THE GENESEE FAEMEE. 



155 



CULTIVATION OF THE GEAPE— No. 4. 



The foregoing remarks are more applicable to 

 ae culture of the Catatcla grape in the Western 

 tates; but it is a very precarious grape in New 

 'ork State. On the other hand, the Isabella has 

 een found not to do so well in the Western States 

 \the Catawba, or when stubbed down every year 

 o\a mere stump, as is necessary when trained to 

 •ne^ stake three or four feet high ; but it is remark- 

 bly well adapted to the State of New York, and 

 >r trellis training. 



I will here give one or two cuts of trellis train- 

 ig, well suited to the Isabella, which are remark- 

 ble for their simplicity. The preparation of the 

 round, and the treatment of the vines for 

 he first two years, are the same as recom- 

 lended above. The vines are planted ten 

 ■et apart in the rows, and the rows six feet 

 part, running east and west. In the spring 

 f the third year, the vine is cut down to 

 ght or ten inches in height, the posts ai*e 

 ?t midway between the vines, and the wires 

 xed. During the summer, two canes are 

 •ained up across the wires, and let grow 

 ) their full length, the laterals being pinched 

 ut during the summer, as previously re- 

 ^mmended. At the winter pruning of the 

 )urth year, the canes are cut to five feet in 

 •ngth, and tied down horizontally to the 

 ottom wire, as in fig. 20. During the sum- 

 ler, shoots must be trained from these hor- 

 lontal canes, at fifteen to eighteen inches apart, 

 ad carried up perpendicularly and carefully secured 

 ) the wires. These shoots will all show fruit, and 

 ane b may be allowed to bear. When it has grown 

 ?veu or eight leaves in length, it must be pinched 

 1 to two or three leaves above the highest bunch. 

 'ane a must have all its fruit cut off, and be al- 

 )wed to grow to its full length, or one or two feet 

 bove the highest wire, when it may be stopped, 

 n the spring of the fifth year, cane b is cut out to 

 lie lowest good bud, and cane a is cut back to the 

 ighest wire. This summer, cane a is allowed to 

 ear fruit, as indicated, and cane b at the same time 

 ; trained up from the spur. In the spring of the 

 ixth year, cane a is cut out to the line drawn 

 cross it, and a new cane trained up from its spur 

 t'hile c;i.ne b is bearing fruit. Thus, no cane is ever 



of trimming the canes, and section 2 another. Sec- 

 tion 1 is more applicable to a higher trellis — say 

 six or seven feet, — while section 2 is only adapted 

 to about five feet, from its being more heavily 

 cropped. The treilis represented is only four feet 

 high from the ground, with bearing canes three 

 feet in length. These can very easily be carried 

 one or two feet higher. 



Fig. 21 shows another mode of training, the 

 principle of which is the same as the preceding, 

 with the advantage of the vine being more slowly 

 and regularly increased, and without the necessity 

 of such a great bulk of the vine having to be cut 

 away every year. In the former method, all the 



lUowed to bear twice ; new wood is supplied every 

 rear for bearing the next, which always gives the 

 iaest fruit. Section 1 in fig. 20 shows one mode 



largest canes have to be cut away every year; 

 while in this we cut away only the small wood, 

 and the great bulk of the vine remains. This mode 

 of training is readily seen from the cut. In the 

 summer of the third year from planting, two hori- 

 zontal canes are trained to the bottom wire, and 

 one straight up the middle. In the spring of the 

 fourth season, the upright cane is pruned down to 

 two feet above the horizontal canes. When the 

 vines have begnn to grow, and it is sure the three 

 upper buds are safe and secured to the wires— two 

 horizontal and one upright — tlie other buds lower 

 down the center cane are rubbed out. The two 

 lower canes are pruned back to five feet in length, 

 the width of the trellis. During this season, while 

 the second tier of horizontal canes are growing, the 

 lower are throwing up shoots (marked a, b). These 

 shoots will all show fruit; and those 

 marked a are allowed to bear, Avhile 

 those marked b must have their fruit all 

 cut off. In the winter of the fifth sea- 

 son, these shoots, a, b, are pruned down 

 to the lowest good bud (indicated by 

 the line drawn across them). The two 

 upper horizontal canes are primed in to 

 five feet, or the width of the trellis, as 

 the lower ones were last season. This 

 (the fifth) season, the shoot from spur h 

 is allowed to bear, while that from spur 

 a is allowed to rest. Thus, each alter- 

 nate spur is made to bear and rest each 

 alternate year. If this vine be carried 

 up three tiers high, it will then be about 

 seven feet high from the ground to the 

 top, which is high enough for any man 

 I to stand on the ground and work at. 



I have no doubt that these modes of training may 

 seem a little tedious to the uninitiated ; but, when 



