This practice will, in all cases, give the greatest dimensions of which the bunch is capable. When the bunch is a shouldered one, the shoulders should be expanded and supported by strings, and when finally thinned out, the berries should be kept at such a distance as not only not to touch each other, but to have some considerable space between them. By this means the berries will not only acquire the greatest possible size, but the highest degree of both colour and flavour: besides this, any bunch of grapes, deprived of one third of its original number of berries, by judicious and timely thinning, will weigh fully as much when matured, if not much more, than it would have done had it been left in a state of nature, to say nothing of its vastly superior quality; the interior and exterior berries possessing an equal degree of both colour and flavour. The fellow shoot, which had been cut down to two eyes, will have sent forth two shoots, which must be treated in the same manner as directed for the first two in the preceding

summer.

In the autumn pruning, when the leaves are fallen, the shoot which produced the fruit must be cut out, leaving the two young shoots only, which are to be treated precisely as those had been before, except leaving the long shoot with a few more eyes, in consequence of the increased strength of the plant; and allowing, perhaps, two bunches to remain from each eye, instead of reducing them to one.

This mode of pruning and training is applicable principally to those houses where the rafters only are to be occupied by the vine, as over the pine-pit, or where other crops are cultivated in the body of the house; but when it is intended to occupy the whole roof, this system may still be adopted, by extending the vine on each side of the rafter, till it meets that from the adjoining one; or, the vine may be divided at the bottom of the rafter, on

its first training, and formed with two principals on each side, making four principals to each vine. If, however, the vines should consist of the larger-fruited class, such as Muscat of Alexandria, Black Hamburgh, or Syrian, &c., one principal on the rafter and one on each side will be much better than more. It may likewise be necessary to extend this system still further, where the house is large, and has a great length of rafter, which may be done by forming a second series one half the way up the rafter: by this means a cop will be obtained under the upper as well as the lower part of the roof.

There are some who adopt a spur system in the management of their vines, and who obtain very good grapes; but in this case a provision must be made for a supply of bearing wood, when the limbs producing these spurs are exhausted, and require to be renewed.

Vines against the open wall.

In the management of Vines against the common wall, where it is intended to be wholly occupied for grapes, I should recommend a somewhat similar method of pruning and training to be adopted as that under glass; with this difference, that instead of cutting down alternately for two shoots, one only will be required.

The vines should be planted at six feet apart, and supposing the young plant to have one good and vigourous shoot, it must be cut down to three or four eyes. As soon as the young shoots are long enough to nail to the wall, two of the best must be selected, and trained horizontally within nine inches of the ground: when each shoot has extended two feet and a half from the stem, it must be trained in a perpendicular direction for two or three feet according to its strength, when it must

Q

be stopped, and such lateral shoots as may be produced after that time, must be treated as directed before.

In the autumn when the leaves are fallen, each shoot should be pinned back to the horizontal line where it had turned upwards, thus leaving a foot between the extremities of each vine.

As soon as the young shoots are long enough, three must be selected from each shoot at a foot distance from each other one at the extremity, another a foot from that, and a third within six inches of the stem where it had been first headed down; these must be trained perpendicularly, and if each plant has furnished its six shoots, they will be a foot from each other the whole length of the wall. When they have attained a height of four feet they must be stopped, and not suffered to extend further that season.

This mode of arrangement is by far the most perfect of any that I have seen, and when the vines have extended some way up the wall, they will make a very neat and uniform appearance, nor will they be less so at any future period.

If the vines should be weak when first planted out, it will be better to cut them down to two eyes, and select the best shoot from each, which should be trained perpendicularly the first year: during this time the plants will have got firm hold of the soil, and proceeded with as directed before.

may

be

In the next autumn pruning, every alternate shoot must be cut down to two eyes, and the others left two or three feet, according to their strength, for fruit. Should these produce more than half a dozen bunches each, it would be better to reduce them to this number, as eighteen bunches will be as many as any one of the plants, at this age, ought to be allowed to bear. The intermediate shoots which had been cut down to two eyes, will produce two shoots, the best of which only

must remain, and be trained upright for fruit the follow-
ing year, when it may be left five or six feet, and those
which produced fruit cut down to two eyes the same as be-
fore; thus having, every alternate year, wood and fruit
from the same part of the horizontal limb.

Should the wall be too high to be reached by a single
series in this manner, a second one must be arranged for
the purpose.

I need not add, that the thinning of the bunches of
grapes with the scissors will be very essential to their
perfection, both in size and flavour, especially of the
larger sorts; as, in a fine season, they then nearly equal
those grown under glass.

I have been entirely indebted to the late Mr. Speechly
for this method of managing the vine, which I believe
was never practised previously by any other person in
this country. I have adopted it for several years, and
I confess I prefer it to that of any other. In Speechly's
Treatise on the Vine, p. 106, there is a very neat plate,
representing the plant in six successive stages of its
growth, each pruned at the end of the season.

I visited Mr. Speechly at Welbeck some years before
his death, and had an ample opportunity of witnessing
the excellence of his management, both in his vines and
pines, and I cannot close this article without bearing
testimony to one of the most eminent men of his time.
in this department of horticulture.