REVIEW OF PRUNING AND TRAINING. 259 



vious and formed canes ; consequently, if the cane is cut 

 back, and all these side branches removed, we must depend 

 upon some accessory bud to produce another cane ; a good 

 one is seldom furnished in this way, and there is no cer- 

 tainty of producing one at all. To be sure the cane may 

 be cut off just above the lower spur, and a bud on this be 

 allowed to grow and produce a cane in place of the one re- 

 moved. But here we meet still another difficulty that is, 

 the buds on the lower fruit spur or branch are never so 

 well developed as on the upper ones, and the cane produced 

 from them will usually be only of moderate strength ; and 

 we are continually endeavoring to produce what should be 

 the best canes from the weakest buds. 



The third season the young vines that were not allowed 

 to fruit are now brought into the same shape as the others, 

 and they produce side branches and fruit, after which they 

 are to be cut down. At the end of the third season, after 

 the vines commence fruiting, the system winds up, or so 

 nearly so that no uniform mode of pruning can be followed ; 

 nor will there be any regularity in the growth or appear- 

 ance of the vines. 



This seems to have been the fate of all the strictly alter- 

 nate renewal systems that have ever been invented. Mr. 

 Bright discovered his mistake when he commenced prun- 

 ing his bearing vines. And although he had committed 

 himself to the system, and urged it with much force, still, 

 so soon as he found that it was likely to fail, he promptly 

 came forward and confessed himself mistaken, thereby 

 showing that he possessed the rare qualification of making 

 a vigorous attack and beating a gentlemanly retreat. 



The next alternate renewal system that claims attention 

 is one with horizontal arms and upright canes. In this 

 system of training, we commence with the one cane the 

 first season and two the next, and the third season these 

 two canes are laid down for arms ; these should be about 

 four feet long, and only four buds upon each allowed to 



