144: OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



at the middle of the rafter, and the lower one at the 

 the eye, as is here represented. (Fig. 28.) 



"The preceding sketch represents four separate 

 vine-plants, at the end of the second season after 

 they had been planted, when the strongest shoot had 

 been headed down to the middle of the rafter d, and 

 the weakest shoot to c. 



In the third season, I carefully preserved the upper- 

 most shoot from the end of my bearing branch at d, 

 as a leader to furnish the upper part of the rafter 

 with bearing wood for the next year; and I also 

 trained upward the leading shoot from the bottom 

 spur c, which I intended should become the bearing 

 branch for the lower half of the roof in the follow- 

 ing season. I was careful that none of the tops of 

 these leaders should meet with accident, till they had 

 reached their destination for the season — that was 

 about three or four joints beyond where they were 

 intended to be cut down, to the winter pruning. All 

 the buds on the bottom spur c, "were rubbed. off, 

 except the leading one. As I bore in mind the neces- 

 sity of a bottom spur to produce a succession shoot 

 from the bottom in the following year, which was 

 necessary to the regularity of the system I contem- 

 plated, I selected one of the most convenient buds 

 for my purpose, from the bottom of the old stems, all 

 of which were now putting out several buds ; but I 



