BULLETIN 193. PRUNING AND TRAINING OF YOUNG VINES. 151 



Another tie is made about half-way down the stake. The lower tie 

 need not be very tight, and in any case the tying material should not 

 be passed completely around the cane, except above the top bud, or 

 the vine will be strangled when it commences to grow (see Fig. 5, a). 

 Any kind of string or twine, sufficiently strong to withstand the 

 pressure of the growing vine in a heavy wind, may be used. Binding 

 twine, or a single strand of good baling rope, is suitable. No. 16 or 17 

 galvanized wire is preferred by some and is better than string, if care 

 is taken to remove the bottom ties the following year before they 

 strangle the vine. Wire is a little more expensive and takes a little 

 longer to put on than string, but holds the vines better and can be used 

 for several years. 



SECOND YEAR. 



Summer Pruning. The treatment during the second and third 

 spring and summer is of great importance to the future welfare of the 

 vine. A little judicious care at this period will avert many troubles 

 in later years. It will be necessary to go over the vineyard four or 

 five times to do the suckering, topping, and tying which are necessary. 



The shoots starting from the vines which have been cut back to two 

 buds should be thinned to a single one. This thinning should be done 

 as soon as possible in such a way that it is never necessary to remove a 

 shoot more than 3 or 4 inches long (see Fig. 4, b). If the thinning 

 is deferred until the shoots are a foot or more long the vine will be 

 weakened by the removal of so much foliage. If the thinning cannot 

 be done early, it is better not to do it at all. The object of this thinning 

 is to throw all the force and growth of the vine into the cane which 

 is to form, finally, the trunk of the vine. If it is done too late not 

 only does the growth not go into this cane, but the vine is weakened 

 so much that this cane does not grow so well as it would have done 

 without thinning. 



The first thinning can be done with the first hoeing, and the second 

 with the suckering. The suckering consists of the removal of all shoots 

 which come from below the ground. These also should be removed as 

 early as practicable, both to avoid weakening the vine by the removal 

 of mature leaves and also because a young sucker is much more easily 

 separated from the vine at this time. Every sucker must be cut or 

 broken off at the point where it originates. If a little piece of the sucker 

 is left, several new suckers will start at the same place. The more 

 completely the suckering is done during the first two years, the less 

 trouble in this respect there will be in later years. This is particularly 

 true of grafted vines. 



A few weeks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has been 

 left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should be tied 

 up to the stake (see Fig. 4, c). If this tying is neglected or deferred 



