15 



out new water-sprouts in other places. Any vigorous vine will pro- 

 duce a certain number of water-sprouts, but they should not be looked 

 upon as utterly useless and harmful because they produce no grapes. 

 On the contrary, if not too numerous, they are of positive advantage 

 to the v^ne, being so much increase to the feeding surface of green 

 leaves. Water-sprouts should be removed completely during the win- 

 ter pruning, and the production of too many the next year prevented 

 by a more liberal allowance of bearing wood. 



Topping, or cutting off the ends of shoots, is done by means of a 

 sickle or long knife. At least two or three leaves should be left be- 

 yond the last bunch of grapes. The time at which the topping is done 

 is very important. When the object is simply to prevent the breaking 

 of the heavy, succulent canes of some varieties by the wind, or to 

 facilitate cultivation, it must of course be done early, and is well re- 

 placed by early pinching. These objects are, however, better attained 

 by appropriate methods of planting and training. Early topping is in- 

 advisable because it induces a vigorous growth of laterals which make 

 too dense a shade, and it may even force the main eyes to sprout, and 

 thus injure the wood for the next year. The legitimate function of 

 topping is to direct the flow of food material in the vine first into the 

 fruit, and second into the buds for the growth of the following year. 

 If the topping is done while the vine is in active growth, this object is 

 not attained; one growing tip is simply replaced by several. In this 

 way, in rich, moist soils vines are often, by repeated toppings, kept in a 

 continual state of production of new shoots, and as these new shoots 

 consume more food than they .produce, the crop suffers. Not only 

 does the crop of the current year suffer, but still more the crop of the 

 following year, for the vine devotes its energy to producing new 

 shoots in the autumn instead of storing up reserve food-matrial for 

 the next spring growth. If, on the other hand, the topping is done 

 after all leaf growth is over for the season, the only effect is to deprive 

 the vine of so much food-absorbing surface. 



The topping, then, should be so timed that, while a further length- 

 ening of the main shoot is prevented, no excessive sprouting of new 

 laterals is produced. The exact time differs for locality, season and 

 variety, and must be left to the experience and judgment of the indi- 

 vidual grower. 



Removal of leaves. In order to allow the sun to penetrate to and 

 aid the ripening of late grapes it is often advisable late in the season 

 to lessen the leafy shade of the vine. This should be done by remov- 

 ing the leaves from the center of the vines and not by cutting away the 

 canes. * In this way only those leaves are removed which are injurious, 

 and as much leaf surface as possible is left to perform the autumn duty 

 of laying up food-material for the spring. The removal of leaves 

 should not be excessive, and if considerable, should be gradual, other- 

 wise there is danger of sunburn. It is best, first, to remove the leaves 

 from below the fruit. This allows free circulation of the air and pene- 

 tration of the sun's rays which warm the soil and are reflected upon 

 the fruit. This is generally sufficient, and in any case only the leaves 

 in the center of the vine, and especially those which are beginning to 

 turn yellow should be removed. 



