124 



Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 



[Feb. 2, 1920. 



growth is becoming weak, the spurs will need to be reluced in number. The 

 same result will possibly be achieved by reducing the spurs to one bud 

 instead of two, as a temporary expedient. 



In the course of years secondary arms tend to become overlong, and 

 methods already described should be resorted to in order to reduce them to 

 normal length. Under this system of training there is no cost of trellising, 

 although there is, of course, the cost of stakes to be taken into account for 

 the early years of the vine at any rate. CultivatioTi is more economical, for 

 the reason that it is quite possible to cultivate in several directions when the 

 vines are planted at suitable distances. Hand labour is thus redu<^ed to a 

 minimum. 



The varieties which may be trained upon the spur pruned bush compi-ise 

 the following: — Mataro, Grenache, Carignane, Frontignac, Pedro Ximenes, 

 Black Hamburgh, Muscat Hamburgh, Doradillo, Muscat Goi'do Blanco, and 

 most of the table grapes. 



Rod Prune 1 Bush Vine. 



On grounds of economy in the cost of establishing a vineyard, the rod 

 system is sometimes applied to the bush-trained vines, instead of erecting a 

 trellis. Although this may be considered false economy in many ways, the 



fact remains that a fair measure of success 

 is obtained from the practice. It may be 

 applied equally well to vigorous specimens 

 of the varieties mentioned, when grown 

 upon soils of more than average fertility. 

 As a means of checking rampant vigour, 

 the use of one or more rods for fruit- 

 bearing secures to the grower a much 

 heavier yield from these soils. 



Any of the spur pruned varieties men- 

 tioned in the preeeiling paragraph will 

 respond to this treatment. In addition 

 to its application to this particular class 

 of vine, others which are usually trellised, 

 such as 8hiraz, Carbenet, liiesling, Mal- 

 beck, itc, may be trained on similar lines. At the same time it must be 

 borne in mind that the.«e latter varieties yield the best returns when syste- 

 matically trained upon a trellis. The rod pruned bush can only be looked 

 upon as a possible substitute. 



Formation. 



In all r<\s])ects the vine is developed from year to year in exactly the same 

 manner as described for the spur pruned type, and until the formation is 

 completed it would be unwise to adopt any regular system of rods. The 

 number of spurs w ill equal, find in most cases exceed, that of the rods, and, 

 generally speaking, it will be found that from three to four rods to six spurs 



FIG 12. 

 Spur pruned bush vine. 



