512 • Report of the Horticulturist of the 



renewal system the two main arms are usually ringed just beyond 

 the renewal bud. With this system of training several shoots 

 are left in the center of the plant which supply a sufficient amount 

 of plant food to support the vine. Some growers find it more 

 satisfactory to ring their vines every other year, since with this 

 method the vines are given an opportunity to recover from any 

 loss of vigor they may have suffered. 



With any system of training, in order to get the best results, 

 the vines must not be allowed to carry too large a crop of fruit. 

 Since each ringed arm acts independently so far as maturing its 

 fruit is concerned it will be seen that there is a certain relation 

 between the leaf surface and the amount of fruit on the ringed 

 vine. A large amount of fruit with insufficient leaf surface on 

 the ringed arms results in inferior or even worthless grapes; hence 

 the importance of an abundance of foliage free from plant disease 

 and insect attack. It is equally important that there be an abun- 

 dance of healthy foliage back of the rings in order to supply the 

 plant with sufficient nourishment to keep it in a vigorous condi- 

 tion. All fruit back of the rings should be removed, for if 

 allowed to remain it does not properly mature and only adds a use- 

 less drain on the plant's vitality. 



The increase in size and early maturing of the fruit is commonly 

 thought to take place at the expense of quality and firmness. Our 

 experience goes to show that this is true of some varieties; whether 

 or not it is a general principle is not so clear. 



Fruit from ringed Delaware vines in our experiments was found 

 to lack much of the fine quality that is characteristic of this variety. 

 On the other hand the loss of quality was not noticeable in some 

 of the less delicately flavored sorts. The fruit of those varieties 

 that crack easily, as the Worden, was found to be more marked 

 in this characteristic when grown on ringed vines. 



Growers have found that the best results with ringing are ob- 

 tained by doing the work when the grapes are about one-third 

 grown; the exact time depending on the season and variety. The 



