PRUNING THE VINE. 109 



and as it does not make much wood, the fruit will not be shel- 

 tered by the foliage so much as to intercept the rays of the sun. 

 But if you have a strong-growing grape, like the Rogers' or 

 Concord, you must adopt another method. Take tlie espalier. 

 Let it run north and south, if possible, because you get more 

 heat to the root in that way, and then train on the espalier, one 

 arm or two, as you please. In the method copied from France, 

 which has recently been popular, the several arms from the vine 

 are led off diagonally, one above the other, commencing near 

 the ground, and going on until the upper arm, in its diagonal 

 course, reaches the top of the espalier ; the next one will be, of 

 course, a little under it, and so your espalier is all covered, and 

 you spur that whole length. Now, then, whether you have two 

 arms or one, whether these diagonal branches are single or 

 double — going both ways — these spurs will make long shoots in 

 the summer time, which, if you do not pinch them, will grow 

 into these wide spaces, and ultimately they will nearly or quite 

 reach the middle of these spaces between the espaliers. When 

 you come to the time of pruning you must not prune your spurs 

 too close, for if you cut back to one or two eyes, or even three, 

 if the wood is strong, you will find you will not get so much 

 fruit the next year, nor the best fruit. Let me speak of the 

 Concord in particular — the variety I have had the most expe- 

 rience with ; but the same argument will apply to all the strong- 

 growing kinds. You should leave your spurs far enough apart 

 to prevent their crowding each other the coming season. They 

 should be, if possible, twelve inches apart, and not less than five 

 buds should be left. I have left the whole of the fruit-bearing 

 wood on some of my old vines this season, and from my expe- 

 rience I believe it is the best way. Now, then, the coming year 

 these spurs, which are extending out from the espalier, should 

 be led out laterally, on the line of the espalier, so that they 

 shall not go forward into the open space so much as to crowd it. 

 Again, your upper branches, which formerly lay upon the upper 

 bar of the espalier, will grow into this space if you do not sum- 

 mer pinch them. You see the reason, then, for these spurs 

 being put so far apart as twelve inches, so that the leaves will 

 not lie upon each other, and so perish for want of air. If mil- 

 dew appears, and your upper leaves go, you have a large body 



