The Drooping System. 57 



inquired into the cause of the excellent fruit. He 

 noticed that the vine had been pruned and that the 

 best canes stood out horizontally. From this sug- 

 gestion he developed the four-cane system of train- 

 ing which now bears his name. A year or two later, 

 in 1854, the system had attracted the attention of 

 those of his neighbors who cultivated grapes, and 



20. WILLIAM KNIFFIN. 



thereafter it spread throughout the Hudson valley, 

 where it is to-day, with various modifications, 

 the chief method of grape training. Its merits 

 have become known beyond its original valley, and 

 it is now spreading more rapidly than any other 

 system. The ground upon which the old Isabellas 



