1376 



GRAPE 



GRAPE 



northern states, but each of them practises essentially 

 the system of renewals described in the last paragraph. 

 One style of training carries the trunk only to the lowest 

 wire of the treUis. The canes — usually two in number — • 

 are tied horizontally on the bottom wire, and the bear- 

 ing shoots are tied, as they grow, to the two wires above 



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1717. Upright system of grape-training. 



At the winter pruning, all the top will be cut away except two 

 canes near the center; these two will be laid down in opposite 

 directions on the bottom wire for the next season's fruiting. 



(Fig. 1717). This is an upright system. The other style 

 carries the trunk to the top wire. The canes are tied 

 on the top wire, and the bearing shoots hang. This is 

 the drooping or Kniffin system. If the shoots run out 

 on the top wire by clinging to it by tendrils, they are 

 torn loose, so that they will hang: this is a very neces- 

 sary practice. There is controversy as to the compara- 

 tive merits of these systems, which proves that each 

 has merit. It is probable that the upright system is 

 better for the slender or shorter varieties, as Dela- 

 ware, and also for those whose shoots stand erect, as 

 Catawba. The Kniffin has distinct merit for strong- 

 growing varieties, as Concord; it is also cheaper, since 

 it requires no summer tying. This system is well 

 illustrated (as given by E. W. Williams in "Garden 

 and Forest," I: 461) in Figs. 1718-1720. 



One- or two-year-old vines are planted either in the 

 fall or early spring. At planting, the vine is cut back 

 to three or four buds, and the roots are shortened (Fig. 

 1724) . If all buds start, the strongest one or two may be 

 allowed to grow. The canes arising from this bud should 

 be staked and allowed to grow through the season; or 

 in large plantations the first-year canes may be allowed 

 to he on the ground. The second year this cane should 

 be cut back to the same number of eyes as the first 

 year. After growth begins in the second spring, one of 

 the strongest shoots should be allowed to remain. This 

 cane may be grown to a .single stake through the 

 second summer. At the end of the second year the cane 

 may be cut back to the bottom wire of the treUis, if 

 upright training is to be employed. The cane may be 

 strong enough at this time to be made the permanent 

 trunk of the Kniffin training, but in most cases the 

 trunk is not carried to the top wire until the third year. 

 The main pruning is performed when the vine is 

 dormant. The ideal time is January and February in 



the North, although 

 the work is often 

 begun in Novem- 

 ber if the area is 

 large. Pruning in 

 spring causes the 

 vine to bleed, but 

 bleeding is not in- 

 jurious. But late 

 pruning interferes 

 with tillage, and 



Propagation. 



The grape grows readily from seeds, which may be 

 kept over winter and germinated in the house early in 

 the spring. They may even be planted in beds in the 

 open, but the proportion of failures will be greater. 

 Seeds produce new varieties, and they are used only in 

 an experimental way. 



The commercial propagation of grapes is accom- 

 plished by means of hardwood cuttings. These cuttings 

 are taken in the winter from the trimmings of vine- 

 yards. In all ordinary cases they are made of two or 

 three buds' length, preferably three (Fig. 1721). They 

 are cut as soon as the canes are trimmed, tied in small 

 bundles, and these bundles are then buried half their 

 depth in damp sand in a cool cellar. By spring the 

 cuttings will be more or less callused. The cuttings 

 are planted in the open on the approach of warm 

 «• weather. A loose loamy soil is chosen, and it is well 

 and deeply prepared. The cuttings are inserted until 

 only the upper bud stands at the sm'face of the ground. 

 These cuttings are placed 6 to S inches apart in rows, 

 and the rows are far enough apart to allow of horse 

 cultivation. These cuttings may give plants large 

 enough for sale the following autumn; but it is usually 

 preferred to let the plants grow two years before they 

 are put upon the market. In such cases it is customary 

 in many of the best nurseries, to transplant at the end 

 of the first season. Wlien wood is scarce, the canes are 

 sometimes cut to single eyes. In this case about an 

 inch of wood is left on either side of the bud. Single-eye 

 cuttings are nearly always started under glass, prefera- 

 bly on the greenhouse bench. If they are started in 

 February, they will be large enough for transplanting 



1718. The Kniffin system of 

 grape-training. 



the buds are likely to be injured after they are 

 swollen. Summer pruning is now practised only to the 

 extent of pulling out suckers and weak shoots, and 

 even this is not always done. Heading-in the vine in 

 summer is likely to start side growths, which are 

 useless and troublesome. 



I 



1719. The Kniffin vine before 

 pruning. 



1720. The vine after 

 pruning. 



in a well-prepared seed-bed very early in the spring. 

 Greenwood cuttings are sometimes used in the summer 

 with new and rare varieties, but they are not in general 

 favor. In Cahfornia, rooted vines of one year are 

 preferred; and in soil in which cuttings root readily, 

 they are sometimes planted directly in the vineyard. 

 The grape is easily grafted. Because of the flexible 

 nature of the vine, however, it is customary to make the 

 graft below the surface of the ground. An ordinary 

 cleft-graft is usually employed. The whole vine is cut 

 off 4 or 5 inches below the surface, and the graft is 

 inserted in the same fashion as in apple or pear trees. 

 The surface may then be waxed or covered with clay 

 or other material, to keep the water out of the cleft, 

 although if the earth is firmly packed around the 

 graft and no water stands, the union may be perfectly 

 satisfactory without any cover. (Figs. 1722, 172.3.) 

 Vines of any age may be grafted. It is important that 

 the cions be perfectly dormant. These cions are taken 

 and stored in the same way as cuttings. The grafting 

 should be done very early in the spring, before the sap 

 starts. Grafting may also be performed late in the 

 spring, after all danger of bleeding is over; but, in that 

 case, it is more difficult to keep the cions dormant, and 



