THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



187 



reduce the height of the soil about the 

 stems of the vines." 



PRUNING THE GRAPE-VINE. 



BY GEO. W. CAMPBELL. 



The objects in pruning the vine are 

 mainly to keep it within reasonable 

 space and control ; to induce a new 

 growth of healthy and strong bearing 

 wood ; and to regulate the quantity and 

 improve the quality of the fruit. The 

 best time to do the principal pruning 

 is in the Autumn, as soon as practicable 

 after the falling of the leaves, and when 

 the energies of the vine are dormant. 

 If the little Summer pruning and pinch- 

 ing that are necessary have been pro- 

 perly attended to, there will be only 

 required in the Fall to cut out the old 

 bearing wood of the current year and 

 to shorten the new canes which have 

 been gi-own for the next year's bearing, 

 in order to occupy their appointed 

 spaces upon the trellis, the wall, the 

 stake or the arbor upon which they are 

 to be trained. And for all partially 

 tender varieties, and for all localities 

 subject to excessive cold in winter, it is 

 better to lay down the canes upon the 

 ground after pruning. Where the 

 ground is covered with snow during the 

 severest weather, simply pegging or 

 fastening the canes upon the surface of 

 the ground is all that is needed ; but in 

 other places a light covering of earth or 

 of leaves is necessary in addition for 

 perfect protection. It is the testimony 

 of some old, practical vineyardists that 

 vines so treated make a healthier and 

 stronger growth and bear much finer 

 and more abundant fruit. A very suc- 

 cessful grape-grower in Southern Ohio 

 recently declared that vines pruned 

 early in Autumn and slightly protected 

 during the suceeding winter bore twenty- 

 five per cent, more and better fruit than 

 vines that were left unpnmed upon the 

 trellis until Spnng. All methods of 

 pruning the vine are based upon the 



fact that the fruit buds for the next 

 year's bearing are formed upon the wood 

 grown the present year ; hence as much 

 as practicable of the old and past-bear- 

 ing wood should be be taken out at the 

 annual pruning. 



In my own practice, I prefer what is 

 called the " annual renewal system," 

 which allows a young vine in its first 

 fruiting to bear no more than it can 

 bring to maturity, and at the same 

 time grow one or more strong and 

 healthy canes from as near the ground 

 as practicable for next year's bearing. 

 The bearing wood of the present year 

 is cut away and the new wood takes its 

 place. This practice, with slight modi- 

 fications, is continued during the life of 

 the vine, is readily understood and ap- 

 plied, and a little observation and ex- 

 perience render it quite simple and easily 

 performed. 



A cultivated vine is in an artificial 

 condition, and all its energies are 

 directed toward the production of the 

 greatest quantity of fruit within its 

 allotted space; and some vines respond 

 so readily to this artificial treatment 

 that they are disposed to overbear, and 

 set more fruit than they can mature. 

 Attempting to grow too much fruit 

 may so overtax the powers of the vine 

 that it can neither ripen its grapes nor 

 mature its wood perfectly for next 

 year's bearing. Vines so treated are 

 unhealthy and short-lived. It is better, 

 however, to avoid the evil of over- 

 bearing by thinning out the fruit, 

 especially all the small and imperfect 

 bunches, than by too close prunirg; 

 for an abundance of healthy foliage 

 is necessary for the ripening i)rocess. 



The Summer treatment consists in 

 thinning out the fruit upon vines dis- 

 posed to overbear ; early pinching off 

 the ends of fruit-bearing shoots two or 

 three joints beyond the last cluster, 

 and then removing all superfluous 



