RESISTANT VINEYARDS GRAFTING, PLANTING, CULTIVATION. 133 



the true level of the ground and serves as a guide to show the planter 

 where to place the union. In planting with a number of men where 

 a marked rope or wire is used to show the position of each vine while 

 planting, this rope or wire may be used as the guide to show the height 

 f the union, provided one man is employed in watching the rope to 

 see that it remains stretched at exactly the right height above the 

 surface. 



Pruning. The pruning of the roots before planting has already been 

 discussed. The top is usually pruned by removing all the shoots except 

 the strongest and cutting that back to two good buds. The superfluous 

 shoots should be cut off clean close enough to the base to remove the 

 base bud. The shoot which is left should be cut through the bud above 

 the top one which is left. 



In France it is considered better to postpone the cutting back of 

 the main shoot until the buds have started after planting, as indicated 

 in Fig. 25. This prevents to some extent the early starting of the 

 bottom buds and the danger of their injury by spring frosts. It also 

 protects the union from injury during the period which elapses between 

 the planting and the commencement of growth. 



Staking. To obtain the best results, a vineyard of bench grafts 

 should be staked the year it is planted. Bench grafts grow more rapidly 

 than ungrafted vines. This is especially true when deep preparation of 

 the soil has been practised. Moreover, with most varieties the scion will 

 be a little larger than the stock, which makes the vine top heavy and 

 more likely to bend over and lie flat on the ground. To prevent this 

 and to have a well-shaped vine from the beginning, the shoots growing 

 during the first season should be tied up to a stake. If this is done, 

 it will be possible to give each vine a straight, smooth stem and sym- 

 metrical head at the second pruning. It is only in this way that the 

 full benefit can be obtained of the vigorous growth which properly 

 planted grafts make during the first two years. If the vines are allowed 

 to lie on the ground it will take three or four years to give them the 

 proper shape, and much crop is lost by the heavy pruning necessary 

 for this purpose. 



The size of stake will depend on the style of pruning that is to be 

 adopted and the height at which the vines are to be headed. For 

 ordinary short-pruned vines a stake 3 feet long and 1 or 1^ inches in 

 diameter is quite sufficient. Such a stake can be driven 2 feet into 

 the ground and will support the vine perfectly for five or six years if 

 the head is made at the usual height of about 10 inches, or lower. After 

 this, the vine should be stout enough to stand without a stake. If the 

 4 BUL. 180. 



