_Care of Cuttings, Planting and Grafting._--Great importance is attached to procuring cuttings from a distance, or in getting new strains. Cuttings from the nearest vineyard are never used, as they are considered to produce inferior vines, and not do as well. To procure cuttings or vines, the old vines are sometimes cut a few inches below the surface of the soil, causing the parent plant to throw off numerous suckers or shoots, which the following winter are separated and used as we do rooted vines here in California. Three or four years will elapse before they come into regular bearing. Some vineyards are produced by grafting the black currant on the wine grape, and many wine vineyards that do not pay are thus transformed into paying raisin vineyards. The grafted vines come into bearing much sooner than those grown from cuttings. The grafting is performed in Zante as follows: The soil is dug away from the main trunk of the old vine to the depth of from twelve to eighteen inches, and the trunk cut off square at the bottom of the pit. Two or three scions are then inserted in the trunk, and made to slightly project above the ground, in no case with more than two or three eyes. Clay is then applied to the joint of the graft, and the trunk slightly covered with leaves, and the hole then filled up with soil. The grafting is done in the spring, and the cuttings must be kept dormant in dark and cool cellars. _Pruning the Vines._--The pruning is done in the fall, just as soon as the leaves have fallen, and is performed in two parts. In December, the vines are cleaned of all small, weakly or dead branches, and at that time only the large and strong branches are left. In February, the regular cutting back commences, two or three eyes being left on every spur. There are as many different ideas of pruning the vines in Greece as there are in California, each one having his favorite methods and theories as to what is proper and what is not. Some vineyardists prefer to delay the second pruning until after the vines have started to bud out, and, when the young shoots are two weeks old, the old wood is so cut that the bleeding of the vine will not run down on the bud. Bleeding is at any time considered injurious. The principal pruning is therefore conducted in February, as being the time most suitable to the currant grape and conducive to the best crops. Mr. Manoti, a very intelligent Zanteote currant grower, told Dr. Davy (_Ionian Islands_, page 343) that he had at one time experimented with pruning the currant vine at different times of the year. Those pruned in December yielded very few grapes, which were large; those pruned in April gave plenty, but very small berries. Again, those pruned in February were in every way the best. Mr. Manoti added that if he had told one of his neighbors of his experiments they would have laughed at him, and said, “Whoever thinks of pruning the uva passa (or currant) in December or April.” This shows how