PRUNING AND TRAILING. 



73 



better and mature their wood more thoroughly, lying upon the 

 ground, than it' supported by stakes. 



At the end of the first year's growth, or before the sap begins 

 to move in the spring of the second year, the top of the vine 

 should be cut back to one strong cane of three buds. Tt is per- 

 haps best to do this in the fall of the first year, and then cover 

 up the end of the cane with one or two shovelfuls of soil to protect 

 it from the winter. 



The Second Year. Only one cane should be allowed to grow 

 the second year, and this should be tied up to a stake. Any kind 

 of a stake that is four or five feet high will do for this purpose. 

 All laterals that may start from the buds at the base of the cane 

 should be pinched off as soon as they are four or five inches long, 

 and all the growth forced into the main cane. When the cane 

 has reached the top of the stake, the end should be pinched. 

 This will cause it to become thick and stocky, and the wood to 

 mature more fully. At the end of the second year the cane may 

 be laid down again to protect it from injury. 



SUPPORTS AND TRELLISES. The vine has now reached a stage 

 where it needs some permanent support. Two methods are com- 

 monly employed by vineyardists for supporting their vines, 

 stakes and trellises. The advantages of the first are that the 

 vines can be cultivated both ways with the horse during the spring 

 and early summer, and that material often obtained very cheaply 

 from one's own land may be used for stakes, while the trellis is 

 more durable and the vines require less support to keep them up 

 from the ground. 



STAKES. In this method various kinds of stakes are used. 



Fig. 56. Fig. 57. 



Some vineyardists use only one stake (Fig. 56), and others use two 

 stakes, one about eighteen inches each side of the vine, as shown 



