Читать книгу The Raisin Industry - Gustavus A. Eisen - Страница 48

—A process much used in the currant vineyards is the ringing of the branches. At the time of blossoming, some of the main branches are cut in such a way that a small ring of bark is separated from the branch near its base. The sap which ascends in the interior of the branch, but which returns by the bark, is thus prevented from returning, and must remain in the branch. The effect is that a large number of clusters are formed with berries both larger and sweeter than those not thus treated. But the practice is not without its drawbacks. In the dry lands of Cephalonia, where it was first introduced, it was soon discovered that the ringed vines began to fail after two or three years, and the method had to be modified or abandoned. In Morea, where the soil is moister and richer, the ringing did not prove as dangerous, and is yet practiced, though great care is taken that the same branch is never girdled or ringed in two successive years. Only the strongest vines are able to resist the exhausting effects of the process; the weaker ones should never be forced to overproduce.

The exhalations of fig-trees and pomegranate bushes are considered most beneficial to the currant grape, and the former are found everywhere among the plantations, especially along roads and ditches.