16 The Bulletin. 



and the plant is not so apt to break the stake off at the surface of the 

 ground "when supporting a heavy plant and crop. 



Tying.— The most important operation in connection with training 

 is that of tying up the plant. Great care should be taken and only 

 trustworthy persons used for this work. The vines are carefully 

 gathered together, coiled around the stake in a spiral form, and tied 

 at two or three different places. In tying it at two places, tie 

 about the middle of the stake and again near the top ; in tying at 

 three places, the first cord is placed about 2 feet above the ground, 

 the second 31/2 feet, and the third near the top of the stake. In 

 general, it is best to tie at three places, as the plant is supported 

 in much better condition. (See Plate V.) The cord used in tying 

 should be soft, so as not to cut into the cane. Eaffia can also be 

 used for this purpose. It is extremely strong and cheap, but tends 

 to cut into the vines more than the soft cord. The cord should not 

 be dra^vn so tight as to injure the vine. The vines are usually so- 

 long that they exceed the height of the stake by two or three feet \. 

 these ends must be cut off. By cutting off the ends, many more lat- 

 erals are formed on the remainder of the vines, and usually the fruit- 

 ing is much heavier. The cutting-off is done with a pair of hand 

 pruning shears. 



Training to Wires.— In this method the rows are from 8 to 10 

 feet apart. Strong posts are set 40 feet apart in the row, along 

 which either one or two (No. 9) wires are stretched. With this 

 method cultivation can be practiced in one direction only, increasing 

 the amount of hoeing. Its advantages are cheapness in sections 

 where stakes are difficult to obtain, and the rows are far apart, allow- 

 ing a wagon to pass between them for hauling out old canes, dis- 

 tributing manure and fertilizers. It allows as many, or more, plants 

 to the acre as the stake method. 



Two-wire Method.— Two wires are better than one, as they sup- 

 port the plant in much better condition and are more satisfactory in 

 every way. The first wire is placed about 21/2 feet from the ground, 

 and the upper wire about 4I/2 to 5 feet, and the tying to these wires 

 is very similar to that in the stake method. (See Plate VI.) 



A modification of this method, and one which has an advantage, is 

 to gather up the vines in a bunch, tie them to the lower wire, then 

 divide the bunch of vines and tie each half, about 12 inches apart, 

 to the upper wire. This does not crowd the vines so badly, and 

 gives far more light and room for development. It has the dis- 

 advantage of requiring two tyings to the upper wire for each hill. 



One-wire Method.— The one-wire method, which is used some- 

 what in this State, is in some respects quite unsatisfactory. There 

 are several modifications of this method ; one is to have the wire= 



