AMERICAN HOME GARDEN. 353 



solutely the number and direction of the shoots permitted to 

 grow to the pattern you propose to follow, and whether on ar- 

 bors, trellises, or stakes, confine each vine definitely to a given 

 space, and do not suffer it to run beyond it, but persistently 

 stop it at its boundary-line by nipping. 



These things being done, the summer pruning of vines cul- 

 tivated upon the spur system, in which there is but one class 

 of growth, Fig. 217, becomes perfectly simple. The whole 

 proper young growth of the season must be shortened by nip- 

 ping each shoot at from three to five joints beyond the outer- 

 most bunch of fruit upon it, thus checking growth, yet leaving 

 sufficient foliage to fully elaborate the sap and preserve health 

 in the vine and fruit. 



In the alternating system of cultivation there are two classes 

 of growth to be cared for, the bearing and non-bearing ; the 

 bearing canes, Fig. 218 b, b, should be treated precisely as just 

 described for the spur system ; checking the young growth of 

 the season by careful but not excessive shortening, in order to 

 force the energies of the vine plant into the direction of fruit- 

 age instead of mere growth. 



The non-bearing or growth-canes, starting from the buds 

 a, a, a, a, Fig. 218, must be laid carefully to their course and 

 tied securely. All side shoots thrown out from them must be 

 nipped, not close to the joint from which they proceed, as this 

 would be likely to force growth from the main bud of that 

 joint, which lies dormant at the base of the side shoot, and 

 upon the quiescence and strength of which your next year's 

 fruit depends, but nip them while quite tender at one or two 

 joints' distance from the main shoot, leaving them as spurs 

 upon it ; and when a second growth is put forth from the ex- 

 treme bud left, nip this again as often as may be needful ; and 

 just as the shortening of the whole growth in the bearing 

 canes concentrates the force of the vine in the fruit, so the 

 shortening of the side growth upon non-bearing canes concen- 

 trates it in the principal shoots, ripening their wood, enlarging 

 and strengthening their T)uds, and preparing them for yield- 

 ing a full crop of fruit in their season. It only remains to 

 limit the length of growth in these main non-bearing canes to 



