SECRETARY’S CORNER. 
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THE RUSSIAN NOMENCLATURE COMMITTEE.—This joint committee 
from the three states of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, met at La 
Crosse the last of August,as announced in the Horticulturist for 
that month, That their purposes were successfully accomplished 
may be seen by reading the report of Prof. N. E. Hansen, who was 
appointed secretary of the committee, which appears in this issue. 
A subsequent report by some member of the committee will un- 
doubtedly be made, including a good description of the best type 
of each group, which will make the report of practical value for 
every grower. The work of this committee is necessarily an incom- 
plete one and should be followed by other similar meetings as oc- 
casion demands. This joint action carries with it recognized au- 
thority and will after a little straighten out definitely all these 
difficulties. 
FALL PRUNING OF THE VINEYARD. 
DR. M. M, FRISSELLE, EUREKA. 
Vineyards located where the winters are so mild that the vines 
need no protection against cold, that they need not be covered in 
order to save them from destruction,may be pruned eitherinautumn 
or spring,at the option or convenience of the owner. 
But vineyards in middle and northern Minnesota, where the vines 
for safety must be put under ground, necessarily must be pruned 
before such work can be done, as it would be impracticable to re- 
move the vines from the wire trellis and bury the entire season’s 
growth. If the vines were trained to stakes rather than to wire trel- 
lises, the vines might be given a preliminary pruning by which the 
vines could be sufficiently ‘shortened to enable them to be readily 
buried, and then in the spring when the vine was again tied to the 
stake they could be pruned to the proper length. 
As to the effect of spring or autumn pruning on the succeeding 
crop, other things being equal, I believe that pruning in the spring 
is best. In my experience with a vineyard on the shores of the Hud- 
son during twelve years, where the vinee did not require winter pro- 
tection, I found that pruning in March or early April, rather thanin 
the fall, resulted in the best crop, for the reason that in fall pruning 
the fruit bud nearest to the excision of the cane was liable to die 
for want of moisture or other cause, thus greatly diminishing the 
number of-fruit bearing buds. 
The method of double pruning when practicable would require 
more labor than in complete autumn pruning, but probably the ex- 
tra labor would be more than paid for in a larger crop. 
Mr. Harris: If the fall pruning is doneimmediately after the 
leaves fall the vines bear a good deal better. The buds through 
the fine days of October swell a little and are more apt to bring 
fruit bearing canes than if pruned later. 
Mr. Dartt: Down in lowa a few years ago I heard a promi- 
nent grape grower say that the bleeding that resulted from 
spring pruning was only the escape of clear water, and that it 
did no particular harm. He was a man who raised a great 
many grapes, and I always supposed the only objection to 
spring pruning was that the vines would bleed and be injured 
thereby, but he said there was no damage done by bleeding. 
Dr. Frisselle: I often observed in the east that vines that 
were pruned in the spring, if they were not pruned pretty early, 
would bleed a good deal, but I never observed that the crop 
was damaged at all by the bleeding. I often thought it ought 
to damage the crop, but I never observed that the crop was 
injured. 
ay 
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