The Canadian Horticulturist. 429 



PRUNING THE GRAPE. 



R. JABEZ FISHER, of Fitchburg, the well-known culti- 

 vator of fine fruit, gave a discourse at Boston,, before the 

 meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the 

 substance of which we give in condensed form. He 

 purchased his first vine, a Concord, forty years ago. Ten 

 years afterward he had an enormous crop, four and a-half 

 tons upon three fourths of an acre, which sold at a high 

 price. Success with grape-growing at present depended on circumstances, and 

 if a person had a vineyard well situated and in good condition, he would advise 

 growing the best possible pioduct. 



His experience taught him that the best soil is a strong one, inclining to 

 clay, but not too heavy, with good dramage. Shelter is useful. A field in fit 

 condition for corn is also suitable for grapevines. No training is necessary the 

 first year. As soon as the leaves fall the vines should be cut down, leaving two 

 or three buds only. The second year a single stake to each vine is sufficient. 

 The pruning of the second year is similar to the first. A permanent support 

 should be provided the third year, whether trellis, stakes or otherwise, as pre- 

 ferred. The object is to grow a single strong cane. When the length of six 

 feet is attained this cane should be stopped by pinching off" the point. All 

 laterals that grow from this cane should be pinched so close that they may not 

 divert growth from it. If it makes a growth of five to six-sixteenth of an inch 

 in diameter, it will be safe to allbw it to fruit for half its length, and it should 

 be cut back to that point at the fall pruning. If less vigorous, the whole should 

 be cut away as in previous years. 



Fruiting too soon injures a vine seriously. If the vines are six feet apart 

 they may fruit one cane and grow a new one, cutting out the one that has borne 

 fruit. If twelve feet distant, two arms may be fruited of six feet each and two 

 new canes produced to replace those fruited. This will require a year or two 

 more to reach full bearing. Each vine may be allowed to carry as many clusters 

 of fruit as there are spurs growing from the arm. Each fruiting spur may be 

 tied to the trellis or allowed to swing free as in the Kniffen system. The system 

 above described is the renewal system, the vine being, so to say, renewed each 

 year and thus kept perpetually young. If the land is in good heart, and no 

 other crop is grown upon it, no fertilization will be required before the third 

 year, but otherwise it should be supplied from the commencement. 



The Japanese Honeysuckle and our native Bittersweet both have great 

 merits in the adornment of house-walls, and another acquisition from Japan, in 

 the way of a climber, is Clematis paniculata. With its delicate foam-like masses 

 of white flowers, exquisitely aromatic, it has become a feature of the September 

 landscape in various parts of the Boston suburbs. When combined with the 

 Virginia Creeper its effect is strikingly beautiful. — Garden and Forest. 



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