Page:A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine and, and the Art of Making Wine.pdf/136

 to expect a harvest from the after buds. When the weather has become mild, the branches which have suffered, may be removed above the uninjured buds.

In the operation of pruning, care should be taken, that the instrument of the workman be sharp, that the wood may not be bruised. The cut should be an inch from the nearest eye, and sloping from the side opposite to it.

A question which divides agriculturists. is, whether it is more advantageous to prune in autumn, or in spring; and this is a question which each cultivator must determine for himself, by the nature of the climate under which his vines are situated. It is rather a question to be determined by circumstances, than by a general rule. If, on the one hand, the vine is pruned in autumn, the wood may be still unripe; and it is an observation, whose truth has been confirmed by long experience, that a vine, pruned before the wood has reached maturity, is sure to perish in the course of three or four years. If the operation is delayed till the complete maturity of the wood, it has much to fear from the severity of the winter, as, from its open and spongy nature, it is very susceptible of injury from frosts and moisture.

If, on the other hand, the operation is delayed till spring, the frosts so frequently encroach upon