The Canadian Horticulturist, 49 



PRUNING AND TRELLISING GRAPES. 



Sir,— Reading in your January No. regarding trellising grape vines, I would recom- 

 mend poles only and no wires, and planting the vines five feet apart. I think Figs. 897 

 and 898 are very poor examples of the pruning system. I would recommend stub pruning 



only, and only three buds on each stub. 



Jkajt Gruesbeck, Cayuga. 



Our correspondent is correct in saying that the manner of pruning repre- 

 sented in figures referred to are not the best methods of pruning the grape. 

 We did not intend to recommend the Knififen system as the best method, but 

 only as the method most easily followed out by grape growers in Canada. Our 

 correspondent, who we take it is a German, evidently has in mind the methods 

 of growing grapes that are employed along the banks of the Rhine, where the 

 vines are trained upon poles and no wires are used. For that country where 

 labor is cheap, no doubt his method is the best, but for us in Ontario, where 

 labor is expensive, and the seasons are rather short, the saving of labor is a very 

 important consideration. If we plan on a method of pruning that requires con- 

 stant tying and attention in the summer season, we will be very sure to neglect 

 it, and it is on that account that we follow a different system from those 

 employed on the continent. Besides this, the varieties which we cultivate for 

 market purposes are mostly very strong growers, and it is difficult to keep them 

 within bounds which is possible with the slower growing varieties. With the 

 Kniffen system it is possible for the vineyardist to prune and tie his vines in the 

 spring and allow them to grow for themselves during the rest of the season. 

 For those who are able to give more attention to the pruning and tying of the 

 vines as they grow during the summer season, we would recommend the Fuller 

 system as far more adapted to our country than trellising upon single poles as 

 recommended by Mr. Gruenbeck. We have often explained this method of 

 pruning in this journal, but, as the question seems to be one that comes up 

 almost annually, and as there are so many new members who have recently 

 united with our Association, it may not be out of place for us to again present 

 to our readers the illustrations which show the Fuller method, together with a 

 repetition of what we said in explanation of it in a previous volume. 



The first year after planting allow only one stem to grow (Fig. 908), and at 

 the end of the first year, cut this back to within about one foot from the ground. 

 The second year allow two buds to grow, producing two branches as in Fig. 

 909. 



At the end of the second year, bend these two branches to form two 

 arms, and these should be trained each way four or five feet along the lower 

 wire, forming what are known as the " two arms." From these uprights 

 are grown about every foot apart, as in Fig. 910, and every year these are 

 cut back to within one or two buds of the old wood of these two arms. 



