THE GRAPE. 293 



four feet of the old wood. The laterals that have borne 

 are pruned to three eyes, and it is then covered up. This 

 is the routine of spur training. In long cane pruning, the 

 young shoot, after the first season's growth, is cut back to 

 three eyes, and the next season two shoots are trained up. 

 The next season the strongest is selected for fruit, and 

 pruned to about three feet ; each of the eyes left will pro- 

 duce a fruit shoot, from which one bunch only will be 

 taken. The weaker cane is cut back to one eye, and this 

 produces a shoot for next year's bearing, and so this goes 

 on. When the vine becomes strong, several bearing canes 

 may be provided for every season. This renewal or long 

 cane is very simple, and requires much less cutting than 

 the spur. It also produces a superior quality of fruit, but 

 in general not so large a quantity. 



Thinning the Fruit. When the fruit attains the size 

 of a garden pea, one third of the smaller ones should be 

 cut out carefully with pointed scissors (see implements) 

 that are prepared for this purpose. The object of this is, 

 to allow the fruits to swell out to their full size. Varieties 

 that produce very compact bunches require more severe 

 thinning than those of a loose, open bunch. 



Cleaning the Vine. At the time the vines are taken 

 from their winter quarters and trellised, they should be 

 well washed with a solution of soft soap and tobacco- 

 water, to kill all eggs of insects, and remove all loose 

 bark and filth that may have accumulated on them during 

 the season previous. The house, too, should be cleaned 

 and renovated at the same time. 



Syringing the Vines and the Fruit. Every one who 

 has a grapery must be provided with a good hand-syringe, 

 for this is necessary during the whole season. As soon as 

 they begin to grow, they should be occasionally syringed 

 in the morning, except while they are in bloom. After 

 the fruit has set, they should be syringed every evening, 

 and the house kept closed until the next forenoon when 



