286 



The Grape Oulturist. 



PEUNING THE VINE. 



As most of this important oj^eration 

 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. We 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 

 bearing habits of the different varie- 

 ties. We will first try to tell you 

 what you should not do, and then 

 come to what we think may assist 

 you in what you should do. 



Do not go to work like an automa- 

 ton, without forethought, nor employ 

 an}^ one who is not willing to think 

 while he works. If 5'ou have closely 

 observed your vines during the sum- 

 mer, the habit and growth of each 

 vai'iety, pruning will be plain enough 

 to you. You will easil}' sec what 

 part and how much should bo cut 

 away. Any workman who is not wil- 

 ling to observe and think while he 

 works, has no business in the vinej'ard. 



You will have observed that some 

 varieties will bear more readily and 

 larger bunches upon the latei'als of 

 the young canes, some upon the spurs 

 of a few eyes on old bearing branches, 

 and some will fruit readily upon the 

 principal canes. This should govern 

 you in pruning. The Concord, Cun- 

 ningham, Goethe, Hartford, Ilerbe- 

 mont^ Ives, Louisiana, Maxatawney, 

 Martha, Mary Ann, North Carolina 

 Seedling, Perkins, Eulandei", Tele- 

 graph and Wilder, will all fruit best 

 on the laterals of the young canes of 



last summer's growth, provided they 

 are strong enough, which the}^ will be 

 if they have been pinched according 

 to our directions 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, accord- 

 ing 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 j'our 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, 

 you will have forty-eight buds on all 

 the laterals. These can produce dou- 

 ble the number, or ninety-six bunches, 

 which would of course be rather too 

 much. But some of the buds will 

 generally fail, some bunches will be 

 imperfect, and j-ou can easily reduce 

 this number to about sixty at the first 

 pinching, should more have appeared. 

 We have made the observation re- 

 peatedl}', that the Concoi'd rotted 

 most where pruned short, as the rank 

 growth of wood and leaves would not 

 allow the free cii'culation 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 



