Jlussmau on Stamner l^rtminff the Vme. 277 



Hnssman on STimmer Pruning the Vine. 



WITHOUT proper and judicious summer pruning it is impossible to prune judi- 

 ciously in tlie fall. If you have allowed six or eight canes to grow in summer 

 where you need but two or three, none of them will be fit to bear a full crop, nor be 

 properly developed. We prune longer in the fall than the majority of our vintners, 

 which gives a double advantage ; should the frost of winter have injured or killed 

 any of the first buds, we still have enough left ; and should this not be the case, we 

 still have our choice to rub off all imperfect shoots ; to reduce the number of branches 

 at the first pinching, and thus retain only strong canes for nest year's fruiting, and 

 have only large, well developed bunches. 



But to secure these advantages, we have certain rules, which we follow strictly. 

 We are glad to see that the attention of the grape growers of the country is tho- 

 roughly aroused to the importance of this subject, and that the old practice of cut- 

 ting and slashing the young growth of July and August is generally discountenanced. 

 It has murdered more promising vineyards than any other practice. But the people 

 are apt to run into extremes, and many are now advocating the " let alone " doctrine. 

 We think both are wrong, and that the true course to steer is in the middle. 



1. Perform the operation early. Do it as soon as the shoots are six inches long. 

 At this time you can overlook your vine much easier. Every young shoot is soft and 

 pliable. You do not rob the vine of a quantity of foliage it cannot spare (as the 

 leaves are the lungs of the plant and elevators of the sap). You can do three times 

 the work that you can perform a week later, when the shoots have become hardened 

 and intertwined by their tendrils, llemember that the knife should have nothing to 

 do with summer pruning. Your thumb and finger should perform all the work, and 

 they can do it easily if it is done early. 



2. Perform it thoroughly and systematically. Select the shoots you intend for 

 bearing wood next year. These are left unchecked ; but do not leave more than you 

 really need. Remember that each part of the vine should be thoroughly ventilated, 

 and if you crowd it too much, none of the canes will ripen their wood as thoroughly 

 nor be as vigorous as when each has room, air and light. Having selected these, 

 commence at the bottom of the vine, rubbing off" all the superfluous shoots, and all 

 which appear weak or imperfect. Then go over each arm or part of the vine, pinch- 

 ing every fruit bearing branch above the last bunch of grapes, or, if this should look 

 weak or imperfect, remove it and pinch back to the first perfectly developed bunch. 

 Should the bud have pushed out two or three shoots, it will generally be advisable to 

 leave the strongest, and remove the balance. Do not think that you can do part of 

 it a little later, but be unsparing in taking away what you intend to take this time. 

 Destroy all the caterpillars, and all the insects you find feeding on the vines, the 

 steel blue beetle, who will eat into the buds. But protect the iady bug, mantis, and 

 all the friends of the vine. 



W^e come now to the second stage of the summer pruning. After the first pinch- 

 ing, the dormant buds in the axils of the leaves, on fruit-bearing shoots, will each 

 push out a lateral shoot, opposite the young bunches. Our second operation consists 

 in pinching off these laterals back to one leaf as soon as we get hold of the shoot 

 above the first leaf, so that we get a young and vigorous leaf additional, opposite to 



