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CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



A few weeks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has 

 been left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should 

 be tied up to the stake (see Fig. 1, c). If this tying is neglected or 

 deferred too long, a heavy wind is very liable to break off the whole 

 shoot. A piece of string tied rather loosely about the middle of the 

 shoot is all that is needed. If the vines are to be headed high (18 

 inches) another tie near the top of the stake may be necessary. 



For vines which are making only moderate growth this is all the 

 treatment needed during the summer. Strong-growing vines in rich 

 soil, however, should be topped. 



Topping. The object of this is to force the shoot to send out 

 laterals at the right height above the surface of the soil, to be used 

 as spurs during the following year. This topping is an operation 

 which requires a good deal of judgment. If the topping is done too 

 soon, laterals will not start, but a new terminal shoot will be formed. 

 This is not a serious defect, however, but simply necessitates a 

 second topping two or three weeks later. Neither will the laterals 

 start if the topping is done too late, or if they start they will not 

 mature, and the vine is weakened by the removal of foliage without 

 any compensating advantage. 



Until experience has shown the proper time for the variety and 

 locality, it is best to top when the shoot has grown to from 8 to 12 

 inches above the top of the stake, and if necessary top again later. 



The shoot should be topped within 1 or 2 inches of the top of the 

 stake, if the stakes have been chosen and driven as advised above 

 (see Fig. l,c). This will insure the growth of laterals just where 

 they are needed for the next winter pruning. 



The vines on which a cane has been left and tied up during the 

 preceding winter must be treated a little differently. The removal 

 of underground shoots or suckers is the same. Instead of thinning 

 out the shoots to a single one, as for the vines just described, all the 

 shoots should be left to grow, except those too near the ground 

 (see Fig. 2, b). 



As a rule, all shoots between the ground and the middle of the 

 stakes should be taken off. It is even more important that this 

 should be done early than in the case described above. If the lower 

 shoots are allowed to become large and then removed, not only is the 

 vine weakened by the removal of the mature leaves, but the stem of 

 the vine is suddenly exposed to the direct rays of the hot sun and 

 is very liable to injury. This injury does not show by the peeling 

 off of the bark as with fruit trees, but by a general weakening and 

 dwarfing of the vine. 



The shoots coming from the upper half of the cane are to form 

 the spurs for the following winter pruning, and can often be left to 

 grow without further treatment. 



If the growth is very rapid and succulent, however, it is neces- 

 sary to pinch them, or the first heavy wind may break them off (see 

 Fig. 2, c). 



Pinching consists in the removal of 1 or 2 inches of growth at 

 the extreme tip of the shoot. This delays the growth in length 



