PRUNING NEWLY PLANTED VINES. 41 



produced from the matured buds on the shoots of the previous year, 

 and that each is capable of producing a shoot according to the vigour 

 of the Vine, or to the mode or manner of the pruning, 



3. We prune our Vines to the end that we may obtain fruit. This 

 is an obvious reason, though the mere act of pruning can only to a 

 very limited extent assist in the production of the fruit. By pruning 

 we take away many of the fruit-producing parts, but we concentrate 

 force or power on the others. The more complete the maturity of the 

 buds, the more likely is fruit to be produced, so that in pruning for 

 fruit, if the wood is badly ripened, it is not advisable to prune too 

 closely. Well-ripened Vines will, however, produce fruit from 

 nearly every bud, so that the danger of losing a crop by too close 

 pruning is not very great. 



In order that these remarks may be more clearly understood, we 

 shall make use of some illustrations of the various operations. We 

 begin, therefore, with a young Vine, fig. 12, as about to be planted. 

 It is a plant that has been grown from an eye the previous year (see 

 chap. xv. Pot-culture), and is, therefore, about twelve months old 

 a thin spindly thing it may be, of from three to four feet long, ready 

 to be planted during the early winter or spring months. 



The first question that is generally asked by the uninitiated is this : 

 " To what length shall I prune my newly-planted Vines 1 " Our 

 general answer is, " Cut them as low down as you can." When 

 planted in such a position that the whole cane right down to the 

 ground is fully exposed to the solar influences, cut it down, as shown 

 by the figure, to within three or four inches of the ground. It is no 

 matter what the strength of the plant may be ; the lower it is cut 

 down, the stronger it will grow, and the better foundation it will make 

 for the future. There are situations, however, where the young Vines 

 cannot be cut down so low as this, namely, when planted against the 

 low, front wall of a house, to be trained up to the rafters, either 

 outside or inside. Here there is frequently three feet or more of the 

 stem comparatively in the shade or in the cold. For this purpose 

 stronger Vines are required, and the rule for pruning should be to cut 

 them at from two to three eyes above the level of the wall plate, i.e., 

 above the line of light. A very good rule is to prune, say to the 

 lowest point, whence the foliage produced can have the full influences 

 of light and air. Once fairly started, young Vines are all the better, 

 for the first summer, if allowed to grow and ramble pretty freely, 

 with as lit tie checking and stopping as possible. The more leaves and 

 shoots developed the more roots produced, and the stronger the 

 foundation laid for the future. 



Spur Pruning. The spur system of pruning is the method most 

 generally adopted in this country. The practice has generally been 

 to confine the Vine to a single stem ; some growers, however, prefer 

 to plant at a wider distance apart, and take up two stems in the form 



