1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



49 



GRAPE VIHES-BEARING AND PRUN- 

 ING. 



Many of our people are now supplied, until the 

 first or middle of January, vnth. delicious Isabella, 

 or other Grapes, raised on their own premises, 

 •without the aid of artificial heat, or of any un- 

 usual care, or expense. In favorable spots, by the 

 sides of buildings, we believe the Isabella will ri- 

 pen every year, and when once trained there, and 

 properly cared for, it will remain in at hrifty and 

 bearing condition for many years. 



The grape loves a moist soil, but not one where 

 water stands in it. An excellent sj)ot is near the 

 back door of the house, where it will be conve- 

 nient to throw sink water or suds from the wash 

 tubs, several times a week. 



The proper time for pruning is in the autumn, 

 soon after the fall of the leaf, and in this opera- 

 tion very much depends, as to the success you may 

 meet with. We give herewith, from Cole's Fruit 

 Book, some of the different forms of training. 



The Cane, or Renewal Sys- a 

 TEM. — The first season one 

 • branch is trained up ; in the 

 fall this is cut back to 3 or 4 

 eyes, and the next season an- 

 other is trained up, and the 

 first is extended ; both are then 

 laid down and trained horizon- 

 tally, near the surface ; and 

 from each a cane is trained up, 

 (a. a.) The next season these ^'« Cane System 

 ■will bear fruit, and two more canes, {b, b,) trained 

 up to bear fruit the next season, when a, a are 



yards, by walls, trees, buildings, &c. In gardens 

 or vineyards, a trellis may be formed by setting 

 posts, or stakes 6 or 8 feet high, and nailing on 

 narrow strips of ))oards, or stakes alone are suffi- 

 cient, if sot 15 or 20 inches apart. In vineyards, 

 where the vines are about 3 or 4 feet apart, some- 

 times only one stake is set to a vine, and the later- 

 al or oblique branches are trained to the neigh- 

 boring stakes. 



Pruning of grapes is not generally well under- 

 stood. Some do not prune at all the proper sea- 

 son ; they have a mass of vines and only a little 

 fruit, and that poor. Another absurdity, which 

 is often added to the above, is cutting off the young 

 shoots in summer, just above the fruit, and some- 

 times still worse, picking off the leaves to expose 

 the fruit to the sun. 



The sap ascends to the leaves, and there min- 

 gles with matter, absorbed by tlie foliage, then it 

 is digested, or elaborated into food, which descends 

 to nourisli the plant. So essential are the leaves, 

 that the Ijlight on the foliage destroys the fruit, 

 and a frequent repetition is death to the plant. 

 The leaves, not the fruit, shouldb^e exposed to the 



cut out near the horizontal branch, leaving one sun. Wc urge this point, as thousands mistake 



eye, and new shoots trained, and so on. Dr. W. 

 C. Chandler, of South Natick, jMs., trains in this 

 way, and he has sent us fine Isabellas an inch in 

 diameter. Some train up the main vine perpen- 

 dicularly on a building, to a convenient place, and 

 then extend canes horizontally, and renew as above. 

 The cane system gives excellent fruit, as it is al- 

 ways on new wood ; but the yield is generally 



and grapes are generally mismanaged. 



As pruning the vine young prevents the growth 

 of the roots, i)ut little should be done for a yearjor 

 two after it is set. In Nov., or early in Dec., all 

 vines in open culture should be pruned liberally. 

 If pruning in spring, before leaved out, they will 

 bleed ; they may bleed in spring if pruned in win- 

 ter. In pruning rather tender vines, leave more 



larger by spur or fan training. The canes should jwood than is needed, as some may be killed, and 

 be as much as 2 feet apart. If the vine is strong, finish pruning in spring as soon as the leaves are 



the horizontal branches may be extended, so as to 

 have 8 or 10 canes. 



The Spur System is the 

 training up of the main stem, 

 and of spurs horizontally, cut- 

 ting back the spurs, annually, 

 to 2, 3, or 4 eyes of the new 

 wood, according to the 

 strength of the vine, and num- 

 ber of the spurs. 5^ ~- -» 



W^hen the spurs have ex- ly^^^ 

 tended too far, cut out a part, 

 yearly, training up new ones, ,^>y-> 

 thufT changing all the wood^^^'^ 

 to new ; and as the vines be- 

 come old and unproductive, 

 cut down part at a time, and 

 train up new ones. This will 

 combine the cane and spur 

 method, and is an excellent 

 system. 



The Fan or Tree System, 

 or other convenient modes, 

 are practised in vineyards, 

 and in common garden cul- 

 ture, or in training grapes in 



The Spur System. 



nearly developed, when the life of the vine may be 

 seen. In summer allow a good growth beyond the 

 fruit, and al^out midsummer, pinch off the ends 

 of the branches, fo check them, and cut out feeble 

 laterials, and branches on which there is no fruit ; 

 then there Avill l)c much foliage to absorb the mat- 

 ter, and prepare nutriment ; and l)y checking the 

 growth of wood, it will be appropriated to perfect 

 the fruit. The two great errors are in neglecting 

 to cut off us^jless wood in fall, and in depriving 

 the plant of useful foliage by close pruning in 

 summer. 



Careful use of Horses. — An acquaintance lost 

 his horse a few days ago, in a manner that would 

 suggest an habitual caution in driving. The horse, 

 a valualtle one, well kept, in good spirits, and in 

 perfect healtli , was taken from the stal ile and driven. 

 He had asceuded a long and liard hill within the 

 first mile of drivmg, and as soon as the summit 

 was reached, tiie driver, as is the habit of many, 

 touched liim with the whip; he si^rang, stopped, 

 staggered and fell, and by the time the driver could 

 alight from tlie carriage, he was dead. An exam- 

 ination showed that a large blood-vessel near the 

 heart had been ruptured.— ^i^ar^je?- and Planter. 



