In this paper we propose to point out a few of the errors into which amateur Grape-growers especially are prone to fall, though these errors are by no means confined to them. Prominent amongst these is overcropping; this proceeds from a very natural desire to get the greatest weight of fruit possible from a given area, but it generally defeats the end aimed at.

We were once telegraphed for by a gentleman to come and advise him what could be done for his Grapes, as they were red and sour. When we arrived at the nearest railway station to his residence, the gardener met us, and in reply to an inquiry regarding the state of the Grapes, he said he believed the Vines were overcropped, but his employer would not allow him to take any of the bunches off. We met the proprietor near the garden, and we all three went into the vinery. We listened to the remarks he made about his Vines, which ran in the direction of blaming the gardener for "not giving heat enough, or air enough, or something of that sort." But what did we see? Why, two bunches on every lateral, on some three, the berries nearly all red, and sour as vinegar, with here and there a black one which was sweet. They were Black Hamburgs. We at once stated that the crop left on the Vines was three times more than they could bear, and that if a third of the quantity had been left on them the fruit would have been good. The proprietor had philosophical theories about nature guiding plants in the production of only such quantities of fruit as they are able to bring to maturity.

We need scarcely add that the Vine is not the only plant that repudiates this doctrine, though it does it perhaps more evidently than any other, a notable example of which was the case here referred to. It is impossible to lay down an exact rule as to the number or weight of bunches that ought to be left on Vines occupying a given area, so much depends on the vigour of the Vines, the state of the border, and the supplies of liquid manure that can with safety be given to the roots. As a general rule, one bunch on every alternate lateral is a sufficient crop. Those who grow Grapes for exhibition frequently reduce the bunches to half-a-dozen, and even a smaller number than that, to a 20-feet rod; but this is a sacrifice made for a special purpose, and has no bearing on the question in hand.

"We superintended the erection and planting of a couple of small vineries for an amateur neighbour some few years ago. In 1867 one of these houses, 30 feet long by 10 feet wide, had ninety-nine bunches of Grapes on it, none of them under 2 lb., many of them 4 lb. weight, thus giving a crop of at least 300 lb., or something like 1 lb. to the foot superficial of the glass roof. We protested that the Vines would be ruined, but they finished their crop well. Last year the crop was equally heavy, but they did not colour. This year the crop is very meagre, and the Vines show that they are thoroughly exhausted; and we have no doubt it will take them a couple of years to recover their strength, if ever they do so, to their original point. We have given these examples as being better than precept - we could give many such.

Another and a very common error in Grape cultivation is the crowding of the wood and foliage. Many seem to prefer having three unripe and unfruitful laterals to one that would be certain to bear fruit.

We saw the most aggravated case of this description that ever came under our notice in Holland in 1861. We were anxious to see Dutch gardening as practised in one of the best private gardens of the country; and, under the guidance of M. Van Velson of Haarlem, we made our way to one that had the reputation we required. There we found, amongst numerous other glass erections, a range of three well-built vineries; the extreme ends of the range were built of brick, the roofs alone being of glass; and so dense was the mass of foliage against the glass, that it was with difficulty we could see the few small bunches of Grapes that hung on long foot-stalks like the pendulums of Dutch clocks. They did not make up the fourth of the crop such houses ought to produce. The gardener - who, by the way, had on a clean white apron, as had all his assistants - asked us through M. Van Velson what we thought of his Vines. We replied that if they were under our care we should that afternoon cut out three-fourths of the wood, and spread the remainder out so as to expose its foliage properly to light and air.

With a shrug of his shoulders he replied, "And where would you get your fruit from next year V1 We explained that experience had taught us that one well-ripened rod is worth more, as far as the production of good fruit was concerned, than ten that are not. Judging from certain shrugs of the shoulders and grimaces, we rather suspect that our advice was not followed, and that the good Dutchman sticks to quantity, in preference to quality, still.

A third and very common error is the allowing all the bunches that set to hang on the Vines too long before they are thinned off, and too long a time to elapse before the berries are thinned in the bunches. The former is a great waste of the vital strength of the Vine. Therefore, as soon as the Grapes are set, reduce the bunches at once to the required number; then set about thinning the berries in the bunches, beginning with the Hamburgs and free setters first. Bunches can never be properly thinned when the berries are so large that the scissors can scarcely be got in amongst them without damaging those berries that are to form the bunches. As a rule, we believe the berries in the bunches are more frequently over than under thinned. Nothing looks worse than to see a bunch of Grapes much over-thinned, and its shoulders tied out with strings till it resembles nothing so much as some of Punch's caricatures of "the Russian eagle;" and when cut and laid on a dessert-dish, it would be a misnomer to call it a bunch of Grapes.

Still another error is that of allowing the Vines to make an excess of lateral growth beyond the bunches, till they present a tangled mass of growth, and then on a given day to set to work and cut away all this overgrowth at once, forgetting that by this means great injury must be done to the young roots of the Vine, and a shock given to its general system. The proper method is to pinch such laterals beyond the first leaf at least once a-week during the season of rapid growth.

W. Thomson.