128 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



Bleeding of the Vines. The bleeding of the vines after pruning in the 

 spring is by many considered injurious. So far as I know, no direct 

 experiments to prove this have been made in this country, but 

 European experiments with wine grapevines point to no ill effects 

 from the bleeding of the vines. The bleeding retards the budding out, 

 and this fact has led some growers to the practice of pruning twice. In 

 the first pruning an extra eye is left on every spur, and these eyes are 

 again clipped off shortly before the eyes begin to swell in the spring. 

 The bleeding of the vines thus causes the eyes to be retarded until the 

 frost is over. I believe such practice is both unnecessary and too 

 costly, and is not required in any of our raisin districts, and where 

 such practice must be employed the raisin grape cannot be perfectly 

 at home. Of late years spring frosts have become very rare in our 

 principal raisin districts, and the practice of double pruning is no longer 

 thought of. 



Summer Pruning, or Pruning Green Wood. Summer pruning is a 

 much disputed vineyard operation, which, however, at least in some 

 localities, is of great importance. This summer, or rather spring, 

 pruning consists of cutting back the young growing shoots from one- 

 third to one-half just after the berries have set well. The proper time 

 of the year is in May, but the exact time must necessarily be different 

 in different localities and seasons. In Fresno the cutting back should 

 not be done later than May, and never except when the vines show a 

 vigorous growth. The principal object the summer pruner has in 

 view is to force the secondary branches of the vine as much towards 

 the center of the vine as possible, so as to form there a perfect canopy 

 of shade to serve as a protection to the young and tender berries. If 

 let alone, the branches of the vine will throw out these secondary 

 shoots near the top of the branches, thus leaving the head of the vine 

 unprotected from the sun. The shortening in of the branches neces- 

 sarily throws the new shoots to the center of the vine. A not less 

 important object to be sought by the summer pruning is the strength- 

 ening of the young branch. In May, when the vines are covered by 

 the young and vigorous shoots, they are yet exceedingly brittle, and 

 only a slight pushing is required to break the branch off just at its 

 junction with the old wood. A heavy wind at this time sometimes 

 does an immense damage, and the vineyard will look as though every 

 vine had been dragged over. Half of the branches may be broken and 

 hang partially attached to one side of the vine. A single wind may 

 ruin two-thirds of the crop. This can only be prevented by the sum- 

 mer pruning of the vines. By a heavy shortening in of the branches, 

 the latter expose so much less surface for the wind to act on, that no 

 branches are broken, and we have failed to see the heaviest wind 

 cause any noticeable damage in vineyards which had their vines 

 properly shortened in. The summer pruning in no way injures the 

 vines. The sap is checked in its flow only for a few days, and within 

 a week the new side shoots make their appearance. But the vineyardist 

 must be careful not to summer prune after the hot summer weather has 

 set in, as the hot weather will burn or scald the young grapes and ruin 

 them entirely. For the San Joaquin valley raisin districts, I cannot 



