GENERAL NOTES ON VINE PRUNING 311 



It is a very difficult matter to lay down any rule for pruning a vine- 

 yard, so much depends on the age of the vines, the different varieties, 

 and the quality of the soil. A basis on which to build a theory on the 

 subject might be found in and through an understanding of the quan- 

 tity of grapes that may be expected from a vine, as the secret of prun- 

 ing is to keep a just medium between the production of grapes to the 

 injury of the vine and its wood and an overproduction of wood to the 

 detriment of the crop. In older vines a proportion should be maintained 

 between the vigor of the vines and the crop desired ; each bud may be 

 considered good for two bunches of grapes the ordinary size, and 

 upon this estimate may be obtained. It must be borne in mind that the 

 result of overloading the vine is detrimental to its vigor and health, 

 while the reverse will not injure it, but will lessen the profits for that 

 season, often giving greatly increased returns in after years. 



Close attention should be given to the growth of the wood and fruit 

 of the preceding year. If the canes are very large and the bunches of 

 grapes poor and there are many suckers, it indicates that more eyes are 

 necessary. On the contrary, if the canes are small, and the bunches of 

 grapes numerous and straggling, and the ripening not even, it indicates 

 that the number of eyes left should be less. 



Pruning may be regulated to produce a good second crop of grapes 

 or to prevent the formation of a second crop. The second crop is 

 often desirable in raisin and table varieties, but undesirable in wine 

 varieties. 



Attention should be paid to the tools used in pruning. Let the 

 blades be kept sharp and thin ; large shears are very apt to bruise the 

 wood more than small ones. 



Pruning is done after the fall of the leaves and before the swelling 

 of the buds, usually in January and February. Early pruning has a 

 tendency to make the vines start growth early, consequently in frosty 

 situations pruning is often deferred till late in the winter as late as 

 the middle of March in some cases. But it is inconvenient to do a large 

 amount of pruning so late. At any time in the winter the canes can be 

 cut back to 15 or 18 inches and the vineyard cleaned up. When the 

 outer buds on these long spurs start, cut back to the two buds next the 

 old wood and they will start 15 or 20 days later than if the vines had 

 been pruned short earlier in the season. This practice has been followed 

 with marked advantage in some regions liable to late spring frosts. 

 The bleeding which follows late pruning is no loss to the vine, accord- 

 ing to observation of late-pruned vines. 



The proper treatment of vines injured by spring frosts is clearly 

 the immediate removal, by a sharp downward jerk, of the frosted shoots. 

 Careful experiment has proved that the vines that were not stripped 

 did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds in many cases did 

 not come out, and those that came out were not healthy and strong, and 

 hardly had any grapes. The damaged shoots that were not removed 

 died gradually, and at the junction with the cane new shoots came out 

 without any grapes at all, while two-thirds of a crop came on the frost- 

 bitten vines, which were stripped of the damaged canes ; hardly and first 

 crop and only a second crop on the vines which were not attended to. 



