822 



The Qrax>e Culturist. 



PRUNING THE VINP:. 



As most of this important operation 

 should be performed this month, we 

 will try to give a few general hints 

 about it, which, we trust, will be of 

 service to those of our readers who 

 may be new beginners. AVe can hardly 

 call them rules, for fixed rules can 

 hardly be given for an operation which 

 requires so much thought and close 

 acquaintance with the growth and bear- 

 ing habits of the different varieties. 

 We will first try to tell j^ou what you 

 should not do, and then come to what 

 we think may assist you in what 3'ou 

 should do. 



Do not go to work like an automa- 

 ton, without forethought, nor employ 

 any one who is not willing to think 

 while he works. If you have closely 

 observed your vines during the sum- 

 mer, the habit and growth of each 

 variety, pruning will be plain enough 

 to 3'ou. You will easily see what part 

 and how much should be cut away. 

 An}" workman who is not willing to 

 observe and think while he works, has 

 no business in the vineyard. 



You will have observed that some 

 varieties will bear more readily and 

 larger bunches, upon the laterals of the 

 young canes, some upon the spurs of a 

 few eyes on old bearing branches, and 

 some will fruit readily upon the prin- 

 cipal canes. This should govern you 

 in pruning. The Concord, Cunning- 

 ham, Goethe, Hartford, Herbemont, 

 Ives, Louisiana, Maxatawny, Martha, 

 Mary Ann, North Carolina Seedling, 

 Perkins, Rulander, Telegraph and Wil- 

 der, will all fruit best on the laterals of 

 the young canes of last summer's 



growth, provided they are strong 

 enough, which tlie}' will be if they have 

 been pinched according to our direc- 

 tions in the article on summer pruning. 

 They are all strong growers, the fruit 

 buds at the base of the principal canes 

 are seldom well developed, and will not 

 bring much fruit. We therefore grow 

 the fruit on the laterals, which can be 

 shortened in to from two to six eyes 

 each, according to their strength. All 

 these rank growers should have plenty 

 to do, that is, they should be pruned 

 long, much longer than is generally 

 done. Let us presume that your vine 

 is four years old, therefore in its full- 

 bearing vigor, has three principal canes, 

 each with four laterals. If you prune 

 these to the average number of four 

 buds each, j-ou will have forty-eight 

 buds on all the laterals. These can 

 produce double the number, or ninety- 

 six hunches, which would of course be 

 rather too much. But some of the 

 buds will generally fail, some bunches 

 will be imperfect, and 3'ou can easily 

 reduce this number to about sixty at 

 the first pinching, should more have 

 appeared. We have made the observ- 

 ation repeatedly, and especially this 

 summer, that the Concord rotted most 

 where pruned short, as the rank growth 

 of wood and leaves would not allow 

 the free circulation of air. 



Another class we have which pro- 

 duces best on spurs on old bearing 

 arms or canes. The Clinton, Cynthi- 

 ana, Golden Clinton, Hermann, Hunt- 

 ingdon, Norton's Virginia, and Taylor, 

 belong to this class — strong growers 

 also, and especially those belonging to 



