200 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. 



row, giving the soil around each cutting a good soaking. Care should 

 be taken to avoid flooding the whole vineyard, as this will tend to 

 form a crust and make it difficult to preserve the moisture-holding soil 

 mulch. 



During the summer, the young vines should be kept growing by 

 cultivation and, when necessary, irrigation. Frequent shallow irriga- 

 tion should be avoided. Some means of getting the water down below 

 the top eight or ten inches should be found. Shallow irrigation the 

 first year produces shalloiv rooted vines and shallow rooted vines in 

 the hot dry climate of Imperial have a precarious existence. 



Form of the Vine. Just as the general character of the root system 

 is determined by the growth of the first year, so the form of the mature 

 vine is determined by the growth and training of the first one, two, 

 or three years. In fact, in Imperial County the growth is often so 

 large the first year that the treatment the vine receives during this 

 year determines whether we have a vine which can be handled with 

 economy and profit or one which costs far more than it ought to 

 prune and cultivate, and which produces only second rate grapes of 

 poor shipping qualities. A considerable amount of extra care and 

 expense the first two years will undoubtedly be more than justified 

 and returned by saving of expense and increased returns from the 

 bearing vineyard. 



A poorly shaped vine, lying on the ground, with crossing and inter- 

 locking arms is difficult, in fact impossible, to prune and cultivate 

 properly. The grapes on such a vine lie on the gromnd, become soiled, 

 moldy and ripen unequally. When they are gathered, the best bunches 

 cannot be taken from the vines without breaking and bruising a large 

 proportion of the berries. The result is that only about fifty per cent, 

 of the grapes will be accepted by the packers, and this fifty per cent, 

 is often handled at a loss owing to poor keeping qualities. 



What the best form for the vine is, under the conditions of Imperial 

 County, it is impossible to say with our present experience. But 

 there is room for much improvement in the present practice of a 

 majority of the vineyards and there are certain characteristics that 

 may be accepted as necessary for a good vine. 



In the first place the vine should have a clear, straight trunk 

 without arms, spurs or branches, at least fifteen inches high. At the 

 top of this trunk the arms bearing the fruiting wood should be so 

 arranged that the bunches of grapes hang free from each other and 

 from growing shoots. As much as possible each bunch should be 



