Seeing that you have a good aspect, it would not be advisable to start your Vines into growth too early. March is a good time. Do not run up a great heat all of a sudden whenever you see the buds push. 50° by night, should never be exceeded by means of fire-heat; nor yet 60° by day, until the shoots are pushed 6 or 8 inches. Of course, if the sun shines brightly, the right thing is to allow the heat to run up to 70°, or even 80°. We need not say anything more on this head, as our directions for the first year will also do for the second, in every particular except one, and that is, that instead of allowing the lateral growths to run out, they should be stopped, and kept stopped at one joint. The reason for this is, that when the laterals are allowed to run too far out, the main buds (which are to produce fruit next year) remain flat and undeveloped; whereas, when the lateral growth is restricted, the buds plump up and become round. Now this is a point of some importance, and the best gardeners are quite unanimous on it; although some few allege that the more growth that is made, and the more leaves that are allowed to develop, the greater is the strength of the Vines. This is more apparent than real; for when the growth is restricted, the leaves swell to a size and assume a substance unapproached by the leaves of Vines which are unrestrained in their growth; and experience teaches me that quality in leaves, as in everything else, is of greater importance than mere quantity without it.

We may see here that it is the leaves of the plants which do the work, and therefore they must be kept in health, or otherwise the plants will fail.

After the leaves have fallen, pruning must be again done, and this simply consists in cutting the rods back to about 5 feet from where they were cut last year. This will leave room for six pairs of shoots, or spurs as they are termed, for we advise your following the spur system, as it is called. The spurs should be at least 15 inches apart, and as evenly distributed along the rods as possible. To secure this, it is well to slice off the buds which are not wanted with a sharp knife. Besides the buds left for spurs or side growths, one must be left for a leader, of course. An inch of wood should always be left beyond the buds when they are pruned, otherwise they may be weakened. After scrubbing the rods carefully with soapy water, the cuts should be dressed as advised for the first year, then remove any loose soil on the surface of the border and replace it with fresh soil; and over all a fresh mulching of manure, in the same way as formerly directed, and you are again ready for a start.

Before there are any signs of the buds moving, the rods should be bent over, along the side of the front wall, so that their points may be on a level with the floor. The object of this is, to cause all the buds to break (grow) together, and so be of uniform strength, as those which are uppermost are apt to start first and absorb any sap which may be ready for use, and thus cause the lower ends to break weakly. For this reason, also, it is not wise to try to get the Vines to start too many spurs. In regard to temperatures and time of starting, the advice given before applies here. We ought to say, however, that it is good economy to aid the plants with artificial heat in the early spring months, so that the fruit and wood may have a chance of ripening early. We do not like the practice of keeping up the heat by means of the fire-shovel late in autumn. The results are never equal. Aid them with fire-heat in spring, for the ripening process does not go on satisfactorily without plenty of sun, although growth may be promoted to a great extent without it.

Instead of tying your rods to the trellis (which should be at least 16 inches from the glass) as before, we advise you to hang them by means of stout cord, 8 or 10 inches further down. The reason for this is, that by so doing you will have more room for foliage, and it is a good thing to allow the Vines to carry as much foliage as possible, without overcrowding. The common practice is to stop the shoots at one, or at most two, leaves beyond the bunch. When a bunch is left to every spur this is too little leaf-power to bring the bunches up to perfection, and hence many only take a bunch from every alternate spur. You cannot afford to do this, so you ought to hang the rods below the trellis, and so give the branches a chance to spread upwards as well as outwards, and room to carry three, four, five, or six leaves beyond the fruit, without overcrowding. Whenever the shoots are stopped, all subsequent attempts at growth should be pinched off at the first leaf.

Each growth will produce a bunch, and maybe two. Put off all except one on each growth, otherwise the Vines will be over-cropped - not by any means an uncommon occurrence. After the berries have become the size of peas they must be thinned out. This will go against the grain, for it looks, to the beginner, like throwing away part of the crop. It is not so, however, for the bunches will not be any lighter, ultimately, for having two-thirds of the berries cut out, and the quality will be much enhanced. When thinning, it should be borne in mind that ultimately the berries will be about the size of marbles, and room should be left for them swelling to that size. Generally speaking, two-thirds will require cutting out, but practice and experience of varieties alone can determine what is the exact quantity to remove. Only the best berries should be left, and an eye should be kept to having symmetrical bunches. The uppermost limbs of large branches - shoulders they are called - should be suspended (so that their weight may be removed from the lower parts of the branch) by means of a thin shred of tying material.

After the fruit is ripe the house should be kept rather cooler and drier, and less water on the borders will suffice. Should it be necessary to keep the fruit for a few weeks, the air of the house should be kept dry, even although fire-heat should require to be used. Any berries that show the least signs of decay should be removed immediately they are seen, or they will very soon contaminate the whole bunch. As to temperature, air-giving, and care of the Vine's health generally, the treatment should just be as before advised. By the time the Vines are bearing to the top of the house, the border will be pretty well filled with roots, and greater care will need to be taken that they do not become dry. Liquid manure may then be given with great advantage when the fruit is fairly set. Cow-urine, house-sewage, or manure-drain-ings of any kind may be given, but always well diluted. When none of these are to be had, a sprinkling of guano may be put over the borders and watered in, which will serve the same purpose.

Pruning will have again to be done after the leaves are shed, and this is the last Wesson in pruning the Vine which we will require to give you. The main stem will need to be cut back again to within 3 1/2 or 4 feet from where it was cut the year before. Three pairs of spurs, in addition to last year's ones, will be all that you will be able to start satisfactorily, and more should not be attempted. Last season's shoots should be cut back to one eye, unless the one nearest the old wood is very small; in that case the second bud should be chosen. In all other necessary particulars, the operations are just the same as stated before. Should difficulties arise, you must just apply to some practical man, who will, we doubt not, enlighten you; but we think a careful study of the foregoing, coupled with your own intelligence, will render you independent of anybody. Without any direction of ours you might have produced good Grapes; but we feel convinced that you will grow them better, and more of them, and have greater confidence in your proceedings, than without such help. The person before referred to attributes his success to the instructions herein contained, and we hope many others may derive similar benefit therefrom.

J. H.

(To be continued).