THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



9 



This last becomes thereby F. R. 2, 

 and from its base another shoot is 

 trained, which while growing is S. 2. 

 The next pruning removes F. E. 2, 

 and converts S. 2 into F. R. 3, and 

 so on for ever. 



In case the shoot of the year is 

 weak, or insufficiently ripened, cut it 

 back to a plump bud near the base, 

 and take a second crop from the old 

 wood. The next year you may get 

 a strong shoot, and then you can 

 return to the long rod system and 

 prune according to the rule given. 



Spue Peuning. — When we have 

 a fine ripe rod we cut it back to about 

 ten buds from the base. It can be 

 lengthened on from year to year till 

 the rafter is quite furnished, and 

 every year it will recpiire to be 

 " spurred in." The fruit is borne 

 on shoots of the year which spring 

 from shoots of the previous year or 

 from old wood. Therefore we cut 

 back the shoots that have borne fruit 

 to the last full round eye, as in 

 Fig. 4. That eye produces next 

 year its shoot and bunch, and is next 

 year cut back again, and so on for 

 ever. 



Fig. 4. 



Rod and Spue Peuning. — Sup- 

 pose the vine pruned on the spur 

 system to become in time a mass of 

 ugly snags. It will probably by that 

 time also begin to decline in vigour, 

 for old spurs do not take the sap 

 kindly. There must then be a com- 

 bination of the two systems, and this 

 is also simple enough. Train and 

 encourage a strong rod from near the 

 base of your fruiting rod, and the 

 next year cut away the fruiting rod 

 and begin again on the spur system. 

 If the roots are aided at the same 



time, an old vine will by this process 

 obtain a new lease of its life, and 

 show once more the vigour of its 

 youthful days. 



Close Peuning. — Old spurs will 

 sometimes push buds from the very 

 base or collar. When this occurs 

 there is a capital opportunity offered 

 for renewing the spur, and the way 

 to proceed is to cut back to the bud 

 in the collar and let it have its own 

 way. But why not do so from the 

 first and always obtain buds from the 

 collar ? This can be done if the sys- 

 tem of close pruning be adopted from 

 the first ; but it is absurd to change 

 from spur pruning to close pruning, 

 because when the spurs are old, the 

 buds at the collar are for the most 

 part used up by exhaustion, and to 

 prune close in such cases is simply to 

 destroy fruiting spurs without making 

 sure of spurs to succeed them. 



But let us take the vine in the 

 first year of its fruiting. The spurs 

 are then rich in embryo buds at the 

 junction of the spur with the rod; 

 you are therefore always to cut back 

 close to the collar and look for a crop 

 from the best bud which comes from 

 the collar. 



Compaeisons. — The long rod sys- 

 tem is advantageous because of its 

 extreme simplicity. It is objection- 

 able for several reasons. As there 

 are always two rods to be trained up, 

 there is oftentimes too much shade 

 for the due ripening of the crop. 

 To be sure, shade is essential, grapes 

 have neither colour nor flavour unless 

 shaded with their own leaves ; but if 

 those leaves are again shaded by 

 other leaves, they cannot minister to 

 the nourishment of the bunches, and 

 poor fruit is likely to be the result. 

 Another objection is, that the rod 

 growing is apt to absorb nourish- 

 ment which the bunches want ; the 

 production of bunches and a long 

 rod every year is too much for the 

 vine. The system is further objec- 

 tionable because of its uncertainty. 

 I have a fine rod. How do I know 

 that if I cut it away I shall obtain 

 another like it ? I just know no- 

 thing about it, and as a matter of 

 fact the rod does sometimes ripen its 

 wood so imperfectly that I am com- 



