GRAPE-PRUNING ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 175 



a renewal spur. The framework of the vine consists of a trunk 

 of medium height, with a vase-formed head consisting of three 

 or four arms. The defects of this system have been pointed 

 out on page 155. 



It is used with fair success with seedless Sultanas and with 

 some wine grapes such as Colombar, Semillon, Cabernet, and 

 Riesling, in the hands of skillful pruners. The results with 

 Sultanina are very unsatisfactory. 



By this method, on most of the vines, the fruit canes start 

 from high up near the middle of the stake, and are therefore 

 too short for the best results. The canes which start from low 

 down are in most cases suckers, and therefore of little value for 

 fruit bearing. 



Figure 24 B shows a vine with bowed canes. The m_ethod of 

 pruning is exactly the same as in the method just described. 

 The bowing of the canes, however, overcomes some of the 

 defects of that method. It is used regularly in many wine 

 grape vineyards of the cooler regions. It is unsuited for very 

 vigorous vines in rich soil. 



Vertical cordons. 



In head pruning, the treatment of young vines up to the 

 second or third winter pruning is identical for all systems. In 

 cordon pruning the treatment for the first and second is also 

 the same. That is, the vine is cut back to two buds near the 

 level of the ground until a cane sufficiently long to serve for 

 the formation of the trunk is obtained. 



In the vertical cordon the trunk is three to four feet long in- 

 stead of one to two, as in head pruning. This makes it neces- 

 sary to have a longer and more vigorous cane to start with. It 

 may require a year longer to obtain this. That is to say, at 

 the end of the second season's growth many vines will not have 

 a single cane sufficiently developed to give the necessary three 

 and one-half feet of well-ripened wood and properly developed 



