43 

 PRUNING. 



Grape Vines require regular and systematic pruning, in order to 

 distribute the bearing wood regularly, and obtain large bunches of fruit. 

 Most of the buds contain, in embryo, a shoot that if allowed to develop, 

 will produce two or more bunches of fruit, and if all these are permitted 

 grow, the strength of the. plant will be distributed through a large 

 number of channels. Consequently, the shoots will be slender, aricl 

 weakly, and the bunches and berries small. Therefore, it is necessary 

 to reduce the number of shoots to what the plant can support to 

 perfection. The system most generally practised in this part of the 

 world is what is known as u short-spur" pruning With this method, 

 the previous year's wood is shortened back to one, two, or three buds, 

 according to the strength of the shoots. If there are two or more 

 shoots starting from near the same base, only one should be retained, 

 and the others cut out close to the stem. Some kinds will yield better 

 and with greater certainty upon longer spurs, with five, six, or seven 

 buds. This method may be tried with kinds that do not give satis- 

 factory returns under the " short-spur " system. Short pruning, generally 

 speaking, induces the formation of strong shoots and large showy 

 bunches, and hence it is well adopted for many table Grapes. On the 

 other hand such wine Grapes as the Burgundy and other Pinots, 

 Cabernet Sauvignon, and kindred varieties, whose bunches are com- 

 paratively small, require long pruning. In all cases the higher buds are 

 stronger and more fruitful than those near the base, and this is specially 

 the case with some varieties. Another method is what is known 

 as ' ' long rod " pruning, which is extensively practised by European 

 gardeners and vine growers, and under this system one or two of the 

 previous season's shoots are left half their length, or longer according 

 to their strength. These branches are fastened horizontally to stakes 

 or trellises, and will produce several fruit-bearing shoots. A 

 corresponding number of the previous season's shoots should be 

 cut back to short spurs, with one or two buds. The main shoots 

 from these buds furnish the " long rods" for the following season, when 

 the old ones must be cut back to " short spurs." By alternating in this 

 way a supply of suitable wood will always be provided for. The balance, 

 however must always be preserved. Another system of "long-rod" 

 pruning, practised to some extent by European gardeners, is to provide 

 for three shoots instead of two, as by the ordinary ir ethod, and renew the 

 wood every third year. This system has advantages, as it affords a 

 better supply of ripened wood to carry the fruit-bearing shoots, and it 

 may be practised as easily as the more common method. Some varieties, 

 and more especially the more delicate or shy-bearing kinds, will yield 

 better crops with a long run of the previous season's wood than with 

 short spurs. An extended growth of wood appears to be more congenial 

 to the nature of the Grape Vine than the close cutting that pertains to 

 the "short-spur" system. By practising the "long-rod" method, the 

 advantages of a long growth can be obtained without unduly extending 

 the plants. When, through defective pruning or old age, branches do 



