Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/241

 will restore them. I have known nature herself to rectify this matter by sending forth no fruit buds for several seasons on a young tree that had overborne for two years. And once a grape vine I had which had borne in a most astonishing prolific manner for several seasons running, suddenly stopped bearing altogether for nearly five years.

This is a favorite fruit, and I think quite the most interesting to grow. I have often wondered that women do not take up fruit growing more frequently, it is such a very delightful pursuit, and requires but little study to understand. Any woman might undertake vine culture and she need have no reaching or climbing, which I heard one lady say was her objection when I suggested fruit growing as an occupation for women. The grape requires well drained land, it must have specially good under drainage. A sandy soil is the best, and it need not be particularly rich so long as it is drained well. The side of a hill with a westerly aspect makes a good vineyard, and on a trellis is the best manner of training the vines. The cuttings should be struck first and the strongest selected for planting. For trellising, plant from seven to nine feet apart, and about twelve feet between each row. The first year the vine must be allowed to make as much wood as it will, but allowing but the one strong main stem, and train from this two main arms, a right and a left, starting them at about twenty-two or twenty-three inches from the ground, and leaving spurs at not less than nine or ten inches apart on these arms. In this way, and by careful training and coaxing the shoots into position the vines will have made a good start in the first year. The second year still make wood, and if a few fruit buds show nip them off; they are not very likely to do so unless the vines are old stocks or plants. Do away with all lateral shoots, which are those long shoots springing from the roots or from the sides of the main stem, and when a shoot or branch has grown a certain length top it and let it branch out. In tying up the young shoots it is best to use some soft strips of stuff that cannot cut into the vine.

When a girl, my sisters and myself used to do a good deal of this work among the grape vines in the early morning, which is the best time for it, and we always saved the strips of flannel, selvages, and pieces of soft woollen material for the purpose. Wire makes the best trellis, and three wires are better than four, or if four are used the two lowest should be about six inches apart, and the other two the same, leaving a wide space in the centre between, I have found the best arrangement, as it gives the chance of training the arm of one vine along the top wires, and the next or opposite arm along the lower. Almost every grower has his