CARE OF THE TRELLIS 



423 



the wires soon stretch and sag enough with the 

 burden of fruit and vines to take up the winter 

 contraction, and most growers do not release the 

 wires in fall. It will be found necessary, in fact, 

 to tighten the wires and to straighten up the posts 

 from year to year, as they become loose. It is 

 always a profitable 

 labor to tamp the 

 ground firmly about 

 all the posts every 

 spring. The wires 

 should always be 

 kept tight during the 

 growing season, to 

 prevent the whipping 

 of the vines by the 

 wind. This is espe- 

 cially important in 

 white grapes, which are discolored by the rubbing 

 of leaves and twigs. Unless the vines are very 

 strong, it will be necessary to put up only one wire 

 the first winter. 



A German knack for taking up the slack is 

 shown in Figs. 270 and 271. The device is made 

 from heavy wire, and the trellis wire is caught 

 up and wound about it, as seen in Fig. 271. A 

 notch filed in either end of the device prevents it 

 from slipping. 



Trellises are often made of slats, as shown in 

 Fig. 256, but these are always less durable than 



Device for taking up the 

 slack. 



