and by the great ease with which it is managed, 
 in consequence of its occupying but a small portion of the 
 surface of the wall. These characteristics of long prun- 
 ing are sufficient to make that method superior to every 
 other. As the details of it are given more fully in the two 
 following chapters, it is not necessary to describe it further 
 here. Before entering on the subject of trainings, a few 
 general rules may be advantageously laid down for the 
 guidance of the pruner. 
 
 1st. In pruning, always cut upwards and in a sloping di- 
 rection. 
 
 2d. Always leave an inch of blank wood beyond a ter- 
 minal bud, and let the cut be on the opposite side of the 
 bud. 
 
 3d. Prune so as to leave as few wounds as possible, and 
 let the surface of every cut be perfectly smooth. 
 
 4th. In cutting out an old branch, prune it even with 
 the parent limb, that the wound may quickly heal.
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 81 
 
 5th. Prune so as to obtain the quantity of fruit desired, 
 on the smallest number of shoots possible. 
 
 6th. Never prune in frosty weather, nor when a frost is 
 expected. 
 
 7th. Never prune in the months of March, April, or 
 May. Pruning in either of these months causes bleeding, 
 and occasions thereby a wasteful and an injurious expendi- 
 ture of sap. 
 
 8th. Let the general autumnal pruning take place as 
 soon after the first of October as the gathering of the fruit 
 will permit. 
 
 Lastly, use a pruning-knife of the best description, and 
 let it be, if possible, as sharp as a razor. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 
 
 To train a vine on the surface of a wall, is to regulate 
 the position of its branches, the principal objects of which 
 are, to protect them from the influence of the wind ; to 
 bring them into close contact with the wall for the pur- 
 pose of receiving the benefit of its warmth ; to spread 
 them at proper distances from each other, that the foliage 
 and fruit may receive the full effect of the sun's rays; and 
 to retard the motion of the sap for the purpose of induc- 
 ing the formation of fruit buds. 
 
 The flow of sap, it must be remembered, is always 
 strongest in a vertical direction, and weakest in a down- 
 ward one ; thus, if a shoot be trained in the direction of a, 
 fig. 1, the sap will ascend with the greatest degree of force
 
 82 
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 
 
 Fig- 1. 
 
 with which the strength of the roots can propel it ; if it 
 be trained in the direction of b, c, or d, that force will be 
 gradually diminished as the shoot approaches the horizon- 
 tal position of d; nevertheless, the difference in the flow 
 of the sap betwixt the shoot at a, and that at d, will not 
 be very great. Immediately, however, the horizontal line 
 d is passed, and the shoot depressed below it in the direc- 
 tion of e, the sap receives a considerable check, and the 
 shoots that push from it are proportionately weak. If 
 trained in the direction of /, they will be weaker still, and 
 if directly downwards, as at g, the supply of sap will be 
 barely sufficient to mature the fruit. And further, if the 
 shoot, instead of being trained in a straight line, be bent 
 in a crooked or serpentine manner, the flow of the sap 
 will be additionally retarded. Thus, if it be trained in a 
 serpentine manner resembling the line h fig. 2, the sap 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 will flow slower than if trained in a straight line ; if like 
 the lines i,'k, I, successively slower, the degree of slow- 
 ness increasing in proportion to the number of bends or
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 
 
 83 
 
 curves which the shoot is made to assume. If, therefore, 
 the shoot g, fig. 1, be closely serpentined in the manner 
 of the line /, fig. 2, the sap will be so retarded that many 
 of the buds will not burst at all. 
 
 Now, to apply to a practical purpose, this principle of 
 retarding the ascent of the sap, by depressing or serpen- 
 tining the shoots of a vine, it will be convenient to treat 
 of it in reference to winter training and summer training. 
 
 Winter training. When the shoots are nailed to the 
 wall in the early part of the year, those which are trained 
 at full length as fruit bearers, are, in all cases, to be cut 
 down to the lowermost bud or two at the next autumnal 
 pruning. With respect, therefore, to all such shoots, no 
 greater supply of sap should be permitted to flow into 
 them than is necessary to mature their fruit, as all above 
 that quantity will be so much nourishment uselessly ex- 
 pended, and taken indeed from the young shoots that are 
 to be produced in the current year for future bearers. For 
 example, if the shoots 1, 2, 3, 4, fig. 3, were trained in 
 
 Fig, 3, 
 -.9 
 
 straight lines, the sap would ascend with such force that 
 many of the lowermost buds would scarcely break at all,
 
 84 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 
 
 the sap passing by them, and accumulating in those at the 
 upper part of the shoots, which would burst with great 
 force and form very strong shoots ; these would rob all the 
 fruit on those below of its due share of nourishment, and 
 also the shoots emitted from the spurs D ; which, to form 
 good bearing wood, require as great a supply as the fruiting 
 shoots. It is true, that by pinching off the extremities of 
 these latter ones in the spring an eye or two above the 
 last bunch of fruit, the sap will be partially kept back, but 
 the ascending current having set in very strongly, it can- 
 not be diverted into the other channels in which it is re- 
 quired, except in a comparatively trifling degree. But if, 
 as represented in the above figure, the shoots be trained in 
 a serpentine manner in the early part of the year, before 
 the sap is in motion, it will, in its ascent, be thereby made 
 to flow more equally into all the fruiting shoots that push 
 from them, arid also into those which will be emitted from 
 the spurs D, for future bearers. And by bending the bot- 
 tom part of the shoots pretty circularly at a, the buds will 
 there burst strongly, and thus a good supply of bearing 
 wood will be obtained close to the arms Z Z, which is of 
 primary importance ; for, if by injudicious pruning or 
 training, or both combined, the sap have an opportunity of 
 exerting its full force at a distance from the arms, it is 
 sure to embrace it, and the consequence is, that blank 
 wood begins immediately to be formed in all directions 
 near the stem, and when that is the case, no method of 
 pruning will ever again procure a supply of bearing wood 
 at home, short of cutting the vine down to a perfect stump. 
 In training the shoots 1, 2, 3, 4, the spaces between them 
 must be regulated by the number of shoots intended to 
 be trained up from the spurs D. Each of these latter will 
 require five inches of clear space on each side of it, and 
 the former nine, for the fruiting shoots, (as represented by 
 the dotted lines e f g h at the shoot 1.) These shoots, 
 producing on an average two bunches each, are to be top- 
 ped one joint beyond the last bunch, as directed in the 
 Calendarial Register.
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 85 
 
 For the foregoing reasons, therefore, the method of ser- 
 pentine training may be considered preferable to every 
 other, being calculated in a greater degree to check 
 the too rapid ascent of the sap, and to make it flow more 
 equally into the. fruiting shoots and those intended for 
 future bearers. On walls that are much less than five 
 feet high, a portion of the shoots must be trained horizon- 
 tally. Let fig. 4 represent a wall four feet high, and let 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 the face of it be divided into equal parallel portions of 
 twelve inches in height by the horizontal lines 1, 2, 3, 4; 
 then, on each side of the stem, from the arms A, A, may 
 be trained two fruiting shoots at 2 and 4, and the same 
 number of current year's shoots at the dotted lines above 
 1 and 3. And in like manner, half that number of shoots 
 may be easily trained on a wall two feet high. The 
 pruning in these cases will be precisely the same as if the 
 shoots were trained vertically, as in fig. 3. In a similar 
 manner, also, a series of vines may be trained on a high 
 wall, allowing to each a certain parallel space in a horizon- 
 tal direction, and running the stems to such heights as the 
 arms of each vine are to be trained. And when the height 
 of a wall exceeds eight or nine feet, this method may be 
 adopted with great advantage ; for, by planting the vines 
 sufficiently close to each other, the surface of the wall 
 may in a very few years be completely covered with 
 fruit and bearing wood. 
 
 It must be remarked, in reference to the winter training 
 of the shdots, that when they are trained in a horizontal 
 manner, there is not that necessity for serpentining them
 
 86 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 
 
 as when they are trained vertically ; unless the vegetation 
 of the vine be so extremely vigorous, as to generate wild 
 or long-jointed wood. It may also be further mentioned, 
 that every shoot trained in a serpentine manner, ought to 
 be wholly cut down at the next autumnal pruning after it 
 has borne fruit, as the further retention of it would produce 
 great confusion in the future training of the shoots. 
 
 Summer training. In order tharthe principles on 
 which this important point of culture is based, should be 
 clearly understood, it will be necessary to point out as 
 distinctly as possible, the circumstances under which bear- 
 ing wood is produced. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, that the fruit of the vine is 
 produced on shoots of the preceding year's growth, or, in 
 other words, the grapes that are grown in the present year 
 1834, are produced from shoots grown in 1833. Now, 
 during the growth of a current year's shoot, all the buds, 
 which it develops previously to the month of August, will 
 be fruit buds, provided, first, that the size of the shoot 
 be large enough for its vessels to convey a sufficient quan- 
 tity of the juices of the plant to generate and nourish 
 bunches of fruit in embryo ; and secondly, that the 
 shoot be duly exposed to light, and to the full operation of 
 the sun's rays, on the surface of a wall, having any aspect, 
 south of and including the eastern and western points of 
 the horizon, by which these juices will be elaborated, and 
 the process of the formation of fruit buds thereby com- 
 pleted. If, therefore, the shoot itself be not sufficiently 
 large to develop fruit buds, or if, being so, it be shaded 
 from the sun's rays during the first protrusion and early 
 formation of them, then, in the following year, shoots only 
 will be produced, but no fruit. But, on the contrary, if 
 the shoot, being of a proper fruit-bearing size, be constant- 
 ly trained on the surface of a wall having any of the as- 
 pects beforementioned, and a clear space of five inches be 
 left on each side of it, by which no adjacent foliage will 
 shade it ; then, under these circumstances, every bud (ex-
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 87 
 
 cept the two first) produced previously to the month already 
 named, will be a fruit bud, and will shew accordingly, 
 when it unfolds in the following year, one or more bunches 
 of grapes. 
 
 The cause of the production of fruit buds in the latter 
 instance, and of their non-production in the former, may be 
 thus further explained. As the shoot is progressively 
 developed, if it be shaded by any adjacent foliage, the sap 
 of the shaded part remains in its original thin and watery 
 state, being excluded from the sun's rays, which are neces- 
 sary to warm and elaborate it, and thereby prepare it for 
 the development of bunches of fruit in embryo. The sap 
 being thus thin and watery for want of due exposure to 
 the sun, pushes on, with amazing quickness, the shoot 
 elongating itself on the surface of the wall much more 
 rapidly than it otherwise would do, thereby forming long 
 jointed wood, not one bud of which will be sufficiently 
 matured to produce fruit ; the principle of growth having 
 been in full operation, but that of maturation having 
 remained dormant. But if the shoot be trained on the 
 wall, and exposed to the full power of the solar rays in 
 the manner already mentioned, the sap, by being warmed, 
 becomes thickened, or, as it is termed, inspissated, in which 
 state it accumulates at the joints of the shoot, and expends 
 itself in the formation of fruit buds. In this case the 
 principles of growth and of maturation, will have been in 
 active co-operation. 
 
 I have had good grapes produced from buds, formed as 
 late as the beginning of September in a favorable season, 
 and also from shoots trained within three inches of each 
 other, as well as on aspects considerably north of the 
 eastern and western points of the horizon ; but as there is 
 some degree of uncertainty attached in these cases, they 
 are rejected in the rule, lest the practical operation of it 
 might in some instances be productive of disappointment, 
 
 I know of no exception to this rule for procuring the 
 development and formation of fruit buds, except in the case
 
 88 ON THE TRAINING OF VJNES. 
 
 of a vine having been overcropped, or in that of an ex- 
 ceedingly vigorous growth of the shoots, the result of the 
 soil being too highly manured. But the former can never 
 happen, if the quantity of fruit borne by the vine be pro- 
 portioned to its capacity of maturation, agreeably to the 
 scale given in the former part of this work ; and the latter 
 can be easily remedied by training the shoots in a curved 
 direction. Indeed, the principle of retarding the flow of 
 the sap, by curving or depressing the shoots, may be ap- 
 plied with as much advantage to the training of the sum- 
 mer shoots of a vine, as to that of the shoots grown in 
 the preceding year. For, although, by training the sum- 
 mer shoots in the manner beforementioned, all the buds 
 developed will be fruit buds, and the number and size of 
 their bunches, be, in a great measure, regulated by the 
 duration and intensity of the solar rays they enjoyed 
 during their formation ; yet the number, and more espe- 
 cially the size of the bunches of fruit produced from a 
 bud, can, without doubt, be further increased by the appli- 
 cation of this principle. If a summer shoot, therefore, 
 every time it is nailed throughout the season, be bent or 
 pointed in a different direction to that in which it grew at 
 the preceding nailing, the vigor of its growth will be 
 checked, and the sap will immediately accumulate, and 
 expend itself in forming round short jointed wood, and in 
 the development of the finest description of fruit buds. 
 This is the key to the production of large bunches of fruit, 
 which are not the necessary consequence of very large 
 sized bearing shoots, but rather of sap that has been accu- 
 mulated, and highly elaborated by slowness of growth, in 
 combination with full exposure to the sun's rays. 
 
 Sufficient has now been said, to shew the principles by 
 which the training of the summer shoots of a vine that 
 are reserved as future bearers, must be regulated through- 
 out the season. They are simple, and of easy practical 
 application ; and it is evident, that by conforming to them, 
 abundant crops of grapes are always at the command of 
 the cultivator.
 
 ON THE TRAINING OF VINES. 89 
 
 Ample details of the routine of summer training being 
 given in the Calendarial Register, it only remains, in 
 closing this chapter, to say a few words in reference to 
 the nailing of the shoots to the wall. Linen or cotton 
 shreds are the best that can be used for this purpose ; 
 woollen ones being too thick, and also too retentive of 
 moisture. But if woollen shreds be used, those cut from 
 old cloth are better than those from new, as the latter 
 abound with oil, and are therefore pernicious, especially to 
 the summer shoots. 
 
 Strength, thinness, and openness of texture, are quali- 
 ties necessary to form a good shred, and these will be 
 found combined in a much greater degree in linen or 
 cotton fabrics, than in those made of wool. The shreds 
 should be from three quarters of an inch, to an inch and a 
 half in breadth, according to the size of the shoot to be 
 nailed ; and they should be cut sufficiently long to admit 
 of space enough being left for the shoots freely to swell 
 in, after they are encircled by the shreds. It must not be 
 forgotten, that the covering of portions of the branches 
 with shreds, and thereby preventing them from receiving 
 the benefit of the sun and air, is, to a certain extent, a 
 direct injury to the vegetation of the vine, and is only 
 resorted to because there are no other means by which 
 the branches can be confined in their position on the wall 
 so as to receive the benefit of its warmth by close contact. 
 Bearing this in mind, therefore, care should by taken 
 never to use more shreds, nor any of a greater breadth, 
 than are necessary to secure the branches in a firm and 
 effectual manner.
 
 90 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF A VINE DURING THE FIRST FIVE 
 YEARS OF ITS GROWTH. 
 
 As the routine of practice hereafter given in the Calen- 
 darial Register applies more particularly to vines that are 
 well established, and in full bearing, it is necessary that 
 some practical directions should be given for the manage- 
 ment of young vines, until they arrive at such a state of 
 growth as to admit of their being subjected to a regular 
 course of pruning and training. Previously, however, to 
 doing this, some observations relative to the transplanting 
 of vines may perhaps not be unacceptable. 
 
 The best time of the year to transplant a vine, is imme- 
 diately after the fall of the leaf ; the longer its removal is 
 postponed after this period, the later in the ensuing spring 
 does it begin to vegetate. The ground in which it is to 
 be planted, must be prepared agreeably to the direction 
 given in the chapter on soil. This being done, dig a hole 
 for the reception of the vine, about two feet deep, and of 
 the same width and length ; and if, after the plant is taken 
 up, its roots should prove too long for this, the size of the 
 hole must be increased, as on no account must the roots be 
 crippled in their extension. Loosen the sides and bottom 
 of the hole, and to the soil that is taken out, add a couple 
 of spits of well rotted dung, and mix the whole well 
 together, making it very fine. Put the mould into the 
 hole again to within nine inches of the top, and it will be 
 ready to receive the vine. This must be now carefully 
 taken up, with its roots as entire as possible, and if any of 
 them be bruised or in any way injured, they must be 
 pruned back to the sound parts ; fix the vine in the hole 
 with its stem about three inches from the wall, and let the 
 bottom bud be just even with the surface of the ground.
 
 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 91 
 
 Spread the roots out in a horizontal direction at equal 
 distances from each other, and in a similar manner to the 
 spokes of a fan, and then fill the hole with the mould 
 nearly to the top. Take hold of the stem, and, drawing 
 it upwards a little, give it two or three good shakes with 
 the hand, that the mould may settle well round the roots ; 
 after which, fill up the hole with the remainder of the 
 mould, cut the vine down to the two bottom buds, and 
 the operation will be completed. 
 
 If the vine have been raised in a pot, the roots will 
 most probably be matted together, in which case they must 
 be freed from the mould by having it shaken entirely off ; 
 and if any of them should have grown in an adverse direc- 
 tion, so as to cross each other, or in any way that is likely 
 to interfere with their future growth, which is frequently 
 the case with the roots of vines raised in pots, all such 
 must be cut completely out close to the part whence they 
 have sprung. Also, such of the roots as are very taper 
 and long, and that appear to have been over excited in 
 their growth, prune back to within a foot of the stem, or 
 to such parts as appear to be sufficiently strong and healthy 
 to generate new fibres. Transplanting should always be 
 done in dry and still weather, and when the soil works 
 freely. During the removal of a vine, the roots must be 
 carefully kept from exposure to the atmosphere, the influ- 
 ence of which would dry up their tender extremities and 
 cause them to perish. The better way is, never to take 
 up a young vine about to be transplanted until its new 
 residence be prepared to receive it, and then let its removal 
 be effected as quickly as possible. 
 
 Assuming now that the vine thus transplanted is a young 
 one, it may be considered equal in its growth to one raised 
 from a layer or cutting in the preceding summer ; and as 
 ample directions have already been given for the manage- 
 ment of a vine during its first summer's growth, its future 
 culture will be here taken up at the autumn of the first 
 year, and after it has been cut down to the two lowermost
 
 92 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 
 
 buds, as directed in the chapter on the propagation, of 
 vines. 
 
 First year. December 1. As long as the weather re- 
 mains open, the soil round the roots should not be covered 
 over, but as soon as frost comes, a good covering of litter 
 or of well rotted stable manure must be laid over the 
 ground as far as the roots extend, and if the weather be 
 very severe, it will be better also to cover over the stem 
 to the depth of five or six inches above the top of it. The 
 young plant being thus well protected from the severity 
 of the winter, may remain in this state till the first of 
 March. 
 
 Second year. March 1. Remove the covering and 
 fork up the surface of the ground to the depth of two 
 or three inches, that the sun and air may freely pene- 
 trate it. 
 
 April 1. Keep the soil round the roots free from weeds, 
 and the surface of it loose, either by raking or forking it 
 up as often as necessary. 
 
 May 1. Now remember that only a single shoot is 
 permanently to be trained throughout the summer, the ob- 
 ject of leaving two buds in the previous autumn being to 
 provide against the loss of a shoot in case of any accident. 
 As soon, therefore, as the strongest has grown sufficiently 
 to be out of danger of being accidentally rubbed off, the 
 other is to be cut out as hereafter directed. If any other 
 shoots have pushed besides the two principal ones, rub 
 them all off. As soon as the shoots have grown about a 
 foot in length, nail them to the wall. Do this very care- 
 fully, .for they are as yet extremely tender. When they 
 have grown about six inches from the last nailing, they 
 must again be nailed, and continually kept so, never suf- 
 fering the tops of the shoot to be blown about by the 
 wind. As the tendrils and lateral shoots successively ap- 
 pear throughout the summer, pinch off the former when 
 they have grown about three or four inches in length and 
 the latter to an inch beyond the first eye.
 
 FIRST FIVE TEAKS' MANAGEMENT. 93 
 
 June 1. Throughout this month and the two following 
 ones, whenever the ground appears parched through the 
 heat of the weather, give the roots, once a day, about half 
 a gallon of soap-suds or dung-water. Keep the 'ground 
 free from weeds, and the surface loose and open, by raking 
 or forking it up once a week throughout the summer. 
 
 July 1. The young shoots being firmly united to the 
 preceding year's wood, and therefore past all danger of 
 being broken off by any accident, unnail the weakest 
 shoot of the two, and cut it out close to the stem, making 
 the surface of the wound quite smooth and even. The 
 remaining shoot must be kept nailed to the wall as before 
 directed. 
 
 November 1. Cut the vine down to the two lowermost 
 buds, and in the winter, if the weather be frosty, cover 
 the ground over in the same manner as in the preceding 
 winter. 
 
 Third year. March 1. Remove the winter covering, 
 and fork up the surface of the ground, and let the subse- 
 quent management throughout the season be precisely the 
 same as in the preceding summer. If any fruit be shown, 
 pinch it off immediately it appears. 
 
 November 1. The stem of the vine will now be more 
 than two inches in girth, and therefore tico leading shoots 
 are to be permanently retained in the next year. For this 
 purpose, cut the vine down now to the three lowermost buds, 
 thus reserving, as before, one to spare in case of accident. 
 The vine will then resemble fig. 5. The roots being now 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 sufficiently strong to withstand the severity of the weather, 
 will not in future require to be covered. 
 
 Fourth year, March 1. Clean the surface of the ground 
 and fork it up lightly, and let the subsequent management
 
 94 
 
 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 
 
 throughout the season be the same as before, unless direct- 
 ed otherwise. 
 
 May 1. As soon as the shoots have attained a sufficient 
 length, nail them carefully to the wall, and rub off all oth- 
 ers, if any should have pushed. If fruit be shewn, pinch 
 it off as in the preceding year. 
 
 July 1. Unnail and cut out the weakest of the three 
 shoots, and train the two remaining ones carefully during 
 the remainder of the season. 
 
 September 1. Pinch off the tops of the shoots. 
 
 November 1. As the girth of the stem will not be less 
 now than three inches, the vine may be permitted to ma- 
 ture fruit the next year, not exceeding five pounds weight. 
 For this purpose, cut down the two shoots to the seven 
 lowest buds each ; prune away the remaining portions of 
 the tendrils and dead wood close to the shoots ; and cut out 
 carefully all the lateral shoots close to the base of the buds, 
 whence they have sprung. If the outer bark of the stem 
 be decayed, peel it off clean ; and then nail the shoots 
 to the wall in a temporary manner. 
 
 Fifth year, February 1. As soon after this time as the 
 weather is open, cut out of each shoot the first, second, 
 fourth, fifth, and sixth buds ; then bend the two shoots 
 carefully down, and secure them in a horizontal position, 
 similar to that represented by the shoots Z Z fig. 6. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 4\ 
 
 March 1. Clean the surface of the ground, and fork it 
 up as in the preceding year. 
 
 May 1. Train the shoots that push from the shoots 3
 
 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 
 
 95 
 
 and 7, in the manner represented by the dotted lines 1, 2, 
 3, and 4, and if more fruit shews than is equivalent to the 
 weight before mentioned, the excess must be cut oif when 
 the berries are set, as directed in the Calendarial Register, 
 Julyl 5. Continue the same course of management as in the 
 preceding year, and when the roots require watering, they 
 are now sufficiently strong to have applied to them for that 
 purpose any description of liquid manure that can be most 
 conveniently obtained. 
 
 September 1. Pinch off the tops of the shoots, and the 
 sap will then accumulate in the buds. 
 
 October 1. As soon after this time as the fruit is gath- 
 ered, cut back the first and third shoots to as many buds 
 as may be deemed necessary to produce the quantity of 
 fruit which the vine can mature in the next year : and the 
 second and fourth shoots to the lowest bud each. Cut out 
 the lateral shoots and the stumps of the tendrils, as directed 
 in the preceding year, and peel or scrape off all loose and 
 decayed bark ; then nail the shoots temporarily to the wall 
 to protect them throughout the winter. 
 
 Sixth year. March 1. Train the two shoots in the 
 manner represented by S S fig. 7 ; and as those push from 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 H
 
 96 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 
 
 the spurs H H, train them also in a similar form. Clean 
 the surface of the ground, and fork it up as in the preced- 
 ing year. The Calendarial Register will now supply the 
 details of the future management. 
 
 The vine has now assumed the form which it is perma- 
 nently to retain, and the manner in which it is trained, 
 may be considered as the commencement of a system of 
 alternately fruiting two shoots, and training two at full 
 length for bearing wood in the following year ; which 
 method may be continued every year without any altera- 
 tion, until the capacity of the vine is equal to the matura- 
 tion of more fruit than can possibly be borne by two single 
 shoots ; which, on an average, may be estimated at sixty 
 pounds weight annually. Several years must elapse be- 
 fore this will be the case ; but when it is, the arms may 
 be easily lengthened by the training in of a shoot at then- 
 extremities, and managing it in the same manner as when 
 the arms of the vine were first formed. It is very advisa- 
 ble, however, that the vine should not be suffered to ex- 
 tend itself further on the wall ; for in such case, the bear- 
 ing shoots emitted from the centre are sure to decline in 
 strength : whereas, by confining the dimensions of the 
 vine to a single arm on each side of the stem, and each 
 arm to the support and nourishment of two branches only, 
 the very best description of bearing shoots never fails to be 
 generated close at home ; and these, as the vine advances 
 in age, become prolific almost beyond conception. I have 
 often ripened as many as seven full-sized bunches of grapes 
 on two shoots which have pushed from a single bud, on 
 vines managed in this manner. Indeed, those who have 
 been accustomed to permit their vines to cover a large 
 space of walling, and to possess a great number of branches } 
 can scarcely imagine how much easier a vine is managed, 
 and with what certainty the fruit is increased in quantity 
 and improved in quality, when it is kept within a small 
 compass on the surface of the wall. 
 
 Moreover, there cannot be the slightest reason given why
 
 FIRST FIVE YEARS' MANAGEMENT. 97 
 
 vines should be encouraged to spread over the extent 
 of surface which they usually do; their propagation being 
 so easy, that a wall however long or high, may be entirely 
 covered with fruit and bearing wood in the space of six or 
 seven years, provided the vines are planted sufficiently near 
 to each other. The roots of vines do not prejudice each 
 other by running together ; but, on the contrary, rather 
 serve to prevent any redundancy of moisture in the soil 
 by more fully occupying it, and to cause the shoots to be 
 less luxuriant in their growth, than if they enjoyed a more 
 extensive range for food : and this, without doubt, will in- 
 crease their fertility. 
 
 I have planted vines within eighteen inches of each 
 other for the purpose of speedily filling a wall ; and they 
 thrive and produce as fine grapes as if planted as many 
 yards apart. The distance, therefore, at which vines may 
 be planted from each other, need have but little reference 
 to the space which their roots will occupy in the border, 
 but rather to the surface of the wall on which the branches 
 are to be trained. A vine trained as represented by fig. 7, 
 will stretch its two arms about five feet in length ; and if 
 ten feet in height be set apart for the shoots to be trained 
 on, the whole surface required will be fifty square feet. 
 Now, the annual increase in the girth of the stem of a vine 
 planted in good ground, will be found on an average, after 
 it comes to be fruited regularly, to be about half an inch ; 
 which gives an increase in its powers of maturation equal 
 to five pounds weight of fruit : and if sixty pounds be es- 
 timated as the greatest quantity which can annually be 
 obtained from a vine confined within this space, it will ap- 
 pear that if a cutting be planted, it will be fifteen or sixteen 
 years before it can be expected to arrive at such a degree 
 of strength as to be able to mature that quantity of fruit. 
 This space of time is so great, that it seems highly desira- 
 ble to shorten it. And this is easily done by allowing to 
 each vine when first planted no more than half this por- 
 tion of the surface of the wall ; namely : twenty-five
 
 98 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 square feet for the training of the branches ; and when it 
 has attained such a degree of strength that its shoots can- 
 not be kept within the limits of that space, let every alter- 
 nate vine be cut out. If the wall, therefore, be ten feet 
 high, plant the vines two feet and a half apart, and appro- 
 priate to each vine the five lower feet of the surface and 
 the five upper, in alternate succession. To form the stems 
 of those destined for the upper portion of the wall, instead 
 of cutting down the vine in the autumn of the third year 
 of its growth to the three lowest buds, cut out all the buds 
 on the shoot to the height of five feet from the ground, 
 and select the three next buds to obtain the two shoots for 
 the arms. And if the wall be seven or eight feet high, 
 plant the vines about three feet and a half apart, and train 
 every alternate one similar to fig. 7, and the others in a 
 horizontal manner, resembling fig. 4. If the summer shoots 
 during their growth interfere with each other, the remedy 
 is easy. From the flexibility of the shoots of the vine, 
 they can be trained in any manner that convenience may 
 dictate ; and the more they are bent and curved about, the 
 more fruitful do they become. It is this property, indeed, 
 that enables the skillful cultivator to cover the face of a 
 wall with full crops of grapes in a much shorter space of 
 time, and with a far greater degree of certainty, than can 
 be done in respect to any other description of fruit. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 THIS comprehends the practical details of the manage- 
 ment* of a vine, from the bursting of the bud to the fall 
 of the leaf. 
 
 *The operations directed in the following Register, to be performed on or 
 about the respective days named, are applicable to a medium aspect, a season 
 moderately favorable to the culture of the vine, and to latitude 503 C north. In
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 99 
 
 April 1. This is one of the most interesting periods of 
 the year to observe the vine. The plant having been ap- 
 parently in a state of rest for several months, now begins 
 to awake from its slumber, and the buds will be seen swell- 
 ing with eagerness to escape from their winter habitation. 
 'Examine them all carefully, to see if any are impeded in 
 their growth, in consequence of the shoots having been 
 nailed too closely to the wall or otherwise. All such buds 
 must.be immediately relieved, by cutting the shreds which 
 confine them, or by putting small bits of wood, or other con- 
 venient things, betwixt the shoots and the wall, and thereby 
 making a space for the buds to swell in. In dry weather, 
 fork up the border to the depth of a couple of inches, that 
 it may be loose and open, to receive the full benefit of the 
 sun and air. 
 
 8th. The buds will now be sufficiently unfolded to 
 shew the extremities of the first bunches of fruit peeping 
 out betwixt the beautiful crimson edges of the embryo 
 leaves. Look carefully again over all the buds, and if any 
 be confined and have not sufficient room to push their 
 shoots freely, give them relief immediately. 
 
 15th. Some of the buds will now be unfolded two or 
 three inches in length, and the leaves, as they increase in 
 size, will part with their variegated tints and gradually as- 
 sume their permanent colors. The small buds which fre- 
 quently accompany the principal ones, should now be 
 rubbed off. 
 
 /22d. Such shoots as have grown four or five inches in 
 length, will show all the bunches of fruit which they will 
 bear in the current season. Continue to examine the 
 young shoots to see if any of them are crippled or ob- 
 
 a very favorable aspect, or season, therefore, or in a latitude farther south, the 
 different stages in the growth of the shoots, &c., of a vine as indicated in the 
 Register, will occur a little earlier ; while, on the contrary, if the aspect or 
 season be unfavorable, or the latitude be much farther north, they will be found 
 to take place a few days later. It may be remarked, also, that the directions 
 for management are intended to be of general application, and not to refer ex- 
 clusively to a vine pruned or trained in any particular manner.
 
 100 WEEKLY CALENDAR1AL REGISTER. 
 
 structed in their growth, and if so, give the necessary re- 
 lief. 
 
 29th. If any small or secondary buds still remain, rub 
 them off immediately, as they will now impede the growth 
 of the young shoots. If weeds begin to appear in the 
 border, hoe them up, or pull them with the hand, and rake 
 the surface smooth and clean. 
 
 May 6th. The shoots will now grow rapidly, and the 
 bunches of fruit unfold in quick succession. Continue to 
 look over the former, and to remove anything that may 
 obstruct their growth. 
 
 13th. The shoots will now be of sufficient length to 
 be nailed to the wall. With respect to this operation, the 
 rule to be observed is, never to suffer any shoot to grow 
 more than twelve inches without nailing it, to protect it 
 from the injurious effects of the wind, arid to give it the 
 benefit of the warmth of the wall by close contact. This 
 operation must be performed very carefully throughout 
 this month, as the young shoots are extremely tender and 
 brittle. There will be many shoots emitted from different 
 parts of the vine, that will neither show fruit nor be of a 
 sufficient size to be retained as future bearers. All such 
 must be now rubbed off, unless foliage be required to cover 
 any adjacent bunches of fruit, in which case pinch the 
 tops off at the second or third joint, and they will not 
 then require to be nailed. In managing the vine through- 
 out the season, be careful to observe this general rule : that 
 every operation in which the shoots, leaves, or fruit are 
 concerned, must be performed when the weather is dry, 
 and after the dew is dissipated in the morning, and before 
 it begins to fall in the evening. 
 
 20th. Nail the shoots that shew fruit, and that are in- 
 tended to be cut out at the next autumnal pruning, suffi- 
 ciently near to each other, to cause their leaves, when they 
 attain their full size, to form a continued unbroken surface, 
 which will be hereafter of the greatest service in protect- 
 ing and maturing the fruit. But such shoots as are in-
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 101 
 
 tended to be trained for future bearers, must have as much 
 of the clear surface of the wall to themselves as possible, 
 never less, indeed, than five inches on each side of every 
 shoot. 
 
 The whole crop of grapes will have been shewn previ- 
 ously to this time. During the last three or four weeks, 
 the leafing of the vine and the unfolding of the bunches 
 of fruit in rapid succession, will have presented a sight of 
 the most pleasing and gratifying nature. If the cultivator 
 has not during the preceding year imposed on the vine 
 the task of ripening a greater quantity of fruit than its 
 strength would permit, without encroaching too much on 
 its vital energies, and has subsequently used the pruning- 
 knifejri a skillful manner, he will now be rewarded with 
 the prospect of not only an abundant, but most probably, 
 an overflowing crop. Many shoots will show three bunches 
 of fruit, and here and there, on some, will be found even 
 four. 
 
 27th. The shoots will now push so rapidly as to require 
 almost daily inspection. Nail the future bearers firmly, 
 and if any of them be disposed to grow long-jointed, bend 
 them a little out of their former direction every time they 
 are nailed; this will soon check their growth and ensure 
 the development of full-sized fruit-buds. Some of the 
 strongest shoots will perhaps grow in an adverse direction 
 to the surface of the wall ; if so, these must be managed 
 at the outset with more than ordinary care. For the pur- 
 pose of inducing them to grow close to the wall, provide a 
 sufficient number of shreds from twelve to eighteen inches 
 in length, or longer if required ; and as soon as any shoot 
 which has thus pushed, has attained the length of fifteen 
 or not more than eighteen inches, put a shred, sufficiently 
 long, carefully round that part of it that is nine or ten 
 inches from the old wood out of which it has grown, and 
 drawing it out of its natural position about an inch towards 
 the wall, nail it firmly. In the course of two or three 
 days the shoot will have taken a direction towards the
 
 102 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 wall ; it may then have another shred put round it, much 
 shorter than the first, and somewhat nearer the extremity 
 of the shoot. Repeat this operation two or three days af- 
 terwards if required, and the shoot will then grow close to 
 the surface of the wall. 
 
 The tendrils that push from the footstalks of the bunches 
 of fruit, must now be pinched off. 
 
 The lateral or side shoots, also, which are now pushing 
 vigorously, must be pinched off about an inch beyond the 
 first joint, as soon as they are about four inches in length, 
 but such as are near any bunches of fruit, should not be 
 thus topped, till they are about six inches in length, as 
 their foliage will then be of greater use in protecting the 
 fruit. It must be observed, that the lateral shoots are not 
 on any account to be pulled off, as they are intimately 
 connected with the organization of the buds ; being evi- 
 dently intended to carry off the superabundant sap gen- 
 erated at the joints of the shoots, and to return to them 
 an increased portion of elaborated juice. 
 
 June 3d. The tendrils will now grow rapidly, and 
 must therefore be attended to without delay. As soon as 
 they are about six inches long pinch them off to within 
 about half an inch of the shoots. If neglected, they will 
 in a short time entwine themselves round the adjacent 
 shoots, and cripple them. 
 
 Keep the surface of the border open, and free from 
 weeds, as before directed. 
 
 Now, as the comparative size and vigor of the young 
 shoots will be distinctly seen, select for future bearers the 
 largest and most vigorous shoots, and such as are round 
 and short-jointed, and that are appropriately situated near- 
 est to the stem of the vine. Nail all such very firmly to 
 the wall ; and as before directed, suffer no other shoot of 
 any description to be trained within five inches of any 
 one of these. On the careful observance of this point of 
 culture, depends the certainty of the next year's crop. 
 
 This is the earliest period that any part of the old wood
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 103 
 
 of the vine can be cut out without' the risk of bleeding. 
 If, therefore, too much of the preceding year's wood has 
 been inadvertently nailed in, or if any other cause exist, 
 that may render it necessary to take off any of the princi- 
 pal limbs of the vine, they may now be cut out with 
 safety. 
 
 10th. As the shoots will now be pushing with the 
 utmost vigor, all such as have fruit on them, and that are 
 not intended to be retained for future- bearers, must be 
 pinched off about an inch beyond the first joint above the 
 last bunch of fruit. The object in view in doing this, is 
 to prevent, as much as possible, any unnecessary expendi- 
 ture of sap, and also to cause it to flow with greater force 
 into the fruit, and the future bearing shoots. This opera- 
 tion being performed, all nailing will now cease, except 
 that required for the future bearers. If any useless shoots 
 are to be found in any part of the vine, rub them off im- 
 mediately. 
 
 17th. The vegetation of the vine being now in its 
 highest vigor, daily inspection will be necessary. The 
 future bearing shoots being in general upwards of three 
 feet in length, and having full sized leaves, the wind has 
 a proportionate power over them, and unless kept firmly 
 nailed to the wall, they will be in great danger of being 
 blown down and broken off, if a high wind should arise. 
 To prevent this, nail them hereafter every nine inches of 
 growth, with strong linen or cotton shreds, doubling the 
 edges over, and driving the nails with considerable force 
 through the four thicknesses. Take care, also, to drive 
 the nails on each side of every shoot in alternate succession, 
 so that no two following nails shall be on the same side of 
 any shoot. 
 
 24th. The fruit will now be in blossom, and continue 
 so in succession till the latter part of the next month. 
 During this period, great care must be taken not to touch 
 the bunches, lest this beautiful process of vegetable life 
 be thereby marred, and rendered abortive. Keep the bor-
 
 104 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 der free from weeds, and the surface loose and open ; and 
 look over the vine daily, as it will now be pushing in every 
 direction with the greatest vigor. 
 
 The tendrils, also, will grow with surprising rapidity, 
 and quickly curl round and injure the neighboring foliage, 
 unless constantly looked after, and pinched off, as before 
 directed. 
 
 July 1. The fruit being now in full blossom, will 
 yield a most delightful fragrance. Take care that the 
 bunches are not handled, nor in any way disturbed till the 
 berries are set. 
 
 The lateral shoots which were topped some time since, 
 will now be sending forth fresh shoots from their terminal 
 buds. Pinch off all these succession shoots just above 
 their first joints, as before ; and if any should hereafter 
 break again, pinch them back in like manner throughout 
 the season. 
 
 Pay great attention to the future bearing shoots, and 
 nail them firmly, as directed June 17th. 
 
 8th. Continue daily inspection, as the vine will still 
 grow most vigorously, and, if neglected, useless shoots, 
 laterals and tendrils will speedily appear in all parts of it. 
 The bunches first in blossom will now begin to have their 
 berries set. 
 
 15th. Keep the border clear of weeds, by hoeing or 
 forking up the surface, which will admit the sun's rays to 
 pass through it, and thereby warm arid cherish the surface 
 roots. 
 
 The blossoming being now nearly over, the berries will 
 be setting in rapid succession. As soon, therefore, as they 
 have all grown to the size of very small peas, an estimate 
 must be made as near as possible, of the weight which 
 the whole crop would ultimately attain if suffered to re- 
 main and ripen ; and the excess, if any, above the quanti- 
 ty which the vine can mature, agreeably to the scale given 
 in page 34, must be cut off. This is a most important 
 operation, and one that cannot be delayed, without mate-
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 105 
 
 rially compromising the health of the vine. In some 
 instances, the excess perhaps will be but trifling, while in 
 others it will probably be very great. I have frequently 
 had young vines produce from eighty to a hundred full 
 sized bunches of grapes each, which, if matured, would 
 weigh at least sixty pounds ; while their individual strength 
 was not equal to the ripening of more than a fourth part 
 of that quantity. In such cases, three bunches out of 
 every four, have been cut off. In reducing the number of 
 bunches, get rid of the smallest, and the ragged and un- 
 even ones, if any, and also all such as hang too far distant 
 from the wall to have the full benefit of the warmth and 
 reflection of it ; and select to remain, those which are 
 largest in size and berry, taking care that they be dis- 
 tributed over the vine as equally as possible. 
 
 22d. Now that the bunches have been reduced to their 
 proper number, examine the vine and see if there be any 
 vacancies in the foliage, through which any of the bunches 
 are exposed to the,direct rays of the sun : and if so, unnail 
 the adjacent shoots, and re-nail them in such positions as 
 will effectually shade the fruit. If, however, this cannot 
 conveniently be done, put a long, narrow shred round the 
 footstalks of such bunches as are thus exposed, and 
 drawing them gently aside, nail them in a position in 
 which the adjacent leaves will shade them. In doing 
 this, take care not to twist or injure the footstalks, nor 
 draw them too far out of their natural direction, which 
 would derange their functions ; as, through these very 
 slender but beautifully constituted organs, must flow the 
 chief part of the nourishment required to bring the fruit 
 to perfection. Observe, also, that in no instance should 
 there be more than the thickness of one leaf to shade the 
 fruit. The solar rays, being thus transmitted through the 
 medium of the leaves, are divested of their scorching 
 effect, and are also modified in such a manner as to ope- 
 rate most beneficially on the swelling of the berries. 
 Grapes that are exposed to the direct operation of the
 
 106 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 sun's rays, scarcely ever attain their proper size or flavor ; 
 while on the contrary, the finest and most highly flavored 
 fruit will uniformly be found to hang in close contact with 
 the wall. The leaves, also, not only serve as a chastened 
 medium for the solar rays to pass through, but they pre- 
 vent, in a considerable degree, the heat from escaping 
 from the wall, and as a necessary consequence, make the 
 temperature of the air in which the fruit grows, warmer 
 than that of the atmosphere. They also protect the fruit 
 from the effects of hail, and from continual heavy rains ; 
 which, in the latter part of the season, when it is ripe, are 
 advantages that cannot be too highly appreciated. It may, 
 therefore, be considered as an important, and, indeed, an 
 indispensable point of culture, that all the fruit of a vine 
 ought, from the moment of its coming into blossom till it 
 be ripened and gathered, to be shadpd by a surface of con- 
 tinuous single leaves, so that no part of it can be seen by 
 an observer, without pulling them aside. It is true that 
 the shape of the leaves prevents any species of training 
 so disposing them as to present one continued single-leaf 
 surface ; but though this point of perfection cannot be 
 attained, yet the nearer you approach to it, the better the 
 culture will be. 
 
 29th. Pay great attention to the future bearing shoots, 
 which will now be of considerable length, and if not nailed 
 firmly to the wall, will be in danger of being blown down, 
 if a strong wind should arise. If any of them be dis- 
 posed to grow long jointed, curve them in the training, 
 which, by compressing the sap vessels, will immediately 
 cause the sap to accumulate, and produce short jointed 
 wood. 
 
 Keep laterals, tendrils, and useless shoots of every de- 
 scription, in constant check. 
 
 The grapes will now be as large as small peas ; they 
 must, therefore, be thinned on the bunches without loss 
 of time. For this purpose provide a pair of sharp-pointed 
 scissors, that will cut well at the points ; and at this first
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 107 
 
 thinning, commence with the bunches that are the most 
 forward in growth, and reduce the number of berries full 
 one half, cutting out all the smallest, and such as are too 
 close together, so that they may be equally distributed on 
 the bunches. 
 
 This thinning of the berries, is one of the most neces- 
 sary and most beneficial operations in the whole culture 
 of the vine. No grapes can be produced fit for the table 
 without it. It increases the size of the berries, improves 
 their flavor, hastens the period of their ripening, by pre- 
 venting their clustering, enables a vine to mature a much 
 greater weight of fruit, and counteracts in a considerable 
 degree those exhausting effects which the perfecting of it 
 would otherwise produce on the vital energies of the plant. 
 It is a species of pruning, indeed, and may not improperly 
 be called, pruning of the fruit, in contradistinction to the 
 pruning of the wood. To form a proper estimate of the 
 advantages of thinning the berries, it must be remembered, 
 that during the spring of the year, and until the fruit has 
 blossomed, and is fairly set, the vine has been emitting its 
 shoots principally by the aid of sap generated in it during 
 the preceding year. In doing this, its vital energies have 
 not been taxed in the slightest degree ; for, if it had emit- 
 ted a hundred shoots, and every shoot were a hundred feet 
 long, the vine would not only not be weakened by them, 
 but such shoots would form a certain index to its increased 
 strength and vigor, created by a corresponding extension 
 of its roots. But far different is the case, with respect to 
 the production of the fruit, the perfecting of which, from 
 the exhaustion it occasions to the vegetative powers of the 
 plant, may be properly designated as a task. Other fruit 
 trees are endowed with the faculty of throwing off to a 
 considerable extent, any excess of fruit which they may 
 show at the commencement of the season, before its size 
 is such as to draw on their vital energies ; but no such fac- 
 ulty is possessed by the vine. The absence of this, there- 
 fore, must be remedied by the cultivator, on whose knovvl-
 
 108 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 edge of the extent of the powers of maturation possessed 
 by the vine, depends entirely the quality of the crop when 
 perfected. Now, the primary object of every cultivator 
 must undoubtedly be, to obtain every year in succession, 
 the most valuable crop possible ; and the qualities that 
 confer value on a crop of grapes, are, first, high flavor; 
 secondly, large berries ; thirdly, large bunches ; and in 
 proportion to the degree in which these three grand requi- 
 sites are combined, will the crop become really valuable. 
 And, that neither high flavor, nor large sized berries, can be 
 produced without reducing the number of them on the 
 bunches, will appear evident for the following reasons ; 
 the fruit is perfected chiefly through the influence of the 
 atmosphere, as the secreted fluid attracted by it from the 
 wood, is comparatively crude in its nature when it enters 
 the berries : being then distributed through the almost in- 
 numerable vessels, which are most appropriately, and in- 
 deed most beautifully arranged just within the skins of 
 the berries, it there becomes gradually elaborated, by the 
 processes of evaporation and absorption, which are inces- 
 santly carried on through the combined agency of light 
 and air, stimulated by the direct rays of the sun. And 
 in proportion to the energy with which these processes are 
 conducted, will the berries increase in size and flavor. To 
 generate an energetic action of these processes, therefore, 
 it is necessary that the entire convex surface of every 
 berry, should be exposed to the unimpeded influence of 
 the grand agents abovementioned ; and this cannot be ef- 
 fected without reducing the number of berries on each 
 bunch by the aid of scissors, to such an extent that they 
 shall not touch each other until fully ripened. Further, 
 it must be borne in mind, that the strength of the vine is 
 not put in requisition in creating the pulp of the berries, 
 but in perfecting the seed. The former is the substance 
 on which the latter feeds ; the number of seeds, therefore, 
 which the vine has to nourish, constitutes in reality, the 
 true measure of its task. And to render the performance
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 109 
 
 of this task as easy as possible, it is not enough that the 
 bunches be reduced in number so as to bring the whole 
 crop within a given weight, but it is also equally necessary 
 that the number of berries should be lessened ; by which 
 operation, not only is great relief given to the vital powers 
 of the vine during the maturation of the fruit, but the 
 value of the crop becomes thereby doubled, and in many 
 instances quadrupled, in consequence of the extraordinary 
 increase in the size and flavor of the berries. 
 
 August 5th. If the weather be hot and dry, supply 
 the border with liquid manure. To prevent this from 
 being, to any extent, lost by evaporation, draw drills about 
 eighteen inches or two feet apart, and a couple of inches 
 deep ; and along these, pour the manure, holding the spout 
 of the watering pot, with the nose taken off, close to the 
 bottom of them, that the liquid may not wash the earth 
 into a cream-like consistence, in which case it would cake 
 together, and intercept the rays of the sun in passing 
 through the surface to the roots. When sufficient has been 
 poured into one drill, rake the earth over it, and proceed in 
 like manner till the whole border be manured. This op- 
 eration, which should be done in the latter part of the day, 
 as soon as the sun has ceased shining on the border, may, 
 if the state of the weather require it, be repeated every 
 two or three days, from the time the fruit is first set, until 
 it becomes ripe, and it will be found very beneficial in pro- 
 moting the swelling of the berries. 
 
 12th. As the berries are now rapidly increasing in size, 
 the thinning of them must be attended to every seven days, 
 and if oftener, the better. This is rendered necessary, in 
 consequence of the unequal manner in which they some- 
 times swell. If the berries on any given bunch be thinned 
 so that the remaining ones are all equal in size, it will gen- 
 erally be found on inspecting it five or six days afterwards, 
 that many of them have remained in point of size station- 
 ary ; while others have grown perhaps twice as large as 
 when previously thinned. In consequence of this, the
 
 110 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 bunches require frequent examination, in order that all such 
 berries as thus appear by their inferior size to have been de- 
 prived of their portion of nourishment, may as speedily as 
 possible be cut out. The oftener this is attended to, the 
 more rapidly will the remaining berries increase in size, 
 and the finer will be their flavor when ripe. To lay down 
 any rule as to the number of berries that should be cut out 
 of any bunch of a given weight, is impracticable. I have 
 many times found that, of bunches of the black Hamburgh 
 grape, with the berries well set, I have from first to last 
 cut out four out of every five ; while on other bunches of 
 the same sort, having their berries not so thickly set, the 
 diminution has been about three out of five, and sometimes 
 not more than two out of that number. The best general 
 rule that can be given is, that the berries, during the whole 
 period of their growth until after they have made their last 
 swell, must never be suffered to cluster or to press the sides 
 of each other. 
 
 19th. Continue to nail the future bearing shoots firmly, 
 and keep in constant check all tendrils, and lateral and suc- 
 cession shoots, throughout the remaining part of the season. 
 The growth of these will now begin to decrease in vigor, 
 in consequence of the fluids in the vessels of the plant be- 
 ing partially diverted in their course and attracted to the 
 fruit. 
 
 Keep the border clear of weeds, and its surface loose and 
 open ; and suffer nothing to be on or near it, that can in 
 the slightest degree intercept the rays of the sun. Solar 
 heat is now the grand desideratum. 
 
 If the atmosphere be dry and arid, or if the weather be 
 windy, evaporation will proceed at a prodigious rate ; and 
 unless the nights be still and serene and the dews very co- 
 pious, the balance betwixt absorption and evaporation will 
 be destroyed. To supply the waste, therefore, that will be 
 thus occasioned in the juices of the vine during this critical 
 period, let the foliage and fruit be now and then watered 
 after sunset, and also the border, in addition to the applica-
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. Ill 
 
 tion of liquid mature to the latter, as before directed. The 
 atmosphere contiguous to the vine will be thereby rendered 
 humid, and thus offer a supply of moisture, which the fo- 
 liage and fruit will, quickly and most advantageously ab- 
 sorb. 
 
 The whole strength of the vine will now be put in requi- 
 sition by the daily increasing size of the berries. Pay 
 great attention, therefore, to the thinning of them, and use 
 the scissors very freely. Remember that every berry cut 
 out, leaves its share of nourishment to be divided amongst 
 the remaining ones. Leave none but the largest berries, 
 and those as nearly as you can at equal distances from each 
 other on the bunches, bearing in mind that two of the 
 characteristics of a fine bunch of grapes, are large berries, 
 of equal size. 
 
 26. Now, as the period of ripening hastens on, the full 
 benefit of the sun's rays will be of the greatest, advantage. 
 Take care, therefore, that no portion of the fruit be shaded 
 by more than the consistence of a single leaf. If through 
 inattention in training the shoots, the leaves should be too 
 crowded in any part, the former must be loosened from the 
 wall, and renailed at a proper distance from each other, as 
 the leaves must not on any account be pulled off. Stripping 
 off the leaves for the purpose of exposing the fruit to the 
 direct rays of the sun, under the mistaken notion that it 
 will thereby ripen earlier, is a practice that cannot be too 
 strongly condemned. The value of the leaves in protect- 
 ing the fruit, has already been pointed out ; it is only neces- 
 sary, therefore, further to remark that, as the greater por- 
 tion of the secretions of the plant is prepared in the leaves, 
 every leaf that is pulled off not only greatly injures the 
 vegetation of the vine, but the bud at the base of the foot- 
 stalk of the leaf, by being deprived of its principal source 
 of nourishment, is crippled in its growth, and otherwise 
 seriously injured in its vitality. Moreover, if a leaf that is 
 growing near to and on the same shoot as a bunch of fruit, 
 be pulled off. the ripening of the latter will not only be
 
 I' 
 
 112 WEEKLY CALEXDAR1AL REGISTER. 
 
 thereby actually retarded, instead of being hastened, but 
 the berries will in consequence never attain their proper 
 size or flavor. 
 
 Bloom on the berries will begin to appear about this 
 time, in consequence of which, the bunches must be here- 
 after handled as lightly as possible, that no more of it may 
 be rubbed off than can well be avoided. 
 
 Continue to use the scissors freely in thinning the ber- 
 ries, which must on no account be neglected, as in a few 
 days the operation will be of no use. Do not suppose, 
 that, by thus continually reducing the number of the ber- 
 ries, the weight of the bunches will be lessened, for, quite 
 the reverse will be the case ; if the thinning be judiciously 
 performed, every bunch will ultimately weigh more than 
 it otherwise would do, were the whole of the berries suf- 
 fered to remain. 
 
 The grapes are now what is technically called " ston- 
 ing "; that is, the seeds or stones enclosed in the berries, 
 being in the last stage of their growth, are in the act of 
 being perfected ; which, when completed, is immediately 
 followed by a change of the pulp from a state of acidity 
 to one of a sugary sweetness. During this process of 
 stoning, which lasts, in general, about twenty-eight days, 
 the berries appear to be at a stand in their growth, and do 
 not perceptibly increase in size. 
 
 September 2. Now pinch off the extremity of every 
 future bearing shoot, about an inch beyond the last joint, 
 and nail the shoot firmly directly below that joint. This 
 operation, by stopping the sap, causes it to accumulate in 
 the buds, and hastens the maturation of the wood. The 
 sooner indeed, the future bearers are thus stopped in their 
 growth, the better; but if done before this time, there is 
 danger that the buds will prematurely burst. 
 
 As the berries are now about to make their last swell, 
 the thinning of them must be completed. Examine the 
 bunches, therefore, very carefully, and if you meet with 
 any berries, about which a doubt may exist as to whether
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 113 
 
 they ought to be cut out or not, give the vine in all such 
 cases, the benefit of that doubt, and cut them out accord- 
 ingly. Be assured, that by so doing, you will ultimately 
 gain both in weight and flavor. 
 
 9th. The process of stoning being completed, the 
 grapes will now begin to ripen. This will be first indi- 
 cated by the skins of the berries becoming in a slight de- 
 gree transparent, and in black grapes, also, by a beautiful 
 purple tinge -appearing on those that are most forward. 
 As soon as this change takes place, no reduction of the 
 number of berries on a bunch will increase the size of the 
 remainder. 
 
 They should be finally thinned, therefore, before they 
 begin to swell off, after which, indeed, the bunches should 
 never be handled at all, except for the purpose of cutting 
 out such berries as may from time to time be injured by 
 insects, birds, or otherwise. 
 
 16th. As the grapes will now be getting ripe, pretty 
 generally, all watering must cease, both of the foliage and 
 the border. A moist atmosphere is most favorable to the 
 growth of the berries, from the period of their setting, to 
 that of making their last swell ; after which, neither the 
 atmosphere nor the soil, can well be too dry. 
 
 The change which the pulp of the fruit undergoes, at 
 the completion of the ripening process, is highly interest- 
 ing. It is marked in all bunches that have been properly 
 thinned, by an extraordinary increase in the size of the 
 berries, in a short space of time ; the natural consequence 
 of the sudden expansion of the pulp, arising partly from 
 the seed being perfected, and, therefore, no longer con- 
 suming any portion of it for its nourishment ; and partly 
 from the continued action of the solar rays on the full- 
 sized berries. I have frequently had berries of the black 
 Hamburgh sort swell in size in the course of a few days, 
 from a circumference of two inches to one of three, being 
 an increase of one half. 
 
 23d. As the nights will now be getting longer than the
 
 114 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 days, the cold will increase ; in consequence of which, 
 the border must not be forked up any more, during the re- 
 mainder of the season. Keep the surface of it, however, 
 free from weeds, and from decayed leaves, which latter, if 
 suffered to accumulate, will not only intercept the rays of 
 the sun, but also serve as a harbor for the snails ; and these 
 vermin, if not prevented, will do great damage to the fruit, 
 especially in showery weather. 
 
 As the grapes, are now rapidly approaching to maturity, 
 they will present a sight of the most gratifying description. 
 The beautiful symmetry of the berries, the elegant form 
 of the clusters, and the graceful manner in which they are 
 suspended from the branches, are in strict unison with the 
 delicious flavor of the fruit, and challenge, alike, our grate- 
 ful admiration. 
 
 30th. Examine the bunches frequently, for the purpose 
 of cutting out injured and decayed berries, which, if suf- 
 fered to remain, will quickly affect all the adjoining ones. 
 
 The fruit will now most probably be attacked by birds 
 and insects ; if so, means must be used to protect it. If a 
 few wide-mouthed bottles containing sugared beer, be 
 hung up in different parts of the vine, great numbers of 
 wasps and flies will be enticed into them and destroyed. 
 But if these insects be very numerous, this will only prove 
 a partial protection. The bunches must be bagged, or the 
 entire vine covered with bunting, or some other fabric of 
 a similar description, and this will at the same time protect 
 the fruit from the attacks of birds. 
 
 If the former mode be resorted to, the best sort of bags 
 that can be used for that purpose, are those made of hair 
 cloth. The texture of these, being open, and their fabric 
 stiff, the sides of them stand out at a distance from the 
 berries, and thus a free circulation of air is permitted round 
 the surface of the latter, which has the effect of keeping 
 them dry and in good preservation. If hair-cloth bags, 
 however, cannot be procured, crape bags may be used in- 
 stead ; but it must be observed, that, whatever sort may
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 115 
 
 be used, they must be taken off every four or five days, in 
 order to examine the bunches, and to cut out decayed ber- 
 ries, if any should appear. It is necessary, therefore, that 
 the bags should be made large, that they may be taken off 
 and put on again with ease and facility. If the bunches 
 of fruit, however, be numerous, it will be much easier, and 
 better, indeed, to protect the vine with a covering of bunt- 
 ing, or leno, or of some other fabric that is thin, and also 
 open in its texture. But, as the exclusion of air thus oc- 
 casioned will operate injuriously with respect to the keep- 
 ing of the fruit, if the covering be continually kept on, it 
 will be necessary to remove it every night, and replace it 
 every morning ; or, if it be temporarily nailed to the top 
 of the wall, which is the better way, it can be drawn up 
 and let down again as circumstances may require. If this 
 be not attended to, it will be found that the covering, by 
 excluding the air, will cause the fruit to lose its flavor, and 
 to decay. 
 
 It must also be mentioned that rats and mice are very 
 fond of grapes ; and that when they attack them, they de- 
 stroy a great quantity in a short space of time. The visits 
 of these vermin, though made generally in the dark, may 
 soon be detected by laying, in the evening, a linen or other 
 cloth along the border close to the wall, and directly under 
 the fruit ; and if it be attacked by them in the night, their 
 dung, dropped while consuming the fruit, will invariably 
 be found on the cloth in the morning. If it should appear 
 that they infest the fruit, prompt means must be taken to 
 destroy them, for they travel with the greatest facility over 
 every branch of the vine, from one extremity of it to the 
 other, and will most assuredly, if not prevented, speedily 
 devour the whole crop. Amongst the means which may 
 be resorted to, to ensure their destruction, may be employed 
 with advantage the laying of poison on the branches con- 
 tiguous to the fruit ; and also the setting of traps well 
 baited with fresh toasted cheese, and secured to the wall 
 close to the main branches of the vine, along which it is 
 supposed they go to commit their depredations.
 
 116 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL, REGISTER. 
 
 October 7. Continue to remove decayed leaves from 
 the border, and suffer nothing to accumulate on it that can 
 either shade it or harbor the snails. If these are not pre- 
 vented, they will soon find hiding-places in the vicinity of 
 the wall ; and in the night, and also in wet weather, will 
 crawl up the surface of it, and commit great havoc amongst 
 the fruit. To prevent this, the wall should be carefully 
 looked over every three or four days ; and when the weath- 
 er is wet, every day will not be too often. A large shell 
 snail will destroy a large bunch of grapes in twenty-four 
 hours. This fact will shew the necessity of looking sharp- 
 ly after these vermin. 
 
 Take care not to cut any of the fruit until it be thor- 
 oughly ripe. This is so often done, that it deserves to be 
 mentioned as one of the many capital errors that are com- 
 mitted almost universally in the culture of the vine. There 
 is a certain point of time when grapes attain their highest 
 degree of maturity ; but that is not when they first appear 
 to be ripe, but a considerable period afterwards. There 
 are so many circumstances, however, that influence the ri- 
 pening of grapes on open walls, that it is impossible to lay 
 down any rule for determining the precise period when 
 they will have reached their extreme point of maturity. 
 The season, the soil, the culture, the sort of grape, and 
 lastly the aspect modified as this is by a variety of local 
 circumstances, either accelerate or retard the maturity of 
 the fruit, as they combine favorably or unfavorably. It is 
 seldom, indeed, that all the fruit of a vine becomes ripe at 
 the same period of time. And it is worthy of remark also, 
 that every bunch of grapes ripens progressively, beginning 
 first at what is called " the shoulders," or that part next to 
 the footstalk, and proceeding downwards to the extremity 
 of the bunch. And so slowly is this process carried on in 
 backward seasons and in unfavorable aspects, that there is 
 frequently from ten to fifteen days' difference in the time 
 betwixt the ripening of the shoulders and the extremity of 
 the same bunch of fruit. And i,f a vine be overcropped to
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 117 
 
 any extent, its vital energies will be exhausted before the 
 process of maturation is completed ; in which case, the ex- 
 tremities of the bunches never ripen, but shrivel and decay. 
 Without, therefore, venturing to give any very specific di- 
 rections with respect to the vintage, it may be laid down 
 as a good general rule, applicable in most cases, that after 
 the period when all the berries of a bunch of grapes have 
 first become apparently ripe, the bunch ought to remain on 
 the vine a month longer, in order that, by the continued 
 action of the solar rays, the watery portion of the pulp 
 may be evaporated, and the sugary portion thereby rela- 
 tively increased. 
 
 It is of great importance, also, in gathering the fruit, 
 that it be cut in dry weather, on the warmest days that can 
 be selected, and not till after the morning dew has been 
 entirely dissipated. The juice of the grapes is materially 
 concerned in these respects ; for if the weather be very 
 damp and foggy for two or three days in succession, or if 
 a heavy rain continue for twenty-four hours, or longer, the 
 water in the berries will be considerably increased, and 
 their flavor and sweetness proportionately diminished. 
 
 Such branches of the vine as have no fruit on them, 
 should now, without loss of time, be subjected to the ope- 
 ration of the pruning-knife. 
 
 14. In dry weather examine the bunches frequently, 
 and carefully cut out all decayed berries. Protect the fruit 
 also as fast as it ripens, from wasps, flies, &c. 
 
 If the extremities of any of the bunches are not yet ri- 
 pened, cut them off immediately, as the few berries grow- 
 ing on them will, if suffered to remain, cost the vine a 
 greater effort to mature them, than three or four times the 
 same number has, that are situated near the footstalks. 
 
 21st. Keep the border clear of weeds; and as soon as 
 decayed leaves appear on it, remove them immediately, and 
 continue so to do until all the fruit be cut. 
 
 The beneficial effects of shading the fruit with a con- 
 tinuous surface of leaves, will now be distinctly seen.
 
 118 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 Grapes so protected, will uniformly be found to ripen ear- 
 lier, to be larger in size, and better flavored, and to be cov- 
 ered with a bloom nearly if not quite equal to that on 
 grapes ripened under glass. The leaves will also be of 
 great advantage in keeping the fruit dry and warm, and in 
 protecting it from the injurious effects of heavy rains, 
 which is of great consequence ; for if the fruit be kept 
 dry, it will remain on the vine in good condition, and pre- 
 serve its flavor for a long time yet to come. But if it be 
 exposed to the effects of every rainy day and night, all the 
 previous good culture will be lost, and nothing will prevent 
 a great portion of it from perishing, independently of the 
 consideration that the remainder will be greatly deteriora- 
 ted in flavor from the effects of the wet. 
 
 In gathering the fruit as it becomes ripe, it will be best 
 to choose, first, such bunches as hang within two feet of 
 the ground, the berries on these being apt to rot, in con- 
 sequence of the damp exhalations that now begin to rise 
 from it ; and next, all such as are on the upper part of the 
 wall above six feet from the ground, (if the wall reach that 
 height) these being exposed to the injurious effects of the 
 wind ; thus leaving to be gathered last, those bunches that 
 hang from two to six feet from the bottom of the wall. If 
 the wall have a projecting coping, the fruit on it will keep 
 much longer than on a wall that is destitute of such a 
 protection. 
 
 28th. The leaves will now begin to fall pretty fast, and 
 where a good collection of vines are planted, the great va- 
 riety of tints and shades of color of the leaves, in their 
 different stages of decay, will present a pleasing object to 
 the eye, and offer to the mind an interesting subject of 
 contemplation. The fine dark purple red of the claret 
 grape leaves, contrast charmingly with the bright yellow 
 shades of the white sweetwater and the rich vermillion 
 tints of the black muscadine. 
 
 November 4th. As long as any bunches of fruit remain 
 they must be examined every three or four days, and all 
 decayed berries carefully cut out.
 
 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 119 
 
 The wasps and flies that now remain, will be too weak 
 to injure the fruit. If covering the vine therefore, or bag- 
 ging the bunches have been resorted to, to protect the 
 fruit, it should now be discontinued, and netting substi- 
 tuted in its stead. Nets offer but little obstruction to the 
 free circulation of the air, the benefit of which will now 
 be more than ever necessary to keep the fruit dry. In 
 putting the netting on, great care must be taken that the 
 extremities of it are in close contact with the wall, and 
 the body of a sufficient distance from its surface that the 
 birds may be prevented from getting inside, or picking the 
 berries through the meshes. To effect this latter object, 
 procure some sticks or bits of lath, about a foot in length, 
 and, making the ends smooth, cut a notch or two at one 
 end of each of them. Put the smooth ends against the 
 wall, and the notched ones against the netting, which 
 must be stretched out sufficiently far from the wall to 
 admit of the sticks being perpendicular to the surface of 
 it. Place the cords of the netting in the notches, and the 
 sticks will then keep their position. The netting will 
 thus be in a strain, and at a sufficient distance from the 
 fruit to keep it out of the reach of the birds. These pre- 
 cautions will be found necessary, as the delicious flavor of 
 the grapes now makes them an object of intense desire to 
 a numerous class of birds that frequent the garden. 
 
 These little feathered creatures having been industri- 
 ously engaged during the preceding part of the year, in 
 rendering the most important services to man, by destroy- 
 the larva of a host of insects that prove destructive to 
 vegetation, now come to enjoy their share of the bounties 
 of Providence ; and it would, perhaps, be difficult to prove 
 that their claim is not as well founded as that of the lords 
 of the creation. They waste, however, and spoil so 
 much, in comparison with what they really eat, that no 
 other course can be pursued, than that of rejecting their 
 claim altogether. Amongst these claimants the blue tit- 
 mouse, (torn tit) Parus casruleus, will in general, be found
 
 120 WEEKLY CALENDARIAL REGISTER. 
 
 to be the most persevering. This elegant little bird visits 
 the grapes about the middle of October, and selects the 
 ripest for examination. If the flavor be agreeable, the 
 work of destruction commences ; but if not, an interval of 
 a week or ten days elapses, when a second examination 
 takes place, and the fruit being then ripe, the banquet be- 
 gins by his attacking invariably the finest grapes on the 
 vine and consuming about the sixth part of each berry, 
 leaving the other five-sixths to rot and waste. After this, 
 he never ceases to pay his daily visits as long as a single 
 bunch remains, and the slightest chance appears of a pos- 
 sibility of getting at it. 
 
 As soon as any shoots are divested of their fruit they 
 should be pruned immediately. 
 
 llth. Fall of the leaf. This interesting event takes 
 place in general about this time. In well sheltered situa- 
 tions, some vines will retain their foliage to the end of this 
 month, but in aspects that are exposed to the effects of the 
 wind, the leaves are generally shed in the early part of it. 
 
 After the grapes have been deprived of the protection of 
 the leaves, they begin to lose both weight and flavor ; but 
 if the aspect be favorable, and the wall have a projecting 
 coping, they may be preserved in pretty good condition a 
 fortnight or three weeks longer, after which, however, no 
 reliance can be placed on the continuance of their flavor ; 
 although in some instances, when the weather is very fa- 
 vorable and great care is used in keeping the grapes dry, 
 and in protecting them by proper coverings from the effects 
 of severe frosts, they may be kept on the vine in tolerable 
 preservation till the beginning of January. 
 
 Many methods have been devised to preserve grapes 
 after they have been cut from the vine, but none that I am 
 aware of have ever proved very effectual. The best of 
 these, however, will be found, I believe, to be that of cut- 
 ting off an entire branch of the vine with the fruit upon 
 it and sealing the cut end with sealing-wax, and then 
 hanging it up in a dry and warm room, in which there is
 
 
 
 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 121 
 
 a pretty free circulation of air. The greater quantity of 
 wood that the branch contains behind the last bunch of 
 fruit, the longer will the latter keep ; but it may be re- 
 marked, that with every precaution that can be taken, the 
 fruit may in general be preserved much better by letting it 
 remain on the vine, and protecting it by proper means from 
 the severity of the weather. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 
 
 MANY reasons of a decisive nature, point out the autumn 
 as the proper season for pruning the vine. When by judi- 
 cious management the branches of a vine are kept within 
 a small compass, its vegetative powers become exceedingly 
 vigorous ; and the quantity of superabundant wood that is 
 necessary to be cut out at the close of every season, being 
 in general very great in proportion to that which is re- 
 tained, the number of channels for the future ascent of 
 the sap becomes, after the general pruning, proportionately 
 limited. In consequence of this, the sap acquires at its 
 rising, a corresponding increase of strength and velocity ; 
 and unless the vine be pruned early in the autumn, in 
 order that the utmost possible period of time may inter- 
 vene, to harden the extremities and such other parts of the 
 branches as the pruning-knife has passed over, previously 
 to the ascent of the sap in the following spring ; the sap, 
 at its rising, will burst through the wounds, and the vine 
 will bleed profusely at all points. To guard against the 
 occurrence of this very injurious casuality, there is no 
 other way than to prune at the earliest period possible in 
 the autumn. 
 
 The sooner, also, that the vine is pruned in the fall of the
 
 122 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 
 
 year, the earlier will its buds unfold in the ensuing spring ; 
 the cause of which may be thus explained. The buds, from 
 their first development, are endowed with the power of 
 attracting a sufficient quantity of the juices of the plant 
 to nourish them and to promote their growth. But this 
 power, although it gradually increases with their growth, 
 is held in subjection throughout the summer, by a similar 
 but superior power possessed by the fruit, which in an 
 extraordinary degree diverts the fluids of the plant, and 
 appropriates them to its own growth and maturation. As 
 soon, however, as the fruit is ripened, this power which it 
 previously possessed, becomes nearly extinct, and the fluids 
 of the plant are then chiefly appropriated to the nourish- 
 ment of the buds, and to the growth of the roots and 
 branches. Now, as the great effort of the vine in 
 ripening its fruit, is made either before the autumnal 
 equinox or immediately after it, while the sap is yet 
 moving pretty briskly, if the vine be pruned shortly after 
 that period, the sap quickly accumulates in the shoots that 
 are retained, and the buds attracting it very powerfully, 
 rapidly advance in their growth and maturation. They 
 thus steal a march, as it were, on their next year's vege- 
 tation. But if the vine be pruned too early, before the 
 motion of the sap is sufficiently weakened by the declining 
 power of the sun, the buds then feed themselves to reple- 
 tion, and prematurely burst. Hence it follows, that the most 
 advantageous period for the general pruning of the vine, 
 must, undoubtedly, be that point of time when the sap 
 can be made to accumulate in the buds in such quantity 
 as to increase them to their utmost possible size, without 
 bursting them. And this point of time cannot with safety 
 be considered as having arrived till the first of October. 
 A single branch of a moderate sized vine, may be cut out 
 or shortened, as early as the middle of September, but the 
 whole vine cannot be pruned, and its entire body of sap 
 thereby suddenly checked in its motion, before the expira- 
 tion of that month, without incurring very great risk of
 
 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 123 
 
 bursting the buds, independently, also, of giving to the 
 vital powers of the plant an injurious shock, by performing 
 such a severe operation prematurely. As soon, however, 
 as the month of October commences, and the fruit is cut, 
 the general pruning should be done, and the buds, in con- 
 sequence, increasing in size by the accumulation of the 
 sap, become thereby endowed with a greater degree of 
 vitality, than they would otherwise possess. They are 
 thus enabled to attract the sap at its rising, with more 
 power, and consequently to expand themselves earlier than 
 the buds of a vine pruned later in the season ; and this is 
 an advantage not to be estimated lightly, in a country 
 where the summers are barely long enough to ripen the 
 fruit. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing reasons, others will here- 
 after incidentally appear, in favor of early autumnal 
 pruning. 
 
 In giving directions for the general pruning of the vine, 
 it is scarcely possible to lay down any rules for the guidance 
 of the pruner, except such as are of general application. 
 If the vine has been attended to throughout the summer, 
 in the manner directed in the preceding Register, there 
 will be comparatively little to do at the autumnal pruning. 
 As vines, however, are managed in a great variety of ways, 
 it appears necessary to give such directions as will apply 
 in a general manner to any vine, whatever may have been 
 the method in which it has been previously pruned and 
 trained. 
 
 Before doing this, however, a few observations may be 
 made, relative to vines that have been suffered to cover a 
 disproportionate extent of walling, and which have, as a 
 necessary consequence, a great number of old, naked and 
 barren limbs. Vines of this description, when their leaves 
 are shed, present a perfect chaos of useless branches, the 
 general appearance of which, bids defiance to anything 
 like systematic pruning. To give any directions, there- 
 fore, that can be practically followed in the pruning of
 
 124 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 
 
 such vines, is next to impossible ; the only course that can 
 be recommended to be adopted, with respect to any vine 
 that is in this state, is to cut it down to a complete stump. 
 By doing this, the fruit will be only sacrificed for one 
 season ; for the next year after this operation has been per- 
 formed, the vine will send forth an abundant quantity of 
 the finest description of bearing shoots, which in the fol- 
 lowing year, will produce as much fruit, with only a tenth 
 part of the trouble in the management of it, as could be 
 obtained if the previous course of culture had been con- 
 tinued. There is no other way, indeed, of renovating a 
 vine than this, for no method of pruning that can be 
 adopted, will ever get rid of the old, blank wood, and 
 procure, in its stead a proper supply of bearing wood within 
 a reasonable distance of the stem. Vines that are cut 
 down in this manner, will frequently produce in the fol- 
 lowing summer very fine bearing shoots upwards of forty 
 feet long. 
 
 When it is deemed advisable, therefore, to renew the 
 branches of a vine by thus cutting it down, the best time 
 to perform the operation is the latter part of the month of 
 November. If the stem be short, cut it off about five 
 inches above the ground, but if it be long, leave it of such 
 a height as it is intended to train the future bearing wood; 
 remembering that whatever portion of the naked stem be 
 left, the shoots will be emitted from the upper part of it. 
 As soon as the vine is cut off, sear the wound well with a 
 hot iron and then seal the surface of it over with sealing- 
 wax, in order to prevent the sap at its rising, from bursting 
 through. 
 
 In the following spring a great number of buds will 
 push near the top of the stump, and these being allowed 
 to swell sufficiently to shew their relative strength, as 
 many of the strongest as are required should be selected 
 to remain and all the rest rubbed off. The shoots being 
 carefully trained throughout the summer will present in 
 the autumn an abundant choice for future bearers.
 
 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 125 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR THE AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 
 
 1st. EVERY nail must be drawn from the wall and 
 every shred taken off the branches. This will give the 
 vine great relief, the shreds having throughout the sum- 
 mer kept those parts of the branches which they have 
 encircled, from the beneficial influence of the sun and 
 air. They also become the receptacles of numerous in 
 sects, and if woollen shreds have been used, they are 
 very retentive of moisture, and if suffered to remain, 
 would chill the juices of the plant and thereby retard its 
 vegetation in the spring. In unnailing the branches, care 
 must be taken not to draw all the nails at once, as the for- 
 mer would be then left destitute of their necessary sup- 
 port. Unnail a part at a time, therefore, and having pruned 
 that part, renail it in a temporary manner, before any other 
 part of the vine be pruned, and so proceed till the whole 
 be pruned. Observe that every nail before it is drawn, 
 must be driven farther into the wall by a good blow or 
 two on its head with the hammer, in order to disengage 
 it from the mortar ; otherwise, in drawing it out, portions 
 of the mortar which adhere to it would be drawn with it. 
 and the joints of the wall would be thereby defaced and 
 injured. 
 
 2d. Ascertain the girth of the stem, and calculate the 
 quantity of fruit which the vine can mature in the follow- 
 ing year, agreeably to the scale given in page 34, and as- 
 suming (for the sake of making the operation clear) that 
 the strength of the vine is equal to the maturation of 
 fifty pounds weight of fruit, the number of buds that it 
 will be advisable to retain to produce that quantity, will 
 be from ninety to a hundred. Now before selecting the 
 shoots that are to contain this number of buds, means must 
 be taken, to provide for a proper supply of future bearing 
 wood. For this purpose choose some of the strongest cur-
 
 126 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 
 
 rent year's shoots that are situated nearest to the stem of 
 the vine, and at appropriate distances from each other, and 
 cut each of these down to the two lowermost buds. The 
 number of shoots to.be thus spurred must not be less than 
 two nor need they be more than six. 
 
 Having thus provided for the supply of future bearing 
 wood, proceed in the next place, to select the shoots that 
 are to be retained as fruit bearers. In doing this, remem- 
 ber that good bearing wood is almost invariably round and 
 hard, of a good size, and short jointed with large promi- 
 nent buds, that are, in general, rather round at their ex- 
 tremities. Bearing these qualities in mind, choose such 
 shoots as answer this description, and that are situated 
 nearest to the stem, but sufficiently distant from each other 
 to admit of their fruiting shoots being conveniently trained 
 in the next summer, without being crowded. Shorten 
 each shoot to such part of it as is sound and hard, retain- 
 ing as many well ripened buds as possible. Let the shoots 
 be situated in equal numbers on each of the main branches ; 
 for instance, if the vine contain only two arms, similar to 
 figure 3 (page 83), and four bearing shoots be retained, let 
 two be situated on each arm ; also, let the two shoots on 
 one arm contain the same number of buds, or nearly so, 
 as the two on the other arm. Now, count the buds on 
 each shoot, omitting the two bottom ones, and set apart 
 the required number on the fewest shoots possible. Having 
 done this, cut all the other parts of the vine entirely away, 
 retaining only those on which are situated these bearing 
 shoots and the spurs to produce future bearers ; the main 
 object in view, being to get rid of the greatest quantity 
 possible of old wood. But if any of the shoots that are 
 to be thus cut away, should be favorably situated for the 
 production of bearing shoots at some future period, leave 
 on all such the lowermost bud, but with respect to all the 
 rest, cut them out close to their respective parent branches. 
 
 3d. Cut out from the bearing shoots that are retained 
 all their lateral shoots close to the base of the buds, and
 
 GENERAL AUTUMNAL PRUNING. 127 
 
 also the remaining portions of the tendrils and footstalks of 
 the bunches of fruit, (if any) as well as all excrescences, 
 and every portion of dead wood that remains in the vine. 
 Prune them all smoothly, close to their parent branches, 
 in a clean and workmanlike manner, leaving behind no 
 unsightly, ragged edges or extremities to disfigure the vine. 
 
 4th. If any part of the outer bark of the stem or 
 branches be decayed, which will be easily seen by its 
 loose and ragged appearance ; peel or scrape off all such 
 parts with a blunt-edged pocket knife, taking care not to 
 wound, or in any way injure the live bark. The decayed 
 bark, having lost its vitality, and with it its power of 
 resisting and throwing off the rain, becomes so highly 
 retentive of moisture, as to be almost sopping wet through- 
 out the winter months, especially if several layers of it 
 have been suffered to accumulate. In this state, if per- 
 mitted to remain, it speedily generates moss, and becomes 
 also the receptacle of innumerable insects. It is contrary, 
 indeed, to every known principle of vegetable life, that a 
 plant like the vine, which is a native of a warm climate, 
 should ever flourish while its stem and branches are thus 
 encircled with a decayed bandage, covered with moss and 
 saturated with moisture, which constantly chills its juices, 
 and thereby paralyzes the benefical effects of the sun and 
 air, during a period of the year when they are of the last 
 importance to the health of the plant. The annual re- 
 moval of the decayed bark, therefore, may be regarded as 
 a point of culture that tends very greatly to promote the 
 prosperous vegetation of the vine. 
 
 5th. The barking of the vine being finished, the whole 
 operation will be completed, and the branches must then 
 be nailed to the wall in a temporary manner. In doing 
 this, remember that the wind has very little power over 
 the naked wood, and that, therefore, a few strong shreds 
 nailed firmly over the branches at proper distances, will be 
 sufficient to protect them. Let the bearing shoots be 
 nailed on those parts of the wall where they will receive
 
 128 WINTER MANAGEMENT. 
 
 the greatest portion of the sun's rays, without any regard 
 to the situation which they will subsequently be made to 
 occupy at the winter training. The Tine, thus pruned, 
 barked, and nailed, will be in readiness to receive the in- 
 fluence of the season at the earliest period possible, and 
 will, throughout the winter, present a beautiful appearance 
 of dormant vegetation. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ON THE WINTER MANAGEMENT OF THE VINE. 
 
 December 1st. The winter being the proper time to 
 manure the border, let it now be lightly forked up, and a 
 good coating of manure laid over it about six inches deep, 
 which will answer the twofold purpose of enriching the 
 border and protecting the roots of the vine. It has been 
 already stated, that, after a vine has been planted a few 
 years, its roots will make their way up to the surface, if 
 the border be not disturbed by cropping or digging ; but it 
 is necessary to observe, that when they are so situated, 
 their tender fibres will inevitably perish, unless protected 
 from severe weather, during the depth of the winter. To 
 prevent this, therefore, and also to keep the roots as warm 
 as possible, the border should be covered over through this 
 and the two following months. For this purpose, long 
 stable manure about half made, is the most suitable, as, 
 from its spirituous nature, it will keep the soil warmer, and 
 more effectually resist the frost and other unfavorable at- 
 mospheric changes, than any other description of manure. 
 If this, however, cannot conveniently be procured, the 
 next best covering is that of dead leaves, which, after they 
 are decomposed, form a vegetable manure of the most fer-
 
 WINTER MANAGEMENT. 129 
 
 tilizing description. But if these cannot be obtained, any 
 of the manures mentioned as fit for top dressing (page 57) 
 may be substituted. It must be observed, that, as the 
 roots require to be kept as dry as possible in the winter, 
 liquid manure should be used very sparingly during that 
 period. 
 
 The roots being thus protected, nothing more is required 
 to be done till the month of March. 
 
 March 1st. If the season be forward, the vine must 
 now be permanently trained, but if otherwise, that opera- 
 tion may be performed any time during the next fortnight. 
 Observe, however, that as soon as the buds have swelled 
 sufficiently to burst the extremities of their winter cover- 
 ing, the vine must be trained immediately ; for, if delayed, 
 the buds will be liable to be rubbed off, in bending the 
 shoots and nailing them in their proper positions. 
 
 This is the proper time, also, previously to the vine 
 being permanently trained for the season, to wash the 
 wall agreeably to the directions given in page 62. 
 
 In nailing the shoots in the manner directed in the chap- 
 ter on Training, use fresh shreds, and be careful not to put 
 any round those parts of the vine that have been at any 
 previous time covered with shreds. The training being 
 finished, remove the covering from the border, leaving as 
 much of it to remain as may be advantageously mixed 
 with the soil. Fork up the border, and mix the manure 
 well with it : after which, rake the surface very smooth 
 and clean. 
 
 March 21. As soon after this time as the weather is dry, 
 salt the border. For this purpose procure a gallon of salt 
 for every square rod, and scatter it in the same manner as 
 if it were seed, distributing it as equally as possible over 
 the entire border. Then rake the surface very lightly, in 
 order that the salt may be mixed with the soil. The ap- 
 plication of salt to a vine border, is productive of the most 
 beneficial effects. It prevents the growth of weeds, de- 
 stroys the worms, keeps the surface open and clean, stim-
 
 130 WINTER MANAGEMENT. 
 
 ulates the growth of the vine, and ultimately enters largely 
 into its constitution. Any substance, indeed, of a saline 
 nature, the roots of vines seize upon with the greatest 
 avidity. 
 
 If, at the rising of the sap, the vine should bleed at any 
 of the wounds made by pruning or otherwise, put a piece 
 of moistened bladder round the wounded part, and tie it 
 closely and firmly with a strong thread well waxed wtih 
 beeswax.
 
 DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE 
 
 OP TWELVE SORTS OF GRAPES MOST SUITABLY. ADAPTED FOR 
 CULTURE ON THE OPEN WALL. 
 
 1. BLACK HAMBURGH. Bunches rather large, and hand- 
 somely shouldered. Berries hang loosely on the bunches, 
 oval shaped in general, and when well thinned, measure 
 when ripe, from two inches and a half to three inches and 
 a half in circumference. Skin rather thick, very nearly 
 black, and if well shaded with leaves, covered with a beau- 
 tiful blue bloom. Pulp fleshy, sweet, and of a rich vinous 
 flavor. Ripens in a south-eastern aspect, about the middle 
 of October, and may be easily kept on the vine in good pre- 
 servation till Christmas. As a splendid table fruit, this is, 
 in every respect, one of the most valuable grapes that can 
 be grown on the open wall. It is a prolific bearer, hardy 
 in its nature, and under judicious culture, will ripen with as 
 small a portion of direct solar heat, as any grape we have. 
 
 2. BLACK PRINCE. Bunches large, long, and in general 
 well shouldered. Berries oval, and when well thinned, 
 nearly as large as those of the Black Hamburgh. Skin 
 rather thick, very dark purple, and covered with a thick 
 blue bloom. Pulp fleshy, juicy, and well flavored. Ri- 
 pens in south-eastern aspect about the middle of October. 
 
 This is a very fine grape, and nearly, if not quite, equal 
 to the black Hamburgh.
 
 132 CATALOGUE OF GRAPES 
 
 3. ESPEKIONE. Bunches and berries closely resemble 
 in size and shape, the black Hamburgh. Skin nearly 
 black, and covered with a blue bloom. The pulp, which 
 adheres to the skin, is pleasant and well flavored. The 
 leaves die upon the vine of a rich orange hue. 
 
 The Esperione Vine is very hardy, extremely prolific, 
 and ripens its fruit perfectly in any season, however un- 
 favorable. 
 
 4. BLACK MUSCADINE. Bunches medium-sized, and 
 rather long. Berries round. Skin black, and covered 
 with a very thick blue bloom, which gives the bunches a 
 beautiful appearance. Pulp juicy, and when well ripened, 
 of a good flavor. 
 
 This is a very prolific bearer, but it requires a good as- 
 pect to ripen it perfectly. 
 
 5. MILLER'S BURGUNDY. Bunches short, thick, and 
 small. Berries small, rather oval, black, and grow very 
 close on the bunches. Skin rather thin, and covered with 
 a blue bloom. Pulp juicy, very sweet, and high flavored. 
 
 This is a very hardy and prolific grape, and ripens per- 
 fectly in any season. Its leaves, which are very thick, 
 distinguish it from every other sort, being covered on both 
 sides with a hoary down, which, when they are young, is 
 nearly white ; hence it is called the Miller's Grape. 
 
 6. CLARET GRAPE. Bunches small and thick. Ber- 
 ries black, small, rather oval, and closely set. Skin rather 
 thick, and generally covered with a blueish bloom. Pulp 
 juicy. Juice of a blood red color, but of a harsh taste un- 
 less perfectly ripened. 
 
 It requires a good aspect. 
 
 This is a very fine wine grape. Early in the summer, 
 its leaves change to a russet red, and die in the autumn, 
 of a deep purple blood color. 
 
 7. BLACK FRONTIGNAC. Bunches small. B erries round, 
 small, and thickly set. Skin black, and covered with a 
 light blue or violet bloom. Pulp juicy, and of a rich vi- 
 nous musky flavor.
 
 ADAPTED FOR OPEN WALLS. 133 
 
 8. GRIZZLY FRONTIGNAC. Bunches medium-sized, with 
 small shoulders. Berries round, and of a light brown col- 
 or, intermixed with red and yellow. The juice is exceed- 
 ingly rich, and possesses a high musky perfumed flavor. 
 
 9. WHITE FRONTIGNAC. Bunches long, arid occasion- 
 ally shouldered. Berries round, rather large, pretty closely 
 set, of a dull greenish yellow, and covered with a whitish 
 powdery bloom. Pulp juicy, sweet, very rich, with an 
 exquisite musky flavor. 
 
 The flavor of this and the two preceding grapes is so 
 extremely delicious, that no good vine wall should be 
 without them. They ripen well when the aspect is good, 
 and the soil very dry. 
 
 10. WHITE MUSCADINE. Bunches middle-sized, shoul- 
 dered, and handsomely formed. Berries round, and rather 
 large. Skin thin, arid if exposed to the direct rays of the 
 sun, acquires, when fully ripe, a yellowish brown color. 
 Pulp juicy, rich, and well flavored. 
 
 This is an exceedingly fine grape, and a prolific bearer ; 
 and from its hardy nature, and the certainty with which it 
 ripens in any season, it may be considered as the best 
 white grape that is grown on the open wall. 
 
 11. MALMSEY MUSCADINE. This resembles the pre- 
 ceding, except that the berries are smaller, and the bunch- 
 es not so regularly formed ; but the juice is sweeter, and 
 possesses a higher flavor. 
 
 12. WHITE SWEETWATER. Bunches middle-sized. Ber- 
 ries large, round, and grow close upon the bunches. Skin 
 thin, and when exposed to the sun, and fully ripe, pretty 
 thickly set with spots of a light russet color. Pulp very 
 juicy and luscious. 
 
 This is a delicious grape, but owing to its tenderness 
 when in blossom, the berries set very unevenly on the 
 bunches. 
 
 If it be desired to have a very early sort, to the preced- 
 ing may be added, the Early Black July, which, though 
 the bunches and berries are small, and the latter, in gen-
 
 134 CATALOGUE OF GRAPES, &C. 
 
 eral, unevenly set, is a very sweet, and also a well flavored 
 grape. 
 
 It would be easy to increase this catalogue numerically, 
 if it were necessary, but such a course, if adopted, would 
 only bewilder the cultivator, and render it a difficult mat- 
 ter for him to choose those sorts which experience has 
 proved are most appropriately adapted for culture on the 
 open wall. The sorts here enumerated embrace almost 
 every variation in flavor, color, and size of berry, that can 
 be perfectly ripened in the open air.
 
 H*
 
 UCSB LIBRARY
 
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