GRAPE. 229 



a shallow plowing early each spring and during the summer. 

 The top soil should be kept loose and light by shallow cultiva- 

 tion. Deep cultivation or much cultivation late in summer is 

 not desirable in a vineyard, and it may cause serious injury by 

 encouraging a late growth. If the land is lightly plowed each 

 spring no large surface-roots will have time to form; but if 

 this is neglected for several years large surface-roots will get 

 started, and then plowing may seriously injure the vines. 



Pruning and training are the great bugbears to amateurs 

 in grape growing, and the attempt to follow some peculiar meth- 

 od has done more than anything else to discourage the growing 

 of this fruit by farmers. As a matter of fact, vines will grow 

 and bear fruit without any pruning whatever. Pruning is done 

 simply to get the most good fruit from the least amount of vine, 

 and for practical purposes it is a very simple matter. There are, 

 however, many systems described in books, and occasionally 

 used in practice, that are quite complicated and difficult for 

 a beginner to understand and even for the experienced to carry 

 out in practice. The practical points to have in mind in pruning 

 grapes are: (1) That the old wood which has borne fruit onca 

 never bears again. (2) That the wood that is formed one season 

 produces the bearing wood for the next season. (3) If all the 

 new wood is left on the vine it will bear ten times more clusters 

 than it can properly develop, and they will be small and imper- 

 fect. (4) If nine-tenths of the new 

 wood is cut away, leaving only from 

 thirty to fifty good buds to each vine, 

 the yield of good grapes will be much 

 increased. (5) It is desirable in severe 

 climates to train the vine so that it can 

 cv be laid down on the ground with but lit, 



ered for winter at tie resistance, for in such locations it is 



the end of first 



year, with extra necessary to protect it each winter. 



f S orma & tio V nTf th? If these P oints are borne in mind 



vines is started it matters not so very much what sys- 



tem is pursued in pruning. However, 



it will be found most convenient to adhere somewhat clearly to 

 some simple system of pruning. But whatever plan for after- 



