loo An American Fruit-Farm 



row. The grape rows themselves are of the length 

 of the section, and usually line up with the several 

 rows in the succeeding section. In setting a 

 vineyard it is expedient to have long rows and as 

 few turns as possible. The weight of the wire 

 with vines and fruit is great, often excessive under 

 pressure of the wind. Old wires break; new ones 

 may pull out staples, and the great weight of wire, 

 fruit, and foliage may and often does break down 

 the end post. The purpose of the stakes is to 

 ease this weight. 



Grapes develop in light, air, and dryness; if 

 suffered to lie on the ground they never color or 

 ripen. Vines must hang from the wires, not rest 

 on the soil. Raisin grapes, as in California or 

 Spain, will ripen near, or even on the grotmd, the 

 canes on which they grow springing from a stub, 

 or stock to which the vine is trimmed back every 

 year. The vine of the Concord type is trimmed 

 back to a point about three feet from the ground, 

 the stock below as straight as possible. From the 

 point where the stock reaches the lower wire the 

 vine is trained to two arms extending in opposite 

 directions from the point, each arm fastened to 

 the lower wire. From each arm two canes are 

 suffered to grow to the top wire, all other wood 

 being cut away annually. Another system, called 

 the umbrella system, trims away all wood along 

 the stock to height of the top wire and at that point 

 allows the canes to grow and hang down over both 

 wires. The objection to the umbrella system is to 



