GRAPES 197 



spacing, but probably nine by twelve is better 

 with the nine-foot distance between the rows. 

 The pruning of the grape starts when the vine 

 is planted. Furthermore the young plant is 

 pruned at both ends and the tops and the roots 

 reduced to almost rudimentary proportions. 

 The top should be cut back to one or two buds 

 and most of the long fibrous roots should be 

 cut off. When a large number of vines is to 

 be planted it becomes quite a job to do this 

 pruning, for the young grapes have a way of 

 making a tremendous lot of fibrous roots. If 

 planted unpruned, many of these roots would 

 die anyhow and might prevent the young plants 

 from doing so well as they should. I remember 

 that when we planted ten acres of vines we 

 thought we would never get through cutting 

 off roots. Then some one had a bright idea. 

 We got a section of a beech log and set it on 

 end like a small butcher's block. Taking up a 

 bunch of vines we placed the fibrous roots on 

 the block and pruned a dozen or more at one 

 swipe with a hatchet. This method proved 

 effective and rapid and the vines so handled 

 grew just as well as those that we had care- 

 fully prepared, one at a time, with a pocket 

 knife. (And I might add that all of them grew 

 excellently.) 



I have mentioned that grape-vines are grown 

 from cuttings containing two joints. From this 



