236 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



side branches close to the main cane. In pruning the main cane, 

 leave about two-thirds of the growth it has made but not more 

 than four feet long. The vine should then be buried as directed 

 for the previous year, and it will be found convenient to bend it 

 as low as possible. To do this to the best advantage, take away 

 a little soil from near the vine, to permit part of the bend to come 

 near the ground. As the vine gets older and stiffer, it will bend 

 most easily and safely below ground. 



Third season. The third spring the cane should be tied along 

 the lower wire (fig. 112). If it has wintered well two shoots will 

 start at nearly every joint. As soon as these are three or four 

 inches long the weakest should be broken off und only the strong- 

 est ones, that come about ten inches apart, be allowed to grow. 

 In selecting these shoots preference should always be given to 

 those coming out on the upper side of the main cane. As these 

 shoots push upwards they should be carefully tied to the wires, 

 and when they have reached the top of the trellis each of them 

 should be pinched off at the end. This pruning will check the 

 growth a little and result in the fruit buds being formed nearer 

 the main cane than they would if not checked. Further pinch- 

 ing is sometimes practiced when the finest bunches of fruit are 

 wanted, but for practical purposes one pinching is enough, and 

 some large, successful growers do not pinch at all, though it is 

 probably a mistake not to pinch once, if this system of pruning 

 is followed. 



If the vine is thrifty it will bear several pounds of fruit this 

 year. As soon as convenient after gathering the ripe fruit the 

 vines may be pruned. It is not necessary to wait for a frost to 

 kill the leaves, and it will not do any harm to bury with some of 

 the leaves on the vine. Where one has but few vines it is best 

 to wait until there is danger of the ground freezing hard before 

 laying them down, but in large vineyards it is not practicable to 

 wait so late, and the work must commence earlier. In pruning 

 the third fall, first select a cane near the extremity of the main 

 cane and cut it off at a length sufficient to reach the next vine 

 on the trellis. This cane must be tied to the lower wire the 

 following (or fourth) spring, and will complete the permanent 

 main cane, fig. 114. The rest of the pruning this fall will con- 



