o leave spurs with two
buds, or at the most only four; when too much fruit sets, remove it very
early, before the juices of the vine have been wasted upon it. A vine
cut or wounded in spring will bleed profusely. Sheet India-rubber, or
two or three thicknesses of a bladder, wet and bound closely around, may
prevent the bleeding.

_Mildew_--is very destructive in confined locations, without a good
circulation of air. Sulphur and quicklime, separate or combined, dug
into the soil around the vines, is a preventive. Straw or litter of any
kind, spread thick under the vines, is, perhaps, the best remedy--the
action of it is in every way beneficial.

_Insects._--The rosebug, spanworm, great greenworm, and many other
insects, infest grapevines, and do much injury. The large worms are most
easily destroyed by hand; the small insects by flour-of-sulphur, or by
snuff, sprinkled over profusely when the vines are wet. The various
applications recommended in this work for the destruction of insects,
are useful on the grapevine. The principle is to apply something
offensive to the insects, without being injurious to the vines.

_Preserving Grapes._--Packed in sawdust or wheat-bran, always thoroughly
dried by heat, they will keep well until spring. Another method is
packing them in cotton-batting or wadding (the latter is best); or put
them in baskets holding no more than four or five quarts, cover tight
with cotton, and hang up in a cool, airy place, and they will long
remain in good condition. In shallow boxes, six inches deep, put a sheet
of wadding, and on it a layer of bunches of grapes, not allowed to
touch each other; on the top of the grapes put another sheet of cotton,
and then another layer of grapes, and so the third, covering the last
with cotton, and put the cover on tight, and keep in a cool place. This
is the most successful method.

A new method is to suspend hoops by three cords, like a baby-jumper, and
hang the bunches of grapes all around it, as near as possible without
touching, on little wire hooks, passing through the lower ends of the
clusters, allowing the stem end to be suspended, and the grapes hang
away from each other, and if the place be not damp enough to mould them,
and not dry enough to cause them to shrivel, they keep exceedingly well.
It requires more care and judgment, than the other methods. A very cool
situation, without freezing, is essential in all cases. It is also
necessary to remove all br