THE AMERICAN GRAPES 243 



iu the ease of laying down for winter protection and the 

 even distribution of the bearing wood. In the prairie 

 States it is also a gain to keep the fruit near the ground, 

 with a leaf canopy above, but a circulation of air beneath. 

 But the permanent success of the plan depends on 

 summer pinching of the up-growing shoots and laterals. 

 This summer pinching, if started early, develops fruit-buds 

 low down on the laterals. If not pinched, the buds will 



FIG. 72. Vine in autumn of fourth year. Dotted lines show 

 where to prune. 



develop higher up, requiring longer spurs. We have kept 

 a vine on this plan for twelve years without undue increase 

 in length of spurs. If any of them get too long a new 

 shoot can usually be started upward from the lower part 

 of the spur. 



233. Diagonal Training Plan. In the prairie States, 

 and in other extended areas, a simple renewal system is 

 practised that is only a variation of the system generally 

 practised in the Chautauqua district of New York. The 

 first year the vines remain on the ground. In the fall they 

 are cut back to a stub with two or three buds and mounded. 

 The four-wire trellis is built the second spring and two 

 canes are started from the stub which are trained perpen- 

 dicularly and pinched when they reach the top wire, 



