_Ringing the Vines._--This consists in removing a part of the bark all around a cane. In France and Greece a special instrument is made to perform this operation quickly and carefully. A ring of bark half an inch wide is all that is required to have the desired effect. The vines are ringed when the grapes are half grown, and only a few canes are ringed on each vine. The effect of ringing is to greatly increase the crop of grapes, also to produce the grapes earlier in the season. So far this process has not been used in California to any extent. In the Grecian Islands, where currants are raised, this ringing has been practiced for years, with more or less beneficial effect. The sap in the cane that is ringed is prevented from again returning to the root, and goes to produce a larger quantity of grapes above the ring. But thereby the cane is seriously injured, and often to such an extent that it must be entirely removed the following season. Care must therefore be taken to leave enough unringed branches to serve as fruit-bearing wood the following year. If done with care and good judgment, the ringing does no great injury to the vine. For a fuller account of the process, see article on Currants. _The Vineyard Labors of the Year._--The following synopsis of the various labors in a raisin vineyard can only be of interest to the beginner, or to any one who contemplates engaging in the raisin business. The data given are only approximate, as they must differ in different localities, or according to the changing of the seasons: _December._--After the first frost, or when the vines are dormant, planting new vines and cuttings may begin. Pruning the old wood. Burning the prunings. Manuring the soil. _January._--Plowing, cultivating and planting. _February._--Cultivating and plowing. _March._--Grafting the grapes and finishing plowing. _April._--Hoeing the vines and cultivating. Sulphuring and suckering. _May._--Sulphuring and summer pruning. _June._--Hoeing. Covering or tying over the vines. _July._--Irrigating where needed. Fixing trays and sweatboxes. _August._--Distributing trays and sweatboxes in the vineyard. Picking the first crop. Packing should begin as soon as possible. _September._--Picking, drying, turning the trays, reversing, taking up. _October._--Picking the last of the second crop. Packing continues. _November._--Hauling in, stacking and cleaning off trays and sweatboxes. Irrigating and manuring the land. New land should be prepared for planting, which should begin as soon as the first frost has killed the leaves of the vine. PRUNING.