276 PRUNING. 



from eyes on the previous year's wood. Fig. 134 repre- 

 sents the old wood, with its bearing shoot. It is impor- 

 tant to understand this, because it shows the necessity of 

 keeping up a supply of young wood wherever we desire 

 fruit to be produced. 



It is immaterial what method of training be pursued, 

 this principle of production must always be remembered. 



To illustrate the pruning, we will suppose the plant to 

 be one or two years old, as ordinarily sent out from the 

 nursery. It may have only one shoot, or it may have sev- 

 eral. However this may be, all are pruned off but the 



Fig. 134. FRUITING BHANCH OF THE GRAPE. 

 The cross- line near the end shows where it oujht to be stopped. 



strongest, and it is cut back to within two eyes of its 

 base. These two eyes will produce shoots, and when they 

 have made a growth of two or three inches, the weaker 

 one is rubbed off and the strong one trained up. It is al- 

 lowed to grow on until September, when the end of the 

 shoot is pinched to mature and strengthen it. Any side 

 shoots that appear during the summer should be pinched 

 off, as well as any suckers that may appear about the 

 roots. 



Fig. 135 shows the condition of the plant or vine at the 

 close of the first season's growth, and the cross-mark the 

 line at which to cut in pruning for the 



Second Year. If the shoot of last year made a strong 

 growth of ten or twelve feet, it may be now cut back to 

 three eyes, and two canes be trained up ; but if it made 



