PRUNING THE VINE I THE SPUR SYSTEM. 



47 



back to, say four or six feet of new wood, according to its strength. 

 A good stem should be about the thickness of one's thumb, and a 

 weak one of the thickness of an ordinary blacklead pencil. If the 

 main stem resembles the latter, 

 it should be cut back quite 

 close, as it would be too weak 

 to produce good side-spurs, or 

 to bear good fruit. 



Fig. 15 represents the growth 

 from spur A of fig. 14 ; and 

 fig. 16 that of the spur B, at the 

 end of the third season, The 

 properly - pruned spur A has 

 produced the properly- placed 

 shoot &, which should be 

 pruned the next season, as 

 shown by the cross line ; thus 

 forming a close compact spur, 

 which may, subsequently, be 

 pruned for years after in the 

 same manner, with little appar- 

 ent enlargement. The impro- 

 perly-pruned spur B of the 

 previous season, it will be 

 observed, has become much 

 worse now. The shoot pro- 

 duced is equal to that of A, 

 but the front bud having been 

 left, the spur has become not 

 only unsightly but permanently 

 weakened. It should have been 

 pruned at the lower cross line, 

 but now that cannot well be 

 done ; that is, to continue the 

 proper system of pruning, the 

 cut must be made at the cross 

 line c d. This shows clearly 

 to what an indefinite length 

 the spurs pruned in this loose 

 manner would attain in a few 



THREE-YEAR-OLD VINE STEM, 

 (Spur-pruned (reduced). 



years' time. In the course of 



eight or ten years each spur -^ 



would be from four to six inches 



in length ; and this on each side of the Vine, which would give twelve 



inches of wasted space, besides the extra amount of energy annually 



expended by the plant in producing sap to clothe these long 



