METHODS OF PRUNING THE VINE 



CHAPTER VII 



METHODS OF PRUNING THE VINE 



Treatment of ^'oung Canes— The Short Spur System-The Long Rod 

 System— Tying the Vines — Adventitious or Aerial Roots — 

 Keeping the Frlit Healthy 



CORRECT methods of pruning are highly important for ultimate success, 

 and the first study in this connection is the condition of the wood. 

 Many a fruithouse is practically left to care for itself after the season's 

 crop has been gathered. But this is wrong, for the grapery must have the same 

 care afterward as to watering and spraying as was given while the crop was 

 maturing. New fruit buds have to form after the crop has been gathered, and 

 these cannot mature perfectly if neglected in any way. The border should, of 

 course, be gradually dried off toward the Fall, bearing in mind that the follow- 

 ing season's crop depends entirely on the condition of this season's well ripened 

 wood. If the wood be imperfectly ripened the results will be unsatisfactory, 

 whether the \ines are treated for the long rod system or for the spur system of 

 pruning. 



There is a diflerence of opinion as to the amount of frost which should be 

 allowed in a grapery. All fruit trees are benefited by receiving a certain amount 

 thereof, and I should recommend from lo to 15 degrees of frost, providing the 

 wood has been thoroughly ripened up; but in very severe weather it is advisable 

 to turn on the heat on one side of the house, leaving the pipes emptj' on the other 

 side, if the heating system will allow of this. All heating systems should be 

 arranged with a view to such partial heating, and all piping in fruithouses should 

 by so placed that the water can be drained off in the Fall without interfering 

 with any other part of the range. 



TREATMENT OF 'lOUNG CANES~THE SHORT SPUR S>STEM 



Ha\ing explained the importance of fully ripened wood to work on, I will 

 now pass to the subject of young canes. The newly planted \ines should be 

 cut down to about one foot above the soil. These canes will naturally ha\e 

 made a strong, vigorous growth the first season, reaching perhaps to the top oi 

 the house. It will, to the uninitiated, appear quite a sacrifice or even a waste 

 of apparently good stock to prune them back to four or five feet from where they 



