CHAPTER VIII 



METHODS OF TRAINING GRAPES IN EASTERN 

 AMERICA 



The grape-grower takes great liberties with Nature in train- 

 ing his plants. No other fruit is so completely transformed 

 by the grower's art from its natural habit of growth. Happily, 

 the grape endures cutting well, and the pruner may rest as- 

 sured that he may work his will in pruning his vines, following 

 to his heart's desire a favorite method with little fear of seri- 

 ously injuring his vines. Because of its accommodation to the 

 desires of man in the disposition of the vine, there are many 

 methods of training the grape; there being in the commercial 

 vineyards of eastern America a dozen or more. However, 

 the differences and similarities are so marked that the several 

 methods fall into a simple classification which makes con- 

 spicuous their chief features. Thus, all of the methods fall 

 under two chief heads: (1) The disposition of shoots; (2) the 

 disposition of canes. 



The disposition of shoots. 



Bearing shoots are disposed of in three ways in training 

 grapes; shoots upright, shoots drooping, and shoots hori- 

 zontal. The terms explain themselves, but the three methods 

 need amplification since their adoption is not optional with 

 growers but depends on several circumstances. 



Shoots are trained upright in several methods in which two 

 or more arms or canes are laid to right and left, sometimes 



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